I woke up this morning to big, beautiful snowflakes gently making their way past the window of my seventh floor room at the Ibis Hotel in Harbin, China. Harbin is the capital city of China's northernmost province, Heilongjiang, and is known as a Paradise of Ice and Snow. It is located very close to the Russian border and under direct influence from the cold winter winds from Siberia. The temperature can dip down to -30º C in the winter. The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival was established in 1985 and is held annually from January 5 until the weather becomes to warm to support the ice sculptures.
Last night when I arrived at the Ibis Hotel in Harbin, the receptionist informed me that the ice parks were not open in the evening and would be open the next day, but sadly, as I made my way to Zhaolin Park to see the ice lanterns this morning, it was locked up tighter than a drum with chains and deadbolts. It had become to "warm" (-6º C) and all the parks were closed today for safety reasons. I missed it by ONE day! I had made it all this way and I could only glimpse the ice sculptures through the fence and bushes. : (
I was quite bummed, but didn't let it get me down. I knew I could come back next year, so I set out to explore the city of Harbin and map out my route for the 2012 Ice and Snow Festival.
I walked and walked and walked and loved soaking in the culture....
Snow covered steps
Walking in Harbin was a very slippery experience...a true slip and slide with all the ice and snow. I hit the deck pretty hard when I encountered a patch of ice hidden beneath the freshly fallen snow. From then on, I learned to do what I fondly called the "Harbin Walk", keeping my feet firmly planted on the ground at all times and sliding my tootsies along in very short, deliberate steps. I'm sure I looked pretty goofy, but I stayed upright and didn't fall again. Here's evidence of someone else's slip and slide walk:
It was doggone cold and very hard for me to understand why it was too "warm" for the parks to be open. My hands and feet kept going numb, but I forged ahead. I made my way through the city streets to the Songhua Jiang (river) where ice is harvested for the winter festival. By this time it was snowing pretty heavily and visibility across the river was extremely reduced. Yep, that's me in there somewhere.
Check out the make of the boat...ah, Tahoe, how I miss you so!
Houseboat on Songhua Jiang. What do you think, Uncle Marshal? Does it compare to Lake Mohave?
Beautiful winter view down the walk along Songhua Jiang
Even though I was freezing my butt off, I really enjoyed the walk along the river.
Folks out on the river harvesting ice
Brrrrrr....
Binzhou Railway Qiao
"Over the land of China Heilongjiang Province is like a swan spreading its wings. And the capital of Heilongjiang, Harbin, graces the neck of the swan like a sparkling pearl."
Stalin Park along the Songhua Jiang
You would think it was a lovely spring day along the river with so many people flying their kites.
Kite in the Siberian wind
Horseback riding on the frozen river
Flood Control Memorial Tower
Self portrait on the frozen river
Patterns in the ice
Structures on the ice
Snow sculpture along the bank of the river
Happy Year of the Rabbit!
Ice steps leading up from river toward city
Pretty building
After a long, freezing walk along the river, I took the tram over the river to Taiyandoa Scenic Spot. This is where I would have see the hug ice lanterns if it wasn't so "warm".
Only in China...there was no one guiding people onto the tram. You were on you own. This would never fly in the States!
Freezing me on tram
Too cute! This statue was at the entrance to some kind of Russian park, but once again the gates were locked up tight.
There is no such thing as a snow plow in China. It's called men and women with shovels and brooms.
Walk toward Sun Island
Workmen clearing the newly fallen snow
Ice sculpture outside of Sun Island
To my surprise Sun Island was open and I was able to go in and check out the snow sculptures.
Cabin made of snow
You can see from this snow sculpture that the warm weather does have an impact. Still hard for me to understand how temperatures below freezing can melt snow!
It's not that warm!
Large snow sculpture
Shrek characters in the snow
Violinist
Good luck frog
Snow bikes for rent
More snow sculptures
Next year I must come back early in January to see this park and the snow carvings in their glory.
Guy dusting snow off statue
My new friends!
I made my way back to the tram station. When you enter the building, this is what you see. It's February what?
Die hard ping pong players...check out the snow building up on her back and she doesn't even have a coat on. Truly hearty people live in this place.
I then made my way back toward the pedestrian street: Zhongyang Dajie. I was incredibly impressed with the modern, cosmopolitan feel of Harbin. The architecture was beautiful.
Many western shops lined Zhongyang Dajie.
Sure wish we had something like this in Dalian!
-4º C
After walking along Zhongyang Dajie and checking out the shops, I found this dumpling restaurant for dinner.
When in Harbin...
Yum! The menu was all in Chinese, so I ordered blindly and was very happy with the results.
After dinner, I found this little bakery and purchased a delicious looking chocolate cake, but was sorely disappointed when I bit into it. Pastries here in China look divine, but taste rather yucky!
But then I found a Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop
and was in pure heaven.
You'd think by now that all I would want to do is head back to my hotel and warm up (especially after eating ice cream), but I was loving this city and I just couldn't stop walking. I kept popping into warm shops to give my fingers and toes a chance to thaw out.
I made my way to Liangsheng Square to get a glimpse of St. Sophia Cathedral lit up at night. St Sophia Orthodox Cathedral is one of the most magnificent structures in Harbin. I stood there in the middle of the square staring up at this majestic building with snow falling quietly and peacefully around me, and was in awe of the beauty and serenity. In that moment, I really didn't care that I had missed the ice sculptures. I just stood there and breathed it all in and felt like the luckiest woman alive.
St. Sophia was built in 1907 after the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1903, which connected Vladivostok to northeast China. It is said that the church and the square that it lies upon looks like Red Square in Moscow. In 1997 the cathedral was turned into the Municipal Architectural and Art Museum.
Backlit snow covered tree at base of Cathedral
Finally, after being out in the snow and cold from more than eight hours, I made my way back to my hotel. These trees, all lit up with little blue lights, lined the middle of the road where my hotel was located.
And here's my sweet little room...
The round structure in the corner is the bathroom. It was a cozy little room that was less than $25 a night! Gotta love that!
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