Time to visit
by ace1010
The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is from Jan 5th till Mid Feb. However, it is actually opened near X'Mas for trail purpose. So best time to come should be around X'Mas till Mid February. I don't think it is a perfect time to visit Harbin in November. All those ice and snow fancy things will be started since late December. I am sure there will be snow in November but not that much. Even you have to come in November, maybe arrange it at late November or payin' close attention to the weather report and come to Harbin when it snows. Weather in November is considerable cold. Temperature is around -5~-10 Centi. Harbin is pretty dry, if you are used to humid weather, better get a kinda lipstick to wet your lips and drink more water during your stay.
Jewish Cemetery near Harbin
by calcaf38
At some time between the departure of the last Jews after WWII and the modern cosy-toesy relations between China and Israel, the old Jewish cemetery was relocated to a beautiful, peaceful spot.
A great effort is made to honor those dead, and to help the descendants find their Harbin ancestors.
Many of the tombstones appear to have been vandalized at some point, however, with little enameled portraits destroyed or scratched. The impression is infinitely sad.
The modern cemetery is a good hour drive away. Make sure your driver understands where you want to go before you depart.
Sixth Ice & Snow World Park
by ahoerner
This famous festival takes place in Harbin from January to February, during the bitter chinese winter, and it is worth of a visit indeed, despite of the bitter cold.
The park is located near the banks of river Sanghua, where a variety of figures are constructed using only ice blocks.
Some of them are models of great chinese and western buildings, human figures, dragons and budas...
Simply amazing to visit it and to see with your very eyes what can be build using simply ice.
Aquarium at Sun Island Park
by SLM73
Surprisingly enough this place isn't mentioned in the LP for China but if you have kids or are here in winter it makes a lovely place to spend a couple of hours. I live on the opposite side of town and it costs a maximum of 30Y to get there so for visitors in town make sure the cabbie uses the meter and don't pay more than 20Y. You can often agree on the price up front but I find that taxi drivers will only really do that if you demonstrate that you are not a tourist. By that I mean, you can speak a little chinese and they are not picking you up at a hotel. I guess the idea for them is that tourists have no idea and are there to provide as much money as possible. The entrance fee is 70Y for adults and kids under 5 are free. But, only one free child with each adult. You can buy snacks there at the end of the journey. What you do is follow a path around the place but after the whales you can walk back up some stairs if you want to look at particular things again. It was quite pretty inside but relatively small. It was amazing to get so close to the animals. Each adult ticket gets a free gift and even though I received mine I am still not exactly sure what it is.
When you leave there wont be any taxis out the front but you can walk about 50 metres back to the main sun island entrance road and they are there. I was directed towards a private vehicle by the 'guard'. The driver said 'taxi' when clearly he wasn't. However, it was really really cold so I tried my luck with him. He initially said 40Y but I point blank refused and said thirty (san shir kwy is 30Y) and he said yes straight away. I am pretty sure it is open everyday as most tourist attractions are but double check over spring festival.
Harbin, Northernmost Chinese Metropolis
by calcaf38
Harbin, the capital of the Heilongjiang province and of what was once Manchuria, is not a conventional travel destination. A huge city the size of Berlin, Singapore or Houston, Harbin is an industrial center. Your first impression might be disastrous: polluted air, infernal construction...
And yet, for Westerners, the appeal of Harbin rests in its history. Harbin is a modern city, founded in 1898 with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Raiway, an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In the early Twentieth Century, Harbin was a true international city. Following the Revolution, White Russians took refuge in Harbin and built the historic district in a traditional 1880 Russian style. Harbin was next occupied by the Japanese as the capital of their Manchukuo state. At the crossroad between two holocausts, Harbin was a haven for Jews, and a place of untold suffering for the Chinese during the Japanese occupation (see Off the Beaten Path tips). After WWII, Harbin was briefly under Soviet control before growing to be the tenth largest Chinese city.
More recently, Harbin was in the news when the Songhua river was polluted by a benzene leak, and the city was deprived of water for days.
Although Harbin winters are brutal (North of North Korea, North of Vladivostok), tourists flock to Harbin for the annual Ice Lantern Festival or Snow and Ice Festival. I was fortunate to visit Harbin during the festival, and I saw many sights right out of fairy tales, or out of dreams.
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American Jukebox in Harbin
Olympic Tower 3, Harbin Ice and Snow World
Inside Bavaria
Half-destroyed furnace
