Harbin--- was it worth it?

Below freezing temperatures.  "Close-call" train ride.  Big Crowds.  Lots of Attention.  Was it worth it?


Before venturing north to Harbin, the land of ice and snow, I was warned to "be prepared".  It's very cold, it's not so easy to get around, and very little English is spoken.  I've also heard it's a "must-do" trip at least once. 


I lived in Phoenix, Arizona for 2 years and never went to the Grand Canyon...  a regret of mine.  So to Harbin we went, no regrets.


Before I proceed to tell you about our time in Harbin, I think our adventure to the train station is a story worth telling:  There were 5 of us embarking on this journey and with all of our luggage, we had to catch 2 taxis to the train station.  Melanie and Hannah were on their way, but Liz, Emily and I had a hard time stopping a taxi.  When we finally got one, the morning traffic was busy enough to slow us down... way down.  When we arrived, we had very, very, very little time until our train left.  And the Shenyang train station is not exactly simple to maneuver around with luggage and a child.  Stairs, and stairs, and more stairs.  We ran, we sprinted.  With luggage, and layers among layers, and asthma...  I was miserable.  We sprinted our last stretch, made it up our last flight of stairs and had approximately ONE MINUTE until our train left.  We were at car 15 and our tickets were for car 5.  The train guy told us to just hop on, so we jumped on car 15, they shut the doors, and the train began to move.  Whew!  We were on our train, though very out of breath and on the wrong car.  We just stood there until we were able to breathe again...  then began to proceed to car 5...  but...  we could only go so far until we discovered there was no longer an opening to our car.  So we were instructed to sit down until the next stop.  When the train stopped, we had to grab all our luggage again, get out of the train, and sprint again to car 5!  We were finally in our seats.  It was only 9:30 a.m....  and we still had the entire day ahead of us!  It took me the entire 4 hour train ride to recuperate from this adventure.  Emily, on the other hand, gained much adrenaline from the experience and was super excited about our day ahead!


Once we got to Harbin, we checked into our hotel, grabbed lunch and were off to explore.


Below are some of the highlights of our trip (I took some of the descriptions off the China Highlights website:  http://www.chinahighlights.com/harbin:)


CENTRAL STREET


Central Street (中央大街Zhōngyāngdàjiē) is a pedestrian-only cobblestone street more than a kilometer (about a mile) long lined with stores, restaurants, old architecture dating from the Russian era, and malls. Central Street was part of the original town built by the Russians about 110 years ago. It was first called Chinese Street. You’ll find some shops with Russian products, international restaurants, and two megamarkets, Walmart and the French Carrefour, that are located at the end of Central Street. The street is said to be the prettiest street in Harbin, and during the winter you can enjoy a dog sled or a horse sled ride. It is an easy shopping and dining highlight in the area.

Ice-sculptured Living Room:  Emily and I sitting on the couch



Emily and Hannah with their cotton candy!



yummy Russian restaurant

ST. SOPHIA ORTHODOX CHURCH

St.Sofia Orthodox Church is the largest Orthodox Church building in the Far East. It was built early in the 20th century, for the Russians and other Orthodox people living around Harbin. View Jewish Heritage in China. It is 53.3 meters (175 feet) tall, and it occupies an area of 721 square meters (0.18 acres). The style of the building is Neo-Byzantine. The main structure is laid out in the shape of a cross with the main hall topped with a huge green tipped dome. There are smaller steeples, and the domes and steeples are topped with gold colored crosses. It looks like the church building at the Red Square in Moscow. It is beautiful to look at, and the interior is beautifully designed and decorated. It is one of Harbin’s most magnificent buildings.

*We actually did not schedule this on our itinerary and just happened to come across it.  We really would have liked to see the inside, but it was already closed for the day.


HAMAMAS KOFI HAUS

This was a cozy, western cafe.  The food was great, the atmosphere was cozy and relaxed, and the Christmas music was an added bonus.  And just in case you are interested...  it had a western toilet (probably one of the only ones in Harbin).

Suggestions:  Hawaiian Luau Chicken Burger, any of the smoothies, cheesecake!

DELICIOUS!

SIBERIAN TIGER PARK

Siberian Tiger Park covers an area of more than a million square meters (more than 250 acres) in an area just to the north of Sun Island Park across a branch of the Songhua River. It was set up as a place to breed and house Siberian tigers. The Siberian tiger is the largest of the big cats. The breeding program has been very successful, and there are now about 800 Siberian tigers (about 100 can be viewed) there along with other large cats like lions and pumas. This is amazing, since in it is estimated that there are only about 500 Siberian tigers left in the wild. Almost all of these wild ones are in Russia, and maybe 12 are in China. It is China's 2nd largest Siberian tiger park. The site includes a museum, breeding areas, and pens for the other large cats. It is amazing to see a group of striped golden tigers walk and run together. Visitors to the park can view a few score Siberian tigers that are on exhibit up close through fences, see other large cats such as Bengal tigers, lions, pumas and several other kinds, ride in vans or small buses into a field where they run and may chase the vehicle or hop on it, and help to feed the animals.


*After reading some of the reviews, I decided not to take Emily on the bus ride into the field, which is the only way to see the tigers, so Emily and I actually did not see them.  But there was plenty to keep us occupied while our friends were on their safari-like ride.   

 POLAR MUSEUM


In Harbin, you are able to experience the real life of the polar region. Harbin Polar land is the first theme park of polar land scenes in China. Inside the sea-blue elegant building of Pole Aquarium, you will find pure penguin family of South Polar, the most active polar bear brothers in China. There are also the wild arctic wolves introduced for the first time in Asia and the arctic fox brothers who can run on the running machine.
The most thrill is the exciting polar land animal show - the performance presented by sea lions.


*I would describe this place as a medium between an Aquarium and Sea World.  It was a lot of fun!  Pics aren't very clear...  but here's what I have:

Polar Bear

Arctic Foxes

Penguins

*We watched a white whale show and a sea lion show that were both incredible!  This was one of my favorite places.  I have some videos, but am having trouble uploading them.  =/






ICE AND SNOW WORLD


The Grand World of Ice and Snow was built at the bank of the Songhua River at the end of 1999. It's held every year. It gathers the elite of the ice and snow arts of the world. It combines the ice and snow with recreation. It mixes the new creative ideas, artistic presentation, mass participation and recreation. The scene is majestic. It's reputed as "the Ice and Snow Epic Picture". Since the holding of the Grand World of Ice and Snow, the sites change regularly.


*The theme this year was Disney!  Perfect for Emily (and I must admit, I was really excited also!). 

One of many Ice Castles

Emily getting read to go down a giant ice slide
(These were so fun!  This is where we spent most of our time.)

Disney Snow Sculpture
If you look closely you can see Donald Duck, Goofy, Micky, and Minnie

Tips that helped make this trip a success:


*Be well prepared and know what you want to do.  Thanks Liz for all your planning!
*We had a local contact.  Alice helped us book our hotel rooms, plan our itinerary, and hire a driver.

Thanks Alice!

*Hire a driver!  This trip would not have been much fun if we were standing and waiting in below freezing temps waiting for a taxi.

Emily and I with our taxi driver.  He was the sweetest man.

*Hot hands!  Liz had some hand and foot warmers that played a huge part in keeping our extremities from falling off.
*Wigwam socks- Thanks Evans!
*Great friends, great attitudes! :)

Hannah, Melanie, Me, Emily, and Liz

Added bonus:  Emily was FREE at all places!

Emily and her white tiger on the train ride home

The smile on her face says it all...  it was well worth it! :)