Winter travel in Harbin

Harbin in Heilongjiang Province is a hottest city to visit in winter. The fascinating city is the first place to embrace the mind-numbing cold in the world of ice and snow. The annual international ice and snow festival attracts a large number of visitors to the city.

Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival 2011

 

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is one of the four biggest ice and snow festivals in the world. The 27th edition of the event will begin on December 1, 2010 and end on February 28, 2011. As a customary practice, before the festival is held, a variety of winter sports and activities are held, including ice sculpture competition, ice lantern exhibition, ice and snow carnival, alpine skiing, sledding and firework display. The festival will be held respectively in Zhaolin Park, Ice and Snow World and Sun Island at the same time.

Harbin Ice and Snow World

 

Located opposite the Sun Island, Harbin Ice and Snow World is the largest ice and snow park in the city, which is nicknamed "the Ice Disneyland". Covering an area of 400,000 square meters, it is built of 120,000 cubic meters of ice.

Everything there is made of ice and snow. Blocks of ice are carved into buildings and sculptures, such as ice towers, Buddha statues, cartoon figures and even ice bars, hotels, mazes and restaurants.

Admission fee: 280 yuan (Monday - Thursday); 330 yuan (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and other holidays)

Transportation: take tourist bus No.88 or 118 and get off at Bingxue Dashijie (Ice and Snow World).

Zhaolin Park

 

Zhaolin Park is located on Zhaolin Street in Daoli district beside the Songhua River. As the first public park in the city, it is built in memory of the General Li Zhaolin who is buried in the park. The park presents distinctive views in the four seasons. In winter, the international ice lantern festival is held.

When the night falls during the festival, the park becomes a glittery world with beautiful ice lanterns resplendent with different colors. Modern techniques endow the lanterns with light, sound and action. The skillful craftsmen elaborately carve the ice and snow work in a great variety of forms and shapes. Visitors fully enjoy the magnificence of ice-and-snow sculptures in North China and are even reluctant to leave.

Admission fee: 30 yuan during Lantern Festival; 10 yuan on ordinary days

Transportation: take bus No.8, 23, 53, 74, 83, 113, 114 or 206 and get off at Zhaolin Gongyuan (Zhaolin Park).

Sun Island

 

The Sun Island is located on the northern bank of the Songhua River. It is a picturesque place boasting crystal waters, wooden rockeries, exotic buildings and pretty plants. The land is mainly composed of Russian flavor towns, Russian Arts Exhibition Hall, Sino-Japan Friendship Park, Japanese-style Resort, towering Sun Hill, beautiful Sun Lake, flowery Lotus Lake and diversified clove parks.

In summer, it is a good place to escape the heat. While in winter, it is a world of snow and ice. Every year during the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, the Ice Sculpture Garden will present many awarded ice and snow sculpture works, which attracts a lot of visitors from home and abroad. Come and enjoy!

Admission fee: 150 yuan during the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival; 30 yuan on ordinary days.

Transportation: take bus No.29 or 54 and get off at Taiyangdao (Sun Island).

Yabuli International Ski Resort

 

Built on Yabuli Sun Mountain, 120 km west of Mudanjiang and 200 km east of Harbin city, Yabuli International Ski Resort is the best and biggest one in China. From the fact that it is the main training venue for China's national team, people get the basic idea of the quality of its slopes.

The snow falls for about 170 days in a year in Yabuli. The best time to ski there is from November to late March of the next year. There are nine Alpine pistes from intermediate to advanced levels, and a 500-meter gentle Alpine slope as well as a 5-kilometer Nordic trail for beginners. Visitors can find the suitable slopes according to their levels. The ski resort hires more than fifty professional ski instructors to help you improve at any time.

Transportation: take the regular bus from Harbin Longyun Passenger Station to Yabuli town. In Yabuli town, take the local minibus to Yabuli Ski Resort.

Source: China.org.cn