HARBIN - Part III of f the latest China Epic, Shanghai, Beijing and Harbin
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Harbin (Hā'ěrbīn) – the Ice City on the banks of the Songhua River in the Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China has attracted me twice to this winter wonderland, once in 2009/10 then again this year. Harbin is around 2000km from the Arctic Circle and has bitterly cold dry winter’s compliments of the Polar winds that travel across Siberia from further north. The average late December / January temperature is minus 18 degrees Celsius over a 24 hour period with daylight being limited from six to eight hours. By five PM, it is dark with a noticeable temperature drop which if unprepared for can easily cause serious bodily temperature drops that will risk hypothermia.
Harbin has an airport serving most major Chinese airlines which is well equipped and quite modern with a scattering of Skyteam lounges if travelling First or if an Elite Skyteam member (Gold or Platinum). You will also need to be travelling China Southern or China Eastern to use the lounges, however, have low expectations of the lounges and you will not be disappointed.
My travel to and from Harbin has been varied, I have used high speed train twice from Beijing, this train travels at around 145kph average and is a nice trip in First Class watching the world go by, I have also travelled Harbin to Beijing by First Class Sleeper which was slow and not overly enjoyable with rather cramped conditions, strangers sleeping in the same cabin and lack of amenities on the train. Finally, I have flown from Harbin to Shanghai on China Eastern which was a pleasant economy flight where my Skyteam status was recognised with lounge access and row 1 of Y class seating with spare seats blocked. My travel preference is train and with some of the extreme weather that can affect Harbin, train is also the most reliable means of transport. There will be a high speed rail link – 300kph train within the next few years from Beijing to Harbin opening access to Harbin up even further.
Our journey from Beijing to Harbin started well. The Holiday Inn Beijing forgot to wake-up call us, so the day began rushed and unnecessarily stressed. The late call 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time from the hotel time ensured that the pre ordered taxi had buggered off, and checking out was not overly painless. However, we managed to board our train, the seats were wide and comfortable in First Class, and apart from a smelly man behind us, and a constant talker behind Mark, the journey was quite good.
On arrival into Harbin, the temperature was hovering around minus 20C and the usual Taxi Mafia were in force at the taxi rank. On advice given previously by a Harbin local, we dragged our luggage about a km away from the station to a hotel where there was a taxi stop. On the way there we had tried to hail numerous taxis, in fact closer to the rail station, we hailed a taxi who stopped, and while we were in negotiations as to where we were going, a woman ran up and said something to the driver who in turn sped away. We had to assume this was also part of the taxi Mafia at work and she had warned off the driver from pickups not endorsed by the crims.
After a 10 minute ride, we arrived at the Holiday Inn Harbin, which is at the top end of the walking street. Very convenient location to most attractions and quite easy to get to and from by taxi. Check in was easy with our room documents pre-prepared waiting for us – my room had been booked through Agoda so no priority information was loaded. A quick flash of the Platinum card had me upgraded to the executive level with lounge access and free internet.
Our room although not huge, was modern and clean, with a nice view of a huge ice sculpture on a roundabout island outside of the hotel entrance. The king bed was comfortable, and the room wasn’t too hot. We again adjusted the temperature by opening the blinds and letting the outside extreme cold sap away the heat in the room – this allowed us to sleep well.
We met in the executive lounge, had a beer and a snack (one beer each as they had run out in the lounge!) then headed out onto the walking street to see the first of 2012’s ice sculptures. Rugged up in thermals, hats, gloves and arctic jackets made it difficult to see the grins on our faces, but they were there – this is what we had come to China for – let the real adventure begin!
Minus 30 is cold, in fact it’s very cold. It is so cold in fact that when I set up my tripod to take some photos, the winder clamp (plastic) shattered! Hmmm – no tripod...
We wandered for an hour or so, and then found somewhere for dinner, thawed out for a while, then back to the holiday inn where we called it a night.
Harbin has an airport serving most major Chinese airlines which is well equipped and quite modern with a scattering of Skyteam lounges if travelling First or if an Elite Skyteam member (Gold or Platinum). You will also need to be travelling China Southern or China Eastern to use the lounges, however, have low expectations of the lounges and you will not be disappointed.
My travel to and from Harbin has been varied, I have used high speed train twice from Beijing, this train travels at around 145kph average and is a nice trip in First Class watching the world go by, I have also travelled Harbin to Beijing by First Class Sleeper which was slow and not overly enjoyable with rather cramped conditions, strangers sleeping in the same cabin and lack of amenities on the train. Finally, I have flown from Harbin to Shanghai on China Eastern which was a pleasant economy flight where my Skyteam status was recognised with lounge access and row 1 of Y class seating with spare seats blocked. My travel preference is train and with some of the extreme weather that can affect Harbin, train is also the most reliable means of transport. There will be a high speed rail link – 300kph train within the next few years from Beijing to Harbin opening access to Harbin up even further.
Our journey from Beijing to Harbin started well. The Holiday Inn Beijing forgot to wake-up call us, so the day began rushed and unnecessarily stressed. The late call 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time from the hotel time ensured that the pre ordered taxi had buggered off, and checking out was not overly painless. However, we managed to board our train, the seats were wide and comfortable in First Class, and apart from a smelly man behind us, and a constant talker behind Mark, the journey was quite good.
On arrival into Harbin, the temperature was hovering around minus 20C and the usual Taxi Mafia were in force at the taxi rank. On advice given previously by a Harbin local, we dragged our luggage about a km away from the station to a hotel where there was a taxi stop. On the way there we had tried to hail numerous taxis, in fact closer to the rail station, we hailed a taxi who stopped, and while we were in negotiations as to where we were going, a woman ran up and said something to the driver who in turn sped away. We had to assume this was also part of the taxi Mafia at work and she had warned off the driver from pickups not endorsed by the crims.
After a 10 minute ride, we arrived at the Holiday Inn Harbin, which is at the top end of the walking street. Very convenient location to most attractions and quite easy to get to and from by taxi. Check in was easy with our room documents pre-prepared waiting for us – my room had been booked through Agoda so no priority information was loaded. A quick flash of the Platinum card had me upgraded to the executive level with lounge access and free internet.
Our room although not huge, was modern and clean, with a nice view of a huge ice sculpture on a roundabout island outside of the hotel entrance. The king bed was comfortable, and the room wasn’t too hot. We again adjusted the temperature by opening the blinds and letting the outside extreme cold sap away the heat in the room – this allowed us to sleep well.
We met in the executive lounge, had a beer and a snack (one beer each as they had run out in the lounge!) then headed out onto the walking street to see the first of 2012’s ice sculptures. Rugged up in thermals, hats, gloves and arctic jackets made it difficult to see the grins on our faces, but they were there – this is what we had come to China for – let the real adventure begin!
Minus 30 is cold, in fact it’s very cold. It is so cold in fact that when I set up my tripod to take some photos, the winder clamp (plastic) shattered! Hmmm – no tripod...
We wandered for an hour or so, and then found somewhere for dinner, thawed out for a while, then back to the holiday inn where we called it a night.
munitalP
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Harbin Day 2
After breakfast – typical Holiday Inn (Asia) breakfast, we wandered out into the cold. With no real direction planned for the day – our first planned attraction to see would begin at about 530pm (once dark), so we headed in the direction of some of the many Harbin underground markets for some retail therapy. Harbin is not a real tourist city yet with the usual tourist trappings, the markets are not like southern Chinese cities where bargaining is expected – in fact the prices are shown on the labels and in most cases the store holders don’t budge. The goods seem to be mainly genuine, so there are actually some very good bargains if clothes shopping particularly for women.
We entered a food market and all four of us were immediately interested in what was for sale. There were some seriously different foods, for the more sensitive, not a place to go as a lot of taboo items were for sale such as dog, live turtles, bug larvae and a few other items best not mentioned. I wouldn’t have missed the experience, however would not be overly quick in going back to revisit.
Walking the length of the walking street, we finally got to the river. I wanted a new tripod, and after being mucked about at the Sunin Shopping centre, decided Wal-Mart would be the place to find what I wanted. The girls bid farewell to Mark and I as they headed for the ice and snow sculptures at the river park, and we headed into Wal-Mart. I must admit, it was a little different that the US where I have visited a couple of Wal-Marts in Vegas, but that said, except for the incredible number of staff, the products seemed to be the same in most cases and prices typically Wal-Mart cheap.
I got what I needed then headed then we headed across to the river park to find the girls who were admiring some of the ice sculptures on show. We walked down onto the river and met some dogs and some horses, then the child among us (I won’t mention it was you Mark) decided to have a toboggan ride on an ice slide which did about a million miles an hour! We left there and stopped in at the Starbucks Bar – well, that’s what it used to be called till Starbucks found out and forced the change of name – now the USA Bar. The owner is an eccentric with too much money and a love of all things tacky. The bar is full of photos of him and his other half, a beautiful Russian lady, in various poses dressed in mainly paramilitary gear, gun poses and other stuff. I did see a programme on Harbin where he was interviewed; he has never travelled to the USA and wondered why his visa application kept getting refused...
Ask in private about the toilets!
Anyway, we headed back to the hotel for a rest, then shortly after were out to Zhaolin Park where the Ice festival kicked off in full for us. The park, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel was lit up in every colour you could imagine – I will let the photos do the talking, but it was “back in wonderland” for Kim and I, and a serious wow moment for Mark and Chee. Even though this display is relatively small, it is still amazing, the ice and snow on the ground, the neon effect of the illuminated ice (some done with coloured fluros embedded in the ice, some with fibre optic – it was awesome.
The park is about the size of two MCG’s and every inch was used in ice sculptures, buildings and structures, all lit up and all masterfully built. The two main disappointments for me were the pesky “official photographers” who tend to leave you alone if you are lugging a tripod about, but still try their best to walk in the way of a photograph, and the lack of snow on the ground. Harbin had not experienced the expected period of low (down to minus 15) they usually have in December (they had plummeted to minus 20ish straight away), so there was little snow on the ground.
We headed back to the hotel after a couple of hours with a stop at an authentic Harbin dumpling restaurant, a quick beer at the bar at the hotel, and were not long off sleep.
After breakfast – typical Holiday Inn (Asia) breakfast, we wandered out into the cold. With no real direction planned for the day – our first planned attraction to see would begin at about 530pm (once dark), so we headed in the direction of some of the many Harbin underground markets for some retail therapy. Harbin is not a real tourist city yet with the usual tourist trappings, the markets are not like southern Chinese cities where bargaining is expected – in fact the prices are shown on the labels and in most cases the store holders don’t budge. The goods seem to be mainly genuine, so there are actually some very good bargains if clothes shopping particularly for women.
We entered a food market and all four of us were immediately interested in what was for sale. There were some seriously different foods, for the more sensitive, not a place to go as a lot of taboo items were for sale such as dog, live turtles, bug larvae and a few other items best not mentioned. I wouldn’t have missed the experience, however would not be overly quick in going back to revisit.
Walking the length of the walking street, we finally got to the river. I wanted a new tripod, and after being mucked about at the Sunin Shopping centre, decided Wal-Mart would be the place to find what I wanted. The girls bid farewell to Mark and I as they headed for the ice and snow sculptures at the river park, and we headed into Wal-Mart. I must admit, it was a little different that the US where I have visited a couple of Wal-Marts in Vegas, but that said, except for the incredible number of staff, the products seemed to be the same in most cases and prices typically Wal-Mart cheap.
I got what I needed then headed then we headed across to the river park to find the girls who were admiring some of the ice sculptures on show. We walked down onto the river and met some dogs and some horses, then the child among us (I won’t mention it was you Mark) decided to have a toboggan ride on an ice slide which did about a million miles an hour! We left there and stopped in at the Starbucks Bar – well, that’s what it used to be called till Starbucks found out and forced the change of name – now the USA Bar. The owner is an eccentric with too much money and a love of all things tacky. The bar is full of photos of him and his other half, a beautiful Russian lady, in various poses dressed in mainly paramilitary gear, gun poses and other stuff. I did see a programme on Harbin where he was interviewed; he has never travelled to the USA and wondered why his visa application kept getting refused...
Ask in private about the toilets!
Anyway, we headed back to the hotel for a rest, then shortly after were out to Zhaolin Park where the Ice festival kicked off in full for us. The park, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel was lit up in every colour you could imagine – I will let the photos do the talking, but it was “back in wonderland” for Kim and I, and a serious wow moment for Mark and Chee. Even though this display is relatively small, it is still amazing, the ice and snow on the ground, the neon effect of the illuminated ice (some done with coloured fluros embedded in the ice, some with fibre optic – it was awesome.
The park is about the size of two MCG’s and every inch was used in ice sculptures, buildings and structures, all lit up and all masterfully built. The two main disappointments for me were the pesky “official photographers” who tend to leave you alone if you are lugging a tripod about, but still try their best to walk in the way of a photograph, and the lack of snow on the ground. Harbin had not experienced the expected period of low (down to minus 15) they usually have in December (they had plummeted to minus 20ish straight away), so there was little snow on the ground.
We headed back to the hotel after a couple of hours with a stop at an authentic Harbin dumpling restaurant, a quick beer at the bar at the hotel, and were not long off sleep.
munitalP
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Harbin Day 3
Sun Island snow sculptures.
We caught a cab across the river to Sun Island. The day was a beautiful blue sky with an air temperature of about minus 15 to minus 20. On arrival, we were greeted by hundreds of symmetrical snowmen lined up at the gate – I purchased a name tag which after I wrote on it, hung it on a snowman which would stay there for the next 3 weeks. We walked through the park and admired snow sculptures that defied belief. There was a town carved from snow, with buildings you could enter for coffee, there were snow sculptures over 30 meters tall, there were sculptures so technically perfect you were finding it hard to be drawn away from them. It was amazing.
On our previous visit to Harbin, we were unaware that this park existed, so seeing this was surreal and again – welcome to wonderland – the Alice in me was getting a workout! There were a few amusements at the park, one being hire beach buggies that were on a slippery ice circuit – my turn to be a kid and what fun it was at 50kph and out of control on the ice – I’m still grinning
We walked out of the park through a different gate than we entered, and once we reached the river, our transport mode was, 1 - a horse drawn sled across the frozen river, 2 - walk across the river on a well worn track, 3 - a cable car across the river or, 4 - a taxi. We chose the cable car, and a fist full of RMB later, we were on our way 30 meters above the frozen Songhua River back to the city. For what it’s worth, the tourist dollars are not being spent on maintenance!
On arrival back at the walking street, we ran straight into the opening ceremony of the Ice festival with street entertainment and music on our way back to a late lunch and the hotel.
After a quick rest, we were waiting in the lobby for our “free ride” out to the ice festival. This was the only thing we done in China that was out of our organised control, and this was the only thing in China that turned out to be a cough up. We were convinced by the concierge that the “Tourist Commission” organised “Free Bus” to the event was 100% above board and reliable. Be believed him – what a mistake. The last time I visited the event, we organised a taxi to wait for us, and I can’t believe we didn’t do this again – but alas...
Anyway, after having to pay the tourist guide (meh) our entrance fee up front which was actually quite a lot of money, we got driven around Harbin then finally over to the festival. Wow – again I will let the photos speak for themselves. Last visit to Harbin we saw this festive area in the daylight and it was amazing, but add darkness and lights took it to a new dimension. Walking through the gates was like walking into a dreamscape. The sounds and lights, the cold – everything was crazily proportioned to just make it unreal. I am so happy I have seen this special place in daytime and at night although different in design. My photography was severely compromised when my EOS lost all auto focus, then towards the end of the night, it froze – literally, a Canon ice block... I’m glad extreme 3 memory is rated for lower temperatures than the minus 25-30 we were in.
At the end of the night, we met our driver then ended up waiting for an hour in a freezing van – in retrospect as funny as hell, at the time no so. Thinking we (us 4) were the only English speaking in the van, Chee leapt into a rather funny rant at the driver which included quite a number of F words. About 5 minutes later, we found out everyone in the van except the driver spoke English! LOL
Finally back at the hotel and into the bar for a warm up!
Sun Island snow sculptures.
We caught a cab across the river to Sun Island. The day was a beautiful blue sky with an air temperature of about minus 15 to minus 20. On arrival, we were greeted by hundreds of symmetrical snowmen lined up at the gate – I purchased a name tag which after I wrote on it, hung it on a snowman which would stay there for the next 3 weeks. We walked through the park and admired snow sculptures that defied belief. There was a town carved from snow, with buildings you could enter for coffee, there were snow sculptures over 30 meters tall, there were sculptures so technically perfect you were finding it hard to be drawn away from them. It was amazing.
On our previous visit to Harbin, we were unaware that this park existed, so seeing this was surreal and again – welcome to wonderland – the Alice in me was getting a workout! There were a few amusements at the park, one being hire beach buggies that were on a slippery ice circuit – my turn to be a kid and what fun it was at 50kph and out of control on the ice – I’m still grinning
We walked out of the park through a different gate than we entered, and once we reached the river, our transport mode was, 1 - a horse drawn sled across the frozen river, 2 - walk across the river on a well worn track, 3 - a cable car across the river or, 4 - a taxi. We chose the cable car, and a fist full of RMB later, we were on our way 30 meters above the frozen Songhua River back to the city. For what it’s worth, the tourist dollars are not being spent on maintenance!
On arrival back at the walking street, we ran straight into the opening ceremony of the Ice festival with street entertainment and music on our way back to a late lunch and the hotel.
After a quick rest, we were waiting in the lobby for our “free ride” out to the ice festival. This was the only thing we done in China that was out of our organised control, and this was the only thing in China that turned out to be a cough up. We were convinced by the concierge that the “Tourist Commission” organised “Free Bus” to the event was 100% above board and reliable. Be believed him – what a mistake. The last time I visited the event, we organised a taxi to wait for us, and I can’t believe we didn’t do this again – but alas...
Anyway, after having to pay the tourist guide (meh) our entrance fee up front which was actually quite a lot of money, we got driven around Harbin then finally over to the festival. Wow – again I will let the photos speak for themselves. Last visit to Harbin we saw this festive area in the daylight and it was amazing, but add darkness and lights took it to a new dimension. Walking through the gates was like walking into a dreamscape. The sounds and lights, the cold – everything was crazily proportioned to just make it unreal. I am so happy I have seen this special place in daytime and at night although different in design. My photography was severely compromised when my EOS lost all auto focus, then towards the end of the night, it froze – literally, a Canon ice block... I’m glad extreme 3 memory is rated for lower temperatures than the minus 25-30 we were in.
At the end of the night, we met our driver then ended up waiting for an hour in a freezing van – in retrospect as funny as hell, at the time no so. Thinking we (us 4) were the only English speaking in the van, Chee leapt into a rather funny rant at the driver which included quite a number of F words. About 5 minutes later, we found out everyone in the van except the driver spoke English! LOL
Finally back at the hotel and into the bar for a warm up!
munitalP
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Harbin Day 4
After organising a cab, we left the hotel with a great driver. He was honest, witty and didn’t speak a word of English, however got us through Harbin to the site of a WWII Japanese germ warfare experimental prison camp - UNIT 731 – the Auschwitz of Asia. Very humbling and left me moved at what I had seen – the coughs understates my feelings... FWIW, the Japanese still refuse to acknowledge the atrocities they committed in Harbin during their occupation.
We left there and headed into a computer / camera market, I had decided to buy a new tripod (#2) for the trip and splash a few more RMB than I had at Walmart, so after some looking over 7 or 8 floors, I decided on a high quality unit that I hope will last a while.
Heading back to the hotel, the girls decided shopping was in order, so a couple of hours in the markets then drinks at the exec lounge. We were treated to an awesome fireworks display right outside the window on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] floor, then headed down to the restaurant for dinner followed by drinks, karaoke and more drinks – technically holiday over.
Harbin Day 5
Our day started with packing for our long trip home beginning with an exciting high speed pursuit – 2 cabs racing through Harbin at up to 140 km in vehicle free 70 km zones – it was like something from a Jackie Chan movie! I’ll explain...
Our cab driver from the day before arrived to take us all to the airport, a 25 minute drive from downtown. On looking at our luggage, he called another cab over so one cab morphed to two. Our agreed price of 150RMB to the airport was negotiated, and off we went. Congestion led to empty 3 land roads through new housing estates where the lead foot of the drivers were unleashed. We finally got onto a freeway and boy they drove fast – a presidential convoy of two cabs – scary, kind of!
Our arrival at Harbin airport dropped us at the entrance to a modern airport where we quickly found our China Eastern check in and were allocated the front rows of Y in what we thought was an A330 based on our seat numbers. Passing through security – don’t let anyone tell you that the Chinese don’t take it seriously, they do, its slow and painful, but it is thorough. After being through metal detectors, patted down then stood on a small stool and checked again, I was finally let through into the departure area.
We wandered through and spotted a China Southern lounge, pulled out the Sky Team elite cards and gained entry. If you expect nothing from these lounges, you won’t be disappointed.
Finally boarding commenced, boarding pass checked and scanned, take 4 paces and boarding pass rechecked at entrance to Air Bridge. At end of bridge, another guard checking the boarding pass again however, once on the plane, no checks.
Our A330 turned out to be an A320 with some of the strangest seat numbering ever – see the picture of the boarding pass remembering this is row 1 of Y.
I found the flight enjoyable, the service was good, the aircraft newish, fresh and very clean.
Landing at PVG after a couple of hours, we transferred terminals with minimal fuss, checked in at the business check in for QF then up to the shared lounge for a few drinks and snacks. Our A330 home was on time and we had a reasonably fast flight back to Sydney. Swapped flights around at the transfer desk so we were all on the same flight to MEL and over for showers and snacks in the J lounge. Another uneventful flight had us in Melbourne and we were soon heading home.
After organising a cab, we left the hotel with a great driver. He was honest, witty and didn’t speak a word of English, however got us through Harbin to the site of a WWII Japanese germ warfare experimental prison camp - UNIT 731 – the Auschwitz of Asia. Very humbling and left me moved at what I had seen – the coughs understates my feelings... FWIW, the Japanese still refuse to acknowledge the atrocities they committed in Harbin during their occupation.
We left there and headed into a computer / camera market, I had decided to buy a new tripod (#2) for the trip and splash a few more RMB than I had at Walmart, so after some looking over 7 or 8 floors, I decided on a high quality unit that I hope will last a while.
Heading back to the hotel, the girls decided shopping was in order, so a couple of hours in the markets then drinks at the exec lounge. We were treated to an awesome fireworks display right outside the window on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP] floor, then headed down to the restaurant for dinner followed by drinks, karaoke and more drinks – technically holiday over.
Harbin Day 5
Our day started with packing for our long trip home beginning with an exciting high speed pursuit – 2 cabs racing through Harbin at up to 140 km in vehicle free 70 km zones – it was like something from a Jackie Chan movie! I’ll explain...
Our cab driver from the day before arrived to take us all to the airport, a 25 minute drive from downtown. On looking at our luggage, he called another cab over so one cab morphed to two. Our agreed price of 150RMB to the airport was negotiated, and off we went. Congestion led to empty 3 land roads through new housing estates where the lead foot of the drivers were unleashed. We finally got onto a freeway and boy they drove fast – a presidential convoy of two cabs – scary, kind of!
Our arrival at Harbin airport dropped us at the entrance to a modern airport where we quickly found our China Eastern check in and were allocated the front rows of Y in what we thought was an A330 based on our seat numbers. Passing through security – don’t let anyone tell you that the Chinese don’t take it seriously, they do, its slow and painful, but it is thorough. After being through metal detectors, patted down then stood on a small stool and checked again, I was finally let through into the departure area.
We wandered through and spotted a China Southern lounge, pulled out the Sky Team elite cards and gained entry. If you expect nothing from these lounges, you won’t be disappointed.
Finally boarding commenced, boarding pass checked and scanned, take 4 paces and boarding pass rechecked at entrance to Air Bridge. At end of bridge, another guard checking the boarding pass again however, once on the plane, no checks.
Our A330 turned out to be an A320 with some of the strangest seat numbering ever – see the picture of the boarding pass remembering this is row 1 of Y.
I found the flight enjoyable, the service was good, the aircraft newish, fresh and very clean.
Landing at PVG after a couple of hours, we transferred terminals with minimal fuss, checked in at the business check in for QF then up to the shared lounge for a few drinks and snacks. Our A330 home was on time and we had a reasonably fast flight back to Sydney. Swapped flights around at the transfer desk so we were all on the same flight to MEL and over for showers and snacks in the J lounge. Another uneventful flight had us in Melbourne and we were soon heading home.
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Thanks for putting up all the photos. I remember your last trip to Harbin (about a fortnight before my trip there). Looks like you had a lot of fun. I am seriously considering going back next year and this TR is positively influencing my decision making process.
Unit 731 is a very sombre place and well worth a visit to see what horrors people can inflict on others.
Unit 731 is a very sombre place and well worth a visit to see what horrors people can inflict on others.
Great TR, and your photos really captured the festival really well. Looks very cold I think I was very lucky, I was in Harbin at the start of Feb and it was positively balmy when I was there with a temp range of -14 to -4. I only had time for 1 day, so only saw the main Ice sculpture site and the snow sculptures on Sun Island, but well worth it. Good choice though on going across the river via cable car, I elected to walk across the river, which was very cold with the wind whipping along the ice. Was sort of fun though. Also love your comment about the airport lounge, yes expect very little. Although at least they gave me access, as technically need same day international connxn on Skyteam to access lounges - as I have been advised in PEK and PVG.
munitalP
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Yeah, we could only access one of the two lounges at the end of the airport we were at - I am assuming there were lounges at the opposite end. The dragon at the second lounge - another China Southern longe was cough about following the rules - no access if flying China Eastern
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