Our Trip
I'm not sure where to start here, let's just say it was as cold (-12 degrees celsius) as it was spectacular.
We arrived to below freezing temperatures in Harbin, China (Heilongjiang Province) on January 9, 2009. This is the best time to travel to Harbin the most northeast part of China, because this is where the Harbin Ice Festival takes place bringing people from all over the world to see.
We (and 2 other families) arrived late Friday night, and first thing Saturday we left for the Siberian Tiger Park which is the largest park of its kind in the world. The endangered Siberian Tigers were huge and they were hungry!
When we arrived at the park we purchased our tickets and also bought food to feed the tigers. You do this to make them come out so you can see them. We decided to start small and bought a couple of chickens (live of course!) to feed to them. We all boarded a bus and took off for the wild with cameras in hand. When we arrived in the park another smaller car pulled up beside us and let go one chicken at a time. The tigers jumped on the car and caught the chicken and proceeded to eat it. These tigers are very large and to see them killing another animal was a little unnerving at first but then became great entertainment. By the time the chickens were done we were ready to move on to bigger and better things.
We decided to add a goat (we could have bought a cow but that seemed a little in-humane) as a final desert for the tigers. We all pooled our money and the next thing I know, there is a truck pulling up beside us with a live goat inside. The tigers circled the truck evidently knowing exactly what they were about to receive. When the truck released the goat the tigers circled around the goat and then one went in for his prize. The tiger got the goat and dragged it to a quiet area where he licked it before killing it. I hope Sophie doesn't need too much therapy after that one. It was a little traumatic for her!!
Fun Facts & Tips
Harbin is north east of Beijing close to the Russian border and about a 3 hour flight from Shanghai. It is here that showcases China's annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
Harbin is ranked the 10th largest city in China with a population of approximately 9.8 million people.
Whatever you do and whatever you pack, you will not be warm enough. We were constantly cold but the city was so breathtakenly beautiful with the snow and ice sculptures, it was well worth a little inconveniece.
We stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, Harbin. This hotel worked great for us. It is located on the Sun Hua River and less then a 5 minute walk from more ice slides for the kids, horseback riding and ice skating that was right on the river. Also, the crazy people in Harbin carved out a huge pool in the river and built a diving board that they jumped from in the freezing cold water on a daily basis. Of course there was a charge to see this but it was minimal.
We liked the food and I guess the $250 per night room charge was worth it as the staff were very helpful and the food decent. The hotel also had a really cool ice bar attached to it that we wandered into but didn’t stay, it was way too cold in there!!
Make sure not to miss the Siberian Tiger Park. This is the home to 90 tigers and 15 African Lions. The mission of the park is to save the Manchurian Tigers from extinction. This tour can be done in ½ a day and you do not need a guide.
At night we visited the Harbin Ice and Snow World home to the world’s largest ice and snow art exhibition. We not only saw the most spectacular lights and buildings we have ever seen, but, also got to ride down huge ice slides. It was a hit for everyone and well worth our trip to Harbin.
There are a few more things to do in Harbin this time of year but we didn’t have time to hit them. I’ve heard the Church of St. Sophia is also a wonderful side trip if you have time.
Welcome to Harbin, China
Snow World across the Songhua River at Sun Island.
Needless to say the kids all had a grand time playing in the snow and taking advantage of the many ice slides. Sophie said her favorite part was horseback riding on the frozen river and making snow angels. We haven't seen that much snow in a very long time. After 2 days we were all freezing and ready to come back to Shanghai.
Ice Festival
Very hungry Siberian Tiger!
After the Tiger Park we went back to the hotel for some lunch, French Onion Soup for me, no meat please! Then we were off to the snow park to see the snow sculptures and have some fun tubing down the slides.
That night we all grabbed taxi’s and headed for the ice festival. This was the best part of the trip. It was beautiful, enormous and lots of fun.
In order to truly appreciate the beauty of the ice and snow sculptures feel fee to browse our photo album.