Harbin Travel Forum

Hi, fellow travellers,

Tried getting tips on Harbin and Heilongjiang on this website, but found very little information. We are thinking of adventuring to Harbin in late Jan 06. Would you kindly tell me:
(a) whether we could experience snow fall in the city?
(b) what are the places of interest?
(c) what recommendations for a `warm-blooded' person (I live in the tropics)?
Thank you in advance. Thank you.

(a) Definitely! It's about -30 degrees Celsius, in case you haven't realised...!
(b) Ice sculptures at Zhaolin Park, snow sculptures at Sun Island, St Sophia Church, road of Russian/Western architecture, Siberian Tiger Park, etc. Look around online or in a guidebook, please.
(c) Wear as many layers as you can. Have good fleece-lined, waterproof boots. Have at least 2 pairs of gloves on your hands. Wrap a scarf around your head, the only part of your face showing should be your eyes.

Harbin:What is it like in late Jan 06?

Cold!

Jack

Thanks Jocelyn & Jack for your tips,
We're now having second thoughts to venture to this cold place in Winter. An alternative is to consider the warmer Summer, which I guess would be still cold. I think we may need a lot of motivation. I have just read about a fellow traveller mentioning about having regrets for going there. Wonder why? My guess is that the cold cold winter could be hard to go through and maybe tortuous!?

No, I'd still definitely go there! I was there in end-Jan this year and I really enjoyed my time there. Come on, it's not often that you get to experience the cold, so it'll be a memorable experience for you. :)

Hi, Ellyse,

I'm still planning. I have all the warm clothings for Autumn but it looks like they are not enough. Your tip on wrapping your body leaving only your eyes is frightening. What happens when we enter a building - are the warm air from the heater sufficient to warm us up? How many days do you think we need to stay? Thanks.

Yes, definitely! It's a bit of a race to tear layers off when you enter buildings, actually. I'd recommend about 3 days, maybe 4 if you want to see the Unit 731 remains. I was there about 5 and more or less only because I had a classmate to stay with in Harbin.

Hi, Ellyse,

Looks like it's Winter and summer all in one! Still hesitating to take the plunge. Thinking of using Beijing or Dalian as springboard to hop to Harbin. Would we be able to enjoy falling flakes of snow during the period? Thanks.

I actually did Harbin as one of the stops on a 1.5-month-long trip. The locations that I stopped at between Beijing (I started from further south than that, actually) and Harbin were: Tianjin, Dalian (no ferry to Dalian from Tianjin, train was expensive!), Dandong and Shenyang. There was a bit of snow left in Beijing (I was there in Jan this year) but definitely none in Dalian.

Wow! Sounds like you are very adventurous and hardy. When you said there was bit of snow left in Beijing in January, are you referring to snow fakes or the fallen snow. We would love to experience falling snow fakes for a change - somewhere we can become kids again, play with snow as they are falling and build snowman...

It is a wonderful world in Jan.Snow & Ice Festival is usually opened on Jan 5,and Jan 6 will be the heyday of the event.You can enjoy ice lanterns,snow sculptures and some local food.
As a native,I'd like to suggest you come here to have a memorable experience.
Hope you will have a nice day here.

Thanks Rupert for your invitation. We are still mulling over it. We live in the tropics where all year round the weather is hovering around 32 degrees Censius. Imagine staying in a place minus 20 degrees! And I am really scare of cold!!! BTW, will there be snow in the city during this period?

Heh Edy8 we're from the same place. The snow left-over in Beijing was on the ground. In Harbin there'll be snowfall for sure.

Snow comes later this year.No snow and not too cold here at present.
I do not think snow and ice will prevent visitors who dream to come here.In fact,a lot of visitors in Jan are from South of China and some tropical countries as far as i know.

Yeah, I met a traveller who visited Harbin during Summer - not cold, good food and nice tour, a good feedback. But Winter!? Anyway will decide when the time comes nearer. Thanks Rupert and Ellyse. BTW Ellyse - are you from Singapore?

I think you can google weather info. about Harbin on the net before you come here.
BTW,Our lunar new year will be on Jan.29.I am afraid it will be a rush time for visitors in late Jan 06.You had better make a reservation in the hotel.

Edy8, yes, you can find out where I'm from in my profile. Most travellers who come to Harbin come for the express purpose of experiencing the beauty of winter!

I was there in January 05, and I have a Harbin page.

(a) It snowed a couple of inches while I was there. I was surprised to see workers sweep the freeways by hand, with simple brooms.

(b) The three snow + ice festivals are fantastic. St Sophia is a beautiful big Russian cathedral. Unit 731 is not to be missed. And the pedestrian street is very pleasant. The Jile Se temple is very atmospheric.

(c) Layers, layers, layers. Keep your camera close to your body. Don't worry, you'll have an (arctic) blast!

Thanks Oliver for your comments and the nice pictures in your homepage. I have to go back and look again. The thought of going there is appealing. Will decide later...

Harbin bought sweep trucks from Canada each year. However, it seems that they don't work well in Harbin because of the difference between Chinese and Canadian roads. In country side in New Jersey ppl cover the street with some kinda melting snow stuff, which is illegal in Harbin.

Thanks Lin for your comments....Haven't decided yet. If at all, maybe we will visit Harbin during the Spring festival, can see how the New Year is celebrated. BTW your photos are fantastic and astonishing! A picture speaks a thousand words and yours are good. Cheers.