Harbin Travel Forum

I will be in Beijing from Jan. 28 for three weeks. I am planning trips to Xi'an and perhaps Lhasa. I wonder if a flight to Harbin for one or two days to see the Lantern Festival is worth the money. When would be the best date? What else of interest is there to see there? Is one day enough? Thanks.

Not sure about the Lantern festival, but the annual internationial ice sculpture contest may be interesting. Harbin is a unique city, the architecture has a lot of Russian influence.

Have a good time.

http://www.whatsontheplanet.com/wow/ptnr/discovery/page.jsp?fx=event&event_id=24299

http://www.china-pictorial.com/chpic/htdocs/English/content/200204/7-2.htm

http://web.northnet.org/friends_of_sculpting/World%20Snow%20&%20Ice%20Events%202002.htm

About Harbin:
http://www.tefl.cc/HeilongJiang/

(The Lantern Festival is in Zigong, Sichuan)
First of all you should know that Chinese New Year is January 22 and it is always a week long holiday.
The first week of February would be the best time to go for a couple days of fun in Harbin. The ice and snow sculptures are definitely worth the trip. There are similar events in the suburbs of Beijing but the real thing in Harbin is an experience that should not be missed in China. What else is there in Harbin? Manchurian tigers, Russian architecture, as well as cheap skiing at nearby Yabuli resort. None of those activities top the Ice Festival however, which should occupy most of your time day and night.

I have a few questions.
Is there any package deal for ice festival in Harbin.
-from Honkong, Shanghai, Peking, Tokyo, Sapparo or Seoul?
If I arrive at the Harbin airport solo on my own, Can I make it to the city - find any hotel in reasonable price range?
Can I rent parkas or other clothings to survive there for a couple of days - what kind of clothings should I carry?

Which days will gave me the best opprtunity to make it during the festival time, avoiding the Chinese New Year?

Is it worth the trip?

Definitely... I've never seen anything like it in my life! These sculptures are HUGE and extremely sophisticated.... and so colourful.... I made the detour and didn't regret it one bit. Great for photos (if you like night time shots and can manage long exposures with your camera).

Organised trip vs doing it alone

I'm not a fan of organised trips... and I did it alone. I took the train from Beijing (great experience short description on my Harbin page) and then flew out to Shanghai. I checked out the hotel recommendations in LP, but ended up staying in a completely different hotel than the one I'd intended. Had a stack of anecdotes from that too...

Other things to do

The Ice sculptures are mainly for the night. I spent the day in the city centre - the architecture is great and there is a very typical Chinese "department store" in the city centre with a fascinating food hall!!!!

Have fun both of you

Clothing

It is desoperately cold. I had full thermal gear + divet jacket zipped into windproof jacket + 3 layers. I don't know about hiring clothes there though - I don't think it's a great place for outdoor activities. Loads of layers, a hat, gloves and windproof jacket should see you through (temperatures -20 / -30): FOR PHOTOS I bought a very good pair of gloves with rubber pads for better grip.