Winter Getaway to Harbin

by+Cecile+Zehnacker

Harbin， in Heilongjiang Prov- ince， is a city with strong Western influences because it is close to borders of other countries， and has a long history of immigration. Originally a small rural area along the Songhua River， Harbin， which means “a place for drying fishing nets” in the Manchu language， became an international city with the arrival of the Chinese Eastern Railway project in 1898. This development brought many foreigners to Harbin， with the growing immigrant community of over 50 nationalities speaking 45 different languages.

The Chinese Eastern Railway was built to cut the track length of the fabled TransSiberian Railway between Chita in Siberia and Vladivostok in Russia， by routing it through China and namely Harbin. The city became even more international in the early 20th Century with a massive influx of Russian immigrants. At that time， over a third of Harbins 300，000 inhabitants were Russians， which led to the emergence of Russian schools and Russian language newspapers. Harbin， which is now one of the largest cities of northern China with over 5 million inhabitants， continues to be characterized by the influences of immigrants from neighboring countries. The dialect has Russian and Russian-inspired words， many local delicacies have their origin in Russian， Korean and Mongolian cuisine， and the architecture shows strong Western influences. These have earned the city its nickname of “Oriental Moscow.”

Harbin is a nice city to visit at any time of the year. Walking its beautiful streets is a first step in the discovery of its rich culture and the very special ambience of northern Chinese cities. In one of the main streets stands the famous Saint Sophia Cathedral， a former Russian Orthodox church which was built in 1907 soon after completion of the new railway. This magnificent piece of architecture， which became Harbins Architectural Art Gallery in 1997， is today a national cultural heritage site.

A visit in winter， despite the freezing weather， could be the ideal opportunity to witness the worlds biggest ice and snow exhibition， the “Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.” Every year， from the beginning of January， three different places of the city unveil amazing ice and snow sculptures as well as ice lanterns. The ice lanterns have long been part of Harbin folk and art culture and were originally used for night lighting when fishermen were fishing along the Songhua River. However the modern lantern art of Harbin took a turn in the second part of the 19th Century， and the first Ice Lantern Fair was held in Harbins Zhaolin Park in 1963. After being interrupted for a few years， it resumed in 1985 along with what became the “Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival” after merging with Heilongjiangs Ski Festival in 2001.

Each of the three sites is well worth a visit. The Zhaolin Park， though smaller， is in the heart of the city. Its “Harbin Ice Lantern Show” brings a combination of illuminated ice sculptures and beautiful Chinese lanterns. It also holds an international ice sculpture exhibition every year. Due to its smaller size， it offers a cozier atmosphere than the other two places and is best visited at night for enjoying the beautiful lights. “Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo，” in Sun Island Scenic Area， is better seen in daylight. It stands on the other side of the Songhua River， in a huge natural park surrounded by lakes and rocks. I found it the most amazing in this festival. When I visited， one of the sculptures was a huge， 10-meter-high wall， representing a big fresco surrounded by real-size houses made of snow in an area shaped like a little village. It also hosts an international snow sculpture competition every year.

But the biggest attraction of the festival is the Harbin “Ice and Snow World.” This is a huge theme park， colorfully and beautifully illuminated at night which gathers real-size monuments and statues made of ice， and snow. At this time of the year， since temperatures fall to minus 25 degrees Celsius， it may be hard to spend more than a couple of hours outside. But， that is enough time to enjoy all the attractions as the show is mainly visual with illuminated ice-made monuments. The park also holds some wellorchestrated on-ice shows and entertainment events. With so many other interesting places to discover in the city and delicious food to taste， it is worth bearing the cold to indulge in this fairytale environment that engages the young and old alike.

The 32nd Harbin Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival， with theme “Happy Ice Snow， Exciting City，” will kick off on January 5， 2016.