Vamos a la Playa

After having finished my classes last week, I decided to go to the Northern city of Harbin. Harbin is famous for its "pluto- like" climate (-20 to -30 Celsius, see picture!) and of course its touristy Ice Lantern Festival. Moreover, its geographical location (i.e. between Vladivistok and Beijing) reveals its interesting political past (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbin).

I left Wuxi on Monday and was lucky enough (the plane suffered from massive turbulences and we eventually were forced to stop at Beijing for a couple of hours) to arrive the same evening. The youth hostel was a bit crappy (no water/ electricity for a day and electric shocks in the shower), however its location wasn't all that bad (30 mins away from the centre).

The first day I visited the city centre and the Flood Control Monument. The latter was erected to commemorate those who had fallen in the massive flood of 1957. The water level of the semi-circular pools near to the column mark the level reached by the flood at that time.

Later I visited the Church of St. Sophia, which is in fact the biggest Orthodox Church in the Far East. It was completed in 1907 and initially built to reconsolidate the confidence of Russian army troops after the Russo-Japanese War.

The second day I visited the ice and snow sculptures in the city centre. I just uploaded the pictures on my Picasa website (see the "linx” section for exact address). The same day I also visited “Ice world”, a large event where huge ice sculptures of famous figures and buildings are showcased in a massive scale. Ironically, I was wondering through the sculptures with loud Russian tekno remixes of “Vamos a la Playa” coming from the massive speakers surrounding the park.

I also got the chance to visit the last remaining Siberian tigers in the world (not mentioning those living around the N- Korean border)! It was a great experience, seeing them so close you could smell them. In fact I even could touch them (If only I dared). However, even the Siberian Tigers cuddled together in Harbin’s harsh climate.

I would have loved to stay longer in Harbin, the city is a lot more welcoming than Wuxi. But unfortunately I was forced to leave early to catch the train back home, a journey that took me 33 (!) hours, along snowy landscapes, small villages and other beautiful sceneries.

China can be marvelous at times!

Marijn

A nice Russian resto, which served Pelmeni, Beefstroganoff and of course tasty Bliny!