China – Harbin

Harbin, Heilongjiang, China by Gautam Khattak

Last updated: January 19, 2012

Disclaimer: These are notes I’ve written or gathered from various sources. I have not experienced all things in this document nor is it intended to be a definitive guide.

General Tips

Currency: The currency in China is the RMB (or Chinese Yuan, CNY).

Conversion Tool: https://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS341&q=100USD+to+RMB&btnG=Google+Search&safe=active (Update for current rates)

$100 USD = 631.74 RMB

$1 USD = 6.32 RMB

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=100&From=HKD&To=USD

100 RMB = $15.83 USD

1 RMB = $0.16 USD

Tipping:

No need to tip

Travel Tips:

Harbin’s winters are extremely cold. In January, the average temperatures range from a high of –13 °C to a low of –25 °C So dress warmly to enjoy the festival.
In Harbin and the rest of China, if you use a taxi, make sure that the drivers turn the meter on. If you don’t, when you arrive, they will charge you their own prices. Also, carry small denomination bills, because you may be handed fake money if you try to get change.
From the airport or the train station, it is better to take a cab that is waiting in the official taxi waiting line to avoid problems.

Transportation

Harbin Map – http://www.travelchinaguide.com/images/map/harbin.jpg

From Airport: The Harbin Peace International Airport (Harbin Taiping Jichang) is about 35 kilometers southwest of the central old sector of Harbin where there are the major tourist highlights. There are shuttle buses and taxis available from the airport to central Harbin. Airport shuttle buses cost about 20 RMB to ride, and taxis are a little more than 100 RNB.

City Bus – The most convenient way of visiting in and around Harbin is via the extensive bus network with more than one hundred bus routes reaching all parts of the city. Usually, the starting time of these buses is between 05:00 and 06:30, and run until between 19:00 to 21:30. Most of the buses are self service, so you have to prepare enough small changes before boarding.

Additionally, two special tourist routes are operating between 07:00 to 19:00 daily. One departs from the Flood Control Monument and runs to Sun Island. The other passes several tourist spots in the downtown area, for example, the Flood Control Monument, St. Sofia Orthodox Church, Harbin Railway Station and Museum. Cost for a public bus ticket is 1-2 Yuan per ticket.

Trolleybus – No.117 is the only trolleybus route remaining in Harbin at present and runs between Harbin Infectious Disease Hospital and Qinjin Lu, passing Xiangfang Dajie, Harbin Normal University, etc. Working Hours: 06:00-20:30

Taxi – Taking a taxi is the best way to save time in your journey without time limit. Overall, the price of Harbin’s taxis is a little higher and is according with logo of the car. Usually, the taxi with a Xiali logo is CNY7 for the first three kilometers (about 1.86 miles) and then CNY1.6 for every additional kilometer. The flag-down rate of a taxi with the Jetta logo is CNY8 for the first three kilometers and CNY1.9 for each additional kilometer. The price of a taxi with the Chery logo is CNY7 for the first three kilometers and the distance surcharge is CNY1.9 per additional kilometer. Carry small denomination bills, because you may be handed fake money if you try to get change.

Ferry – At present, six ferry lines are in operation, four of which sail to Sun Island. You can take these ferries respectively at Jiu Zhan, Tongjiang Jie, the Flood Control Monument and Dao Wai Qi Dao Jie between 08:00 and 17:00. Common destinations by Ferry: Sun Island Park area, Siberian Tiger Park, Ice Lantern Festival and Grand World of Ice and Snow. There are ferries between Sun Island and the city center area. Every year the operation period of ferries is usually from April 20 till November 10, depending on the river condition. A single ferry ride takes about half an hour.

This year, visitors also have opportunities to take a night cruise aboard the cruise liner Dragon or Phoenix to enjoy the peace and tranquility of Harbin. This service operates from 15:00 to 22:30 while a luxury service operates from 15:00 to 21:00.

Tourist Destinations

Siberian Tiger Park – The best seasons for visiting the Siberia Tiger Park are summer and winter when a wild training field is open to visitors. Visitors can enjoy the exciting scene of tigers attacking prey.

Admission Fee: CNY90 (for adult)

CNY50 (for children between 110cm-140cm)

Opening Hour: 09:00-16:00

Recommend Time for a Visit: 1 Hour

Bus Route: Bus 85 to Siberia Tiger Park (Dongbeihu Yuanlin), terminus of the bus route.

During Harbin Ice and Snow Festival

Admission Fee:	Sun Island Park (Snow Sculpture Art Exposition)	Harbin Ice and Snow World	Zhaolin Park (Ice Lantern Garden Party )
Admission Fee:	Adult: CNY 240CNY120 for children	13:30-21:00 CNY 300/CNY330 (January 13, January 2-28, February 6)CNY160 for children09:30-13:30 CNY100/CNY60 for children CNY260 during December 7-December 31	CNY 200 (night)Usually half the price for day ticket and children
Opening Time:	December 20	December 27	December 20
Operating Hours:	08:30-19:00	09:30-21:00	09:00-21:00 17:00-21:00 for night ticket
Bus Route:	85	54, 88, 118	8, 53, 74, 83, 113, 114, 206

Harbin Polarland – The first polar land themed park combining animal shows, polar land sights and an interactive experience into one. It is located at the famous scenic site in Harbin – Sun Island. Based on the mysterious polar region and using design ideas from an advanced theme park, the park is ready to offer every visitor a wondrous, dreamy and happy round-the-world journey which is told as stories or scenarios.

Harbin Polarland is mainly composed of “Daxing’an Mountain”, “Fisherman’s Wharf”, “Whale’s Bay”, “South Pole Penguin’s Island”, “North Pole Animal’s Home”, “Happy Sea Lion’s Kingdom” and other tourist attractions. Over 10,000 pole ocean animals belonging to over 600 kinds from the world gather here and actively interact with visitors.

In this polar land, other animals from the North Pole such as arctic wolves, arctic foxes and polar bears can be seen in “North Pole Animal’s Home”. Come here and enjoy a memorable polar land journey!

Entrance Fee:	CNY 120 (including belugas and sea lions performances); CNY 60 for children above 1.2 meters and below 1.4 meters; Free for children below 1.4 meters;
Opening Hours:	08:30-17:00 (May 1-Oct.8); 09:00-17:00 (Oct.9-Apr.30)
Bus Route:	Take bus no.29, 54, 80, 85, 88 or 346 and get off at Sun Island Station.

Harbin Ice and Snow World – Harbin Ice and Snow World is also a centre for various forms of recreation and entertainment, with a variety of opportunities on offer. Visitors will be amazed by the magnificent ice buildings, including an ice maze, ice bar, and even an ice hotel. If you are a fan of snow sports, then there is also the chance to participate in activities such as ice rock-climbing, skating, skiing, sliding, snow fights, ice golf, and ice archery. In addition to all this, special performances based on the festival theme are put on throughout the event which will no doubt greatly entertain those in search of something a little less physically-demanding. One of the highlights for any visitor to the festival is to visit the site at night when multicolored lights set underground illuminate the sculptures, revealing a whole new colorful dimension to the exhibits. The contrasts of the bright and dazzling lights against the dark night sky make the works look all the more spectacular.

Admission Fee:	13:30-21:00 CNY300; CNY330 (January 1-3, January 22-28, February 6) CNY160 for children between 1.2-1.4 meters Free of charge for children under 1.2 meters During the trial operating time before January 1 CNY260 December 27-3109:30-13:30 CNY100/CNY60 for childrenNote: The admission fee above is that for 2010-2011 during the Ice and Snow Festival and is subject to change each year.
Opening Hours:	09:30-21:00 during the Harbin Ice Festival since December 27
Bus Route:	Take bus 211, 212, 213, 346 to Sun Island Road Crossing (Taiyangdao Daokou) Station. Harbin Bus Search

Ice Lantern Garden Party – The Ice Lantern Garden Party in Harbin City is the earliest and biggest artistic exhibition of the ice lantern in the open air in the world covering an area of 6.5 hectare (about 16 acres) and the quantity of used ice is about 2,000 stere (about 71000 cubic feet). It is listed as one of the 35 national ‘absolutely rare and wonderfully beautiful’ scenic spots by National Tourist Office .

Admission Fee:	CNY 150 (CNY80 for night ticket)
The Time to Visit:	December 20 to the end of February
Bus Route:	Bus 8, 53, 74, 83, 113, 114, 201, 206 to Zhaolin Park

Sun Island Scenic Area – is the site of the Snow Sculpture Exposition displaying a wonderful snow world. It has the world’s largest indoor ice and snow art museum and it opens to the public from November every year.

Admission Fee:	During the Harbin International Snow Sculpture Expo is held CNY 240 for adults CNY120 for children between 1.2-1.4 meters Free of charge for children under 1.2 meters At other time: CNY 30 (just admission fee)
Opening Hours:	08:00-17:00 08:30-19:00 (during the snow sculpture expo)
Bus Route:	Take bus 29, 85, 88 to Sun Island Station. There is cable at Tongjiang Street, which can take you to the Sun Island.

Zhaolin Park – The ice festival and ice lantern show renowned at home and abroad are held every winter here. When the night fell, the ice lanterns in the park combine light, sound and action in one, resplendent with a great variety of colors. The vivid and fanciful designs collect the beautiful scene in the world. By taking the nature-endowed advantage of ice and snow, and using modern science and technology, the wise and industrious people make a number of exquisitely-carved ice and snow art work in different forms and shapes. They are praised as three-dimensional paintings solidifying notes and colorful poems. The charming scenery makes visitors immerse in fantasies and forget to return home.

The snow festival is held every January 5 th to the late February. Every year, new changes and surprises are presented before visitors, complimented as “the non-repetitive fairy tales”.

Admission Fee:	During the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival: CNY200 for adults CNY100 for children between 1.2-1.4 meters Free of charge for children under 1.2 meters At usual time: free
Opening Hours:	09:00-21:00 during the Ice and Snow Festival 05:00 – 18:30
Bus Routes:	Take bus 8, 53, 74, 83, 113, 114, 201, 206 and get off at Zhaolin Gongyuan (Zhaolin Park) Station. Harbin Bus Search

Sophia’s Church – St. Sophia Church in Harbin is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the Far East. It is 53.3 meters (175 feet) high and occupies an area of 721 square meters (0.18 acres). In November, 1996, it was listed as one of the Key Cultural Relics under State Protection. Half a year later, the Harbin City government repaired it and renamed it as Harbin Art Gallery. It is a respectable landmark for Harbiners and for tourism.

For the photographer, photography is permitted by purchasing a special ticket to hang on your camera.

Admission Fee:	CNY20
Opening Hour:	8:00-18:00
Bus Route:	1, 2, 13, 15, 64, 66, 113

Zhongyang Dajie (Central Street) (????)– Known as the ‘Eastern Moscow’, Harbin has always been regarded as a unique and exotic city. The most exotic place in Harbin is Central Street. As a new comer to Harbin without any idea of where to go, be sure to start your journey at ‘Central Street’. This long corridor of European architectural art is the pride of every Harbin. It provides an enthralling destination which abounds with history, attracting tourists from home and abroad.

The construction of the Central Street began in 1898. It was called the Chinese Street at its early age and gained its present name in the late 1920s. Originally, the street was opened up by carts used to transport railway supplies. In May, 1924, the Central Street was floored with square stones according to a Russian engineer’s design. Since then it has become a rendezvous of numerous foreign shops, hotels, and bars. Russian leather, British woolen cloth, French perfume, German medicine and plenty more can be found in this fashionable street. In 1997, Harbin government appointed the street as a pedestrian street, which added greater charm to this enchanting location.

As one of the longest pedestrian streets in Asia, whenever visitors come there, it will open up to them its charming vistas with its profound culture. It has been a comprehensive recreational place combining tourist pleasure with shopping excitement, and annually attracts thousands of visitors.

Recommended Time for a Visit:	One hour
Bus Route:	53, 113, 114, 201…

Yabuli International Ski Resort – The Yabuli International Ski Resort, the biggest and best ski resort in China, is 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Harbin and 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Mudanjiang in Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang Province. During the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), the resort was the hunting ground for feudal lords. The resort provides great skiing with high mountains and good snow. Local skiers enjoy the high elevation and the fact that the snow is neither too hard nor too powdery. The lowest temperature is -47.2F. Because of the high elevation, snow falls for a long period of about 170 days. The period from November to late March of the next year is the best time to ski at Yabuli Ski Resort.

The ski resort includes two distinctive areas: the competitive section and the leisure skiing section.

Time	Weekday	Weekend	Holiday
2 Hours	240	280		360
Half Day	320	380		460
Full Day	480	580		680

Lodging

Harbin Friendship Palace Hotel – T: 0451-84880668

??????????????263? China

No.263 Youyi Road, Daoli District, Harbin 150018, China

Good place to base yourself for the ice and snow festival. However, rooms are old and need some touch up. Service staffs are not up standard for a 4 stars hotel although prices are. This used to be the hotel of choice for the government officials before the 5 Stars hotel come up.

Distance from the airport ( Km ): 40
Distance from the railway station ( Km ): 3
Distance from the city center ( Km ): 1

Below is the hotel’s Chinese address and telephone number (jpeg image). You can print it and show to the local taxi driver, which is very useful to get to the hotel successfully.

Dining & Nightlife

Harbin cuisine still has its own specialties thanks to its special geographical position and long history. Local cuisine of Manchu mixes with Shandong Cuisine and exotic Russian cuisine, to give the important components of the existent Harbin cuisine, even the Heilongjiang cuisine. Like the warm hearted and straightforward locals, the Harbin dishes tend to feature hot and dense, strong flavors. Even then the original flavor is still maintained as few spices are used.

Tips:

1. When you order dishes, it should be remembered that even numbers are preferred by locals.
2. Usually, fish and chicken take precedence. The cold dishes and salt dishes are eaten first, soup is the last dish.

3. It is no surprise to see the locals drinking beer as much as any German or Russian, as this is a way for locals to express their heroism and enthusiasm. The brands of Harbin Beer and New Three Star Beer are two popular local products.

Approximately ten kinds of dumplings with different stuffing can be sampled here. We recommend the Dongfang Jiaozi Wang (the king of eastern dumplings).

Specialties: sanxian dumpling; celery pork dumpling; dumpling stuffed with pork, nut kernels and corns; dumpling stuffed with fried beef; cabbage pork dumpling

Average cost: CNY30 per person

Branches of Daoli District: Zhongyang branch, No.39, Zhongyang Avenue. Take Bus 102, 110, 106 or 112 to get to Jingwei Jie.

Xinyang branch: No.233, Xinyang Lu. Take bus 102,14,22,78 or 110 to get to Anhe Jie.

Youyi branch: No.501, Youyi Lu. Take bus 56, 67, 201, 65 or 12 to get to Social and Scientific Administration

Branches of Guo Ge Li Dajie, Nangang District: Fendou branch, No.338. Take bus 7, 8, 63, 104, 14, 10, 55 or 18 to get to Qin Lin Shopping Hall.

Xiushui branch: No.188. Take bus 7, 8, 63, 109, 87 or 18 to get to Gexin Jie.

Lao Du Yi Chu Dumpling Restaurant

Another time-honored dumpling restaurant in Harbin, it’s reasonable price is also attractive.

Average cost: CNY35 per person. But, please expect too high on this service!

Address: No.25, Xishisandao Jie, Dao Li District

Harbin Wu Ji Lao Hao Jiu Lou (Harbin Wu’s Time-honored Restaurant)

The authentic Dongbei food is the highlight of this so popular restaurant in Harbin.

Specialities: pork bone, mashed potato

Average cost: CNY50 per person

Dazhijie branch: No.208, Xidazhi Jie, Nan Gang District

Gongjianjie branch: No.57, Gongjian Jie, Nan Gang Ditrict

Da Feng Shou

Not only the food but also the decoration of this restaurant is full of flavor from the northeast China. On the other hand, you may be lucky to watch a local show of Er Ren Zhuan when dining.

Average cost: CNY50 per person

Address: No.283, Yiman Jie, Nan Gang District

Lao Shang Hao Sha Guo Ju (Lao Shang Hao Casserole)

It is a good choice to have the hot casserole when you come to Harbin in winter.

Average cost: CNY20 per person

Zhongyang branch: No.98, Zhong Yang Da Jie, Dao Li District

Guogeli branch: No.238, Guo Ge Li Da Jie, Nan Gang District

Helpful Links

Itinerary

Suggestions:

As a general, five days are enough to cover the highlights of Harbin. For a 2-day tour, in the morning travelers can stroll along the Central Street, a pedestrian for dining and sightseeing, and the old foreign-style buildings, and have lunch at one of the many western restaurants in the street. Head to the Sun Island Park after lunch, you may need around two hours to explore these ice artworks. Then take a free bus of the park to the Grand World of Ice and Snow.

For the second day, you may visit the St. Sophia’s Cathedral, the largest Orthodox cathedral in the Far East, Siberian Tiger Park that has hundreds of Siberian Tigers, lions, and other large cats on exhibit, and enjoy the fabulous ice lanterns show in Zhaolin Park in the evening.