My travel buddies and I braved the cold and checked out the famous Harbin Ice and Snow World in Heilongjiang, China earlier this year.
We had booked our holiday towards the end of winter – we didn’t realise that this was actually the coldest days of the season in Harbin!
When we arrived at the Harbin Airport we changed into our winter clothing before facing the freezing sub-zero weather outside.
But that wasn’t enough so we immediately went to a clothing store in the city to get more winter gear, including heavy-duty jackets and coats, hats, gloves and scarves. Everyone got something not only because we needed them for the trip but also because they were really affordable.
Luckily, our accommodation at Central Street was near the store so we didn’t have to carry around so many bags.
The next day we ticked off a number of attractions on our list, many of which were located in the outskirts of the city. We also did numerous winter activities, like tube sledding, ice skating, snowboarding and skiing, too.
Harbin is famous for its Wuchang rice, a type of sticky, aromatic short grain rice, and paired that with a delicious stew cooked in an iron pot, which helps the food stay hot for longer.
Yes, because temperatures were so low there, hot food and drinks would cool down faster so we had to finish our meals fast before everything turned ice cold.
To illustrate just how freezing the weather was, we boiled some water at our homestay at night (it was -27°C), and threw it out the window almost immediately – the water turned into mist!
The next morning our homestay owner, who also happened to be our local guide, took us to the back of the house where there were a few snowmobiles parked nearby. He told us to get on the snowmobiles and make our way to the snow-covered mountain.
So off we went on our super fun snowmobile adventure. Some of us actually had “mini accidents” a few times, while others fell off the machines mid-ride. Fortunately, our falls and crashes were cushioned by the thick and soft snow.
After a hearty lunch, we went to Snow Town and experienced our coldest day yet – it was a whopping -30°C.
Some of the highlights at the theme park were a fairytale winter land with cute “snow mushrooms”, a street parade, a live DJ show and of course, a fireworks display.
We enjoyed the fanfare and tried to dance and jump up and down to the music to warm our bodies, but it was to no avail. It was just too cold.
We couldn’t even drink the beer that we had brought along because the cans were frozen.
At Jingpo Lake the next day, we rode snow rings (large rubber tubes) that were tied together to make two “dragons”. The rings were pulled across the frozen lake by a big truck, which then dropped us off in the middle of “nowhere”.
We observed some people around who were fishing through holes cut in the ice.
Later, we journeyed closer to the Russian border. We started seeing lots of Russian influences in these areas, including signboards in Cyrillic.
We had a sumptuous Russian meal and bought lots of chocolates as well as Russian nesting dolls as souvenirs.
We visited the Siberian Tiger Park, where saw a few of the animals just chilling about in the enclosure. Hearing them roar at such a close distance gave us goosebumps.
Next, we went to the Volga Manor and had some ice cream ... we wanted to experience what it was like to have ice cream in winter.
The final day of our holiday was reserved for the Harbin Ice and Snow World. The place was enormous and there were no structured paths or directions to guide us. So, since there were 10 of us in our group, we decided it was easier to split up and meet again at an agreed time and landmark.
There were so many sculptures at the park, and photography opportunities were endless. However, my friend and I had to stop and seek warmth at various shops and booths every so often because the weather was unbearable that day.
The sun usually sets early during winter in Harbin so by 4pm it was already dark. This was when it got even colder.
This was also when the fairy lights, street lamps and neon signs were all lit up, making the sculptures look even more enchanting. We managed to ignore the cold for a few minutes, taking as many pictures as we could before retreating to a shop for warmth.
Our original plan was to look for sculptures that either represented Malaysia or displayed some Malaysian influences. We tried our best, but were unable to find any.
A few more photographs and shuffling in and out of shops later, it was finally time to bid farewell to the magical place.
On the tour bus back to our accommodation, we compared notes and discovered that none of us managed to visit every corner of the park as it was just too big. Nonetheless, we were all satisfied with the trip and proud of ourselves for surviving the bitter cold. It was truly a memorable experience.
For dinner we ordered in and just hung out together, sharing stories and reminiscing the adventures we had the past eight days. The night ended with much laughter and and a feeling of happiness all around.
The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.
