Our guide to Harbin and the Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

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How was the Harbin’s International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival born?

Winter has already arrived in China, and it’s probably the worst time to come here. If you go to Beijing the gelid and ultra dry Siberian wind will destroy your beautiful skin. Shanghai isn’t better as the humidity will get inside your bones and you’ll be unable to get rid of it for weeks.

If you’re coming to China at this time your best option is head to the south, especially to Yunnan and its permanent spring. However, today I want to talk about a different option for winter travelers: I’m talking about Harbin, the most famous city in northeast China (Dongbei, here you find our article on Dongbei’s food).

This article is our practical guide to visit Harbin, the city that hosts the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.

If you want to join a tour in order to visit Harbin we can suggest you a reliable agency. Click here to contact us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

How to get to Harbin

Harbin is the most important city in the North East of China and also the capital of Heilongjiang Province, so is pretty well communicated.

Harbin by plane

You can get to Harbin from all major airports in China. You also have international flights from Russia, Japan, South Korea and U.S.

The Harbin Taiping International Airport is far from downtown, about 35 kilometers. You can get there by cab (it should costs around 100 yuan) or by bus (around 20 yuan) from downtown.

Harbin by train

Harbin is connected by overnight trains with all major cities in China. Also, if you’re coming from Beijing you can take the high speed train (it takes 8 hour and costs around 300 yuan).

Harbin is also a major station along the Transmanchurian section of the mythical Transsiberian Express Line and it’s considered a “mandatory stop” in the way from Vladivostok to Beijing.

Where to stay?

Personally I stayed at the Harbin Xilong Hotel, an economic, clean and well located hotel.

What to do in Harbin

Even if Harbin is a relatively young city (the modern city was built to connect Vladivostok and Dalian with the Transmanchurian), there are plenty of things to do. In this article I’ll focus on the main attraction that you can find on the winter.

If you aren’t going there on winter, you can check the Harbin Guide and eChina Cities websites to know what is going on during your stay. I recommend you to check when the International Beer Festival and the Music Festival are held.

Notice that if you organize your trip well enough you can visit all the places I suggest in two days (weekend trip). So what are the best attractions during the Harbin’s Winter?

Visit the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival starts at the beginning of December and last until the end of February.
Source: http://www.saporedicina.com/english/harbin-ice-and-snow-culpture-festival/