Out to the Northeast, Harbin

Interior finish work is pretty much done on my parents' apartment, but I don't want to leave until they are moved in there, so I opt for a trip to Harbin, the "ice city" of China, known for its annual ice and snow sculptures festivals that last for 2 months and russian architectures, something I have wanted to see since I was little. Of course Harbin is cold enough in the winter, when people talk about temperature, they say 9 or 15 or 20 C, but it is always minus, so they just skipped it. Needless to say, I dressed up myself and ended up looking like a bear with all these clothes.


The ice are taken from the frozen river that run through the city and many life-size buildings like churches, chateaus, pagodas are built out of thes ice blocks every winter for the Ice Sculptures Festival that last about 2 months. Great to view at night, when colorful lights embedded in them are lit up, a true winter wonderland.

The snow sculptures festival is newer and has smaller sculptures and are more artistic. They are great to see during the day against the blue sky.

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