14/02: 9 Reasons to Visit Harbin
1. The World’s Biggest Ice Sculpture festival. There’s no reason to harp on about this – everyone knows what it’s about. But seeing the sculptures up close is far more amazing than what you could imagine from the photos.
2. Siberian Tiger Park. Ride safari style through enclosures housing Manchurian Tigers, white tigers, ligers and lions. Buy a live cow for $200 and watch the tigers rip it to shreds before your eyes while sitting in a mini-bus only meters away. Buy the poor tigers a chicken for $8 if you’re low on cash.
3. Germ Warfare Base. Visit the base where the Japanese army conducted biological warfare experiments on prisoners of war. The museum which is now in the base is nothing special, but the snow-swept complex has an eerie feeling which makes it well worth a visit.
4. Russian architecture. The lovely cobblestone Zhongyang Dajie is an architectural delight – the buildings are as enchanting as in (almost) any Russian city. The nearby Orthodox Cathedral of St Sofia is another beautiful sight, even if the interior has been raped and now holds some dull photo exhibition about Harbin.
5. Russian food. There are several Russian restaurants along Zhongyang Dajie that serve food as good, if not better, than any you will find in Russia. Maybe it’s the eastern accent?
6. Great nightlife. Surprising but true – you can have a lot of fun at Harbin’s clubs. With cheap drinks, kalians aplenty, floor shows ranging from Russian folk dancing to transvestite strip shows and a healthy clientele of Russian students, the bars and clubs are good, dirty fun. Not to mention the ice bar that pops up in winter – ice tables, chairs, ashtrays and glasses filled with Russky Standard vodka.
7. Insane Taxi Driver’s. Why wait for a break in traffic when you can simply weave across three lanes of oncoming cars to get to the correct side of a six lane freeway (a la the car chase in Ronin)? Speeding along the ice-covered highways, cutting in at every opportunity and continually dodging car crashes and pedestrians by a matter of inches at high speed is better than any theme park ride.
8. Frontier city vibe. You can feel it in the streets. There’s a rough and dirty aspect to Harbin that you just don’t find in other Chinese cities. Maybe the people are hardened by the weather. Whatever the case, in so many ways it made me nostalgic for Moscow.
9. It’s easy. A taste of Russia without all the visa hassles. Sure, it’s not the same as actually going to Russia, but you get to experience the terrible weather, see the architecture, eat the food and feel the vibe. And you never have to deal with a Russian consulate.
2. Siberian Tiger Park. Ride safari style through enclosures housing Manchurian Tigers, white tigers, ligers and lions. Buy a live cow for $200 and watch the tigers rip it to shreds before your eyes while sitting in a mini-bus only meters away. Buy the poor tigers a chicken for $8 if you’re low on cash.
3. Germ Warfare Base. Visit the base where the Japanese army conducted biological warfare experiments on prisoners of war. The museum which is now in the base is nothing special, but the snow-swept complex has an eerie feeling which makes it well worth a visit.
4. Russian architecture. The lovely cobblestone Zhongyang Dajie is an architectural delight – the buildings are as enchanting as in (almost) any Russian city. The nearby Orthodox Cathedral of St Sofia is another beautiful sight, even if the interior has been raped and now holds some dull photo exhibition about Harbin.
5. Russian food. There are several Russian restaurants along Zhongyang Dajie that serve food as good, if not better, than any you will find in Russia. Maybe it’s the eastern accent?
6. Great nightlife. Surprising but true – you can have a lot of fun at Harbin’s clubs. With cheap drinks, kalians aplenty, floor shows ranging from Russian folk dancing to transvestite strip shows and a healthy clientele of Russian students, the bars and clubs are good, dirty fun. Not to mention the ice bar that pops up in winter – ice tables, chairs, ashtrays and glasses filled with Russky Standard vodka.
7. Insane Taxi Driver’s. Why wait for a break in traffic when you can simply weave across three lanes of oncoming cars to get to the correct side of a six lane freeway (a la the car chase in Ronin)? Speeding along the ice-covered highways, cutting in at every opportunity and continually dodging car crashes and pedestrians by a matter of inches at high speed is better than any theme park ride.
8. Frontier city vibe. You can feel it in the streets. There’s a rough and dirty aspect to Harbin that you just don’t find in other Chinese cities. Maybe the people are hardened by the weather. Whatever the case, in so many ways it made me nostalgic for Moscow.
9. It’s easy. A taste of Russia without all the visa hassles. Sure, it’s not the same as actually going to Russia, but you get to experience the terrible weather, see the architecture, eat the food and feel the vibe. And you never have to deal with a Russian consulate.
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