Vacation in Harbin China with Asian Vacations, Inc.

zhydj-2.jpg (11915 bytes)

Songhua River Tourist Zone
Harbin is an enchanting city with natural beauty and the Songhua River winding through it. The most beautiful natural scenery is found along the Songhua River in the northern part of the city, extending some 10km. On the south portion of the river, three parks (Nine-station Park, Stalin Park and Dawai Parkall connected to the other), form the longest park along a river in China. On the north side of the river is the Sun Island Tourist Zone. Three big bridges have been built over the river. While taking a river cruise, you will surely be attracted by the beautiful flowers, swaying willow trees, and the magnificent towers and pavilions on both sides. The banks of Songhua River and the island found in the middle are ideal natural tourist attractions and sun bathing areas. The lofty Commemoration Tower of Victory over Flood, the flying Songhua River Road Bridge, the exquisite River Club, the magnificent circular Labor's Stadium, along with skillful art carvings in Stalin Park and constructions with childhood color all make the Songhua River look much more supple and graceful and appealing.

Lantern Exhibition
The most magnificent activity in winter is the Ice-Lantern Exhibition, initiated in the 1960s by the people of Harbin City. With the natural ice from the Songhua River, they skillfully create various kinds of snow and ice carvings. When entering this world of ice carvings, especially at night, you feel you have entered a world of fairy tales. Each year, many foreigners pour into the city to enjoy the winter. With more than thirty years of development and improvement, the ice-lantern exhibition has become a social and cultural activity.

Tiger Park
The park, covering an area of 1.2 million sq. miles, is located on the northern bank of the Songhua River. It is the largest wild natural park in the world for the northeast tiger. A special tour car allows you to linger through groups of tigers and appreciate the adventurous and exciting scene.

St. Sophia Church
The Russian influence in Harbin, including a continuing strong Russian population here, is no better felt than a wander around the streets that make up the Daoli district, in the northwest of the city. Among the many Orthodox churches and Russian style facades in this region, the St. Sophia Orthodox Church (Shengsuo feiya dajiaotang) is the most impressive, and imposing, structure. In 1903, with the completion of the Sino-Russia railway, connecting Vladivostok to northeast China, the Russian No.4 Army Division arrived in this region. After Russia's shameful failure against the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905), a plan to reconsolidate the confidence of the army by building a imposing spiritual symbol was proposed. Thus the magnificent St. Sofia Church was born, completed in 1907. Large scale expansion and renovation then started in 1923, and after a nine years' intensive job, the biggest Orthodox church in the far east was finally completed and stood much as it does today. The 53 m tall church is a perfect example of Byzantine architecture: the main structure of the church is laid out as a Latin Cross with the main hall topped with a huge green tipped roof. Under the bright sun, the church, together with the square around it, reminds the Chinese, bizarrely, of the Red Square in Moscow. Although there are still several hundred Orthodox believers in Harbin, the religious activities are usually conducted in other smaller churches. St. Sofia Church is nowadays used as the Municipal Architecture and Art Museum with exhibitions of the architectural history of the city, a photographic survey with captions all in Chinese. Address: On the corner of Toulin Street (Toulin jie) and Zhaolin Street (Zhaolin jie). How to get there: Take Bus #101 from the Railway Station to the church or Bus #2 from Stalin Park. A taxi ride from the city center costs less than �15. Cost: �10. Opening hours: 09:00 - 17:00.

Japanese Germ Warfare Base Museum
Further evidence of the dubious nature of the Japanese role during their occupation of parts of China in the 1930s and 40s is highlighted here in Harbin. The Japanese army took the city in 1932, part of the colonization policy that had already claimed Korea and other parts of the newly set up Manchukuo state (Manchuria) with its puppet emperor. The Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base (Riben xijun shiyan jidi) was set up in 1939 to "research", presumably, the capabilities of the soul and the endurance of the human body. Run by the Japanese army's Unit 731 (Qi san yao budui), the research center experimented upon many of the captives of the viscous war in Northeast Asia, including Soviet, Korean, British, Mongolian and mostly Chinese prisoners of war (POWs). The site is said to have witnessed the execution of over 3,000 POWs in the most horrific way: frozen, bombed, roasted, infected, injected, dissected...alive until dead. Almost as chilling and sad as the events themselves is the umbrella of denial that now has spread over much of this period of history, with allegations and misinformation coming from many sides. Just before the 1945 retake of the city by the Soviets the Japanese apparently did their utmost to cover up the evidence of this area, blowing up the site. It was not until the 1980s that a Japanese journalist published his findings of the role of the army in the Northeast that, seemingly, the whole truth came out. The museum that now commemorates this site is situated near to the spot that the original base stood, some 30km south-west of Harbin, near to the little town of Pingfang. The site is interesting for those into history, although the museum is small (two rooms) and has, see above, little evidence of the true past. There are, however, a few photographs, with Chinese captions, and the unearthed site of the original base that could be worth a look. How to get there: take Bus #338 from the railway station to the terminal in Pingfang District. Opening hours: daily 08:30 - 11:30, 13:00 - 16:00. Cost: �10.

Sun Island
The Sun Island Park (Taiyangdao gongyuan) consists of one big island and some smaller islands in the Songhua River, which meander through the north of Harbin. This natural island is the biggest recreational center in Harbin and as such can be highly popular in the summer months and during the ice festival. The island covers a total area of 3,800 hectares of leisure resources, including the interesting Siberian Tiger Park. In summer, the island serves as a natural river beach swimming resort and sanatorium area. The island boasts several fine beaches on either bank, a profusion of lakes for boating, swimming pools, sunbathing facilities, a fairground, a water world and an arms museum, to name but a few. The middle and northern part of the island is composed of mainly forested areas and a large garden. Various different styled recreational buildings were built around the "Sun Lake" and the "Lotus Pond". With hidden paths winding throughout, the park is a nice area to stroll and try to get away from the crowds, lushly vegetated with trees and flowers. Barbecues and picnics can also be arranged in one of the meadows here. During wintertime, when the island is gracefully covered with snow, the Sun Island is used as the playground for various winter sports. Skiing, Hockey, Ice-skating, and Sledding games are all organized here. More importantly, the renowned annual Snow Carving Festival is held here. The Park also contains the Siberian Tiger Park at its northern tip, a good, but sometimes a little gruesome, way to see these rapidly dwindling species. There are apparently over twenty of these beautiful and powerful beasts here, being bred in the hope of being returned to the wild. If you are lucky, you may get to see a feeding session, where little hopping rabbits, live clucking chickens, prancing deer and fatty calves are "captured" and devoured. This is certainly not for the faint hearted. The park can be reached by either a 20 minute bus/minibus ride from the pier (�40) or a taxi from the north, over the Song Wan Jeung Gong Road Bridge (Song wan jeung gonglu daqiao). Entrance fees are �30 for a 30 minute tour. How to get there: Take Bus #101 or 102 to the ferry in the north of Stalin Park. Take the ferry to the island, buying tickets at official counters in the Park. It is also possible to take a taxi across the river via the Songhua River Bridge. A recent cable car connection allows visitors to reach the island in the summer months for around �30 one way. Opening hours: 08:20 - 16:30. Costs: �2 ferry ride, �5 entrance fee.

Yabuli Alpine Skiing Tour and Holiday Center
Yabuli, located in Shangzhi City 195 miles away from Harbin, is a holy land for summer resort and skiing tours. It is the largest skiing grounds with the best facilities in China. It is also an ideal place for competitive ice and snow sports.

Yuquan Hunting Center
Yuquan Hunting Ground (Yuquan shouliechang) is currently the biggest closed hunting ground in China. It is located to the west of Harbin, on the sub range of the Changbai Mountain (Changbaishan). With a total area of 3,000 hectares, the hunting ground enjoys a forest coverage of 80 percent and has seventeen peaks all over 3000m. Clean streams and rare plants can be found throughout the region, which is home to various specious of wildlife including goats, deer and rabbits. Besides hunting, the resort also provides lodging in its uniquely designed traditional hunter's wooden domes, skiing, barbecue and horse riding. This is perhaps not the nicest of activities that is to be had in China, although hunting is not the only thing that can be done here. It is also only to be considered for those with a bit of wealth on their hands, there are a few heavy expenses to be considered beyond travel, accommodation and food, most importantly a variable per animal fee. How to get there: Take Train #207 to Yuquan town (62km west of Harbin), then take a taxi from the town to the resort. Cost: Admission to the hunting ground is �30, but this is only the start. Gun lease is subject to charge and every bullet costs �5. All the prey will be charged according to species, from �70/animal (Wild Turkey) to �10,000/animal (Chinese Dotted Deer).

Flood Control Monument & Stalin Park
The Flood Control Monument (Fanghong jinian tang) is located on the bank of Songhua River at the northern end of Zhongyang Street (Zhongyang dajie). The Monument is the centerpiece of the popular Stalin Park, built in 1958 to commemorate the tremendous feat of the Harbin people in controlling the massive flood of 1957. The flood was the biggest flood ever recorded in Harbin until the summer 1998 disaster. The 13m tall monument consists of one Roman style cylinder column topped with statues of the heroic people of Harbin and a 7m long curving corridor surrounding the column. The water level of 11 small semi-circular pools near to the column marks the level reached by the devastating flood in 1957. However, the water level record was again broken by the summer 1998 flood in which the monument witnessed the devastating destruction of nature and the great courage of the Harbin people...many paid with their lives. A new monument has been added on to the old to commemorate these new victims. Stalin Park (Sidalin gongyuan) was built in 1953 and, as its name suggests, the park is evidence of the friendship, sometimes strained, between the two biggest communist countries at that time. The park is characterized by Russian style flower beds and a series of theme statues and is lavishly vegetated with flowers and trees. The river beach in the park serves as an ideal place for viewing the Songhua River and a natural swimming place for the Chinese, although the water is a good example of the state of China's rivers: less than clean. This place is very popular on the weekends. How to get there: Take Bus #11 from the train station to the park, although Buses #16, 2 and 26 also all go to the park.

Zhaolin Park
The park was constructed to commemorate a famous national hero-Li Zhaolin who organized and led the anti-Japanese war in northeastern China.

Recreational Ice and Snow Activities
Ice Sledge: The amusement only exists in this area. The places are on the riverbank or dykes and dams. Tourists can sit or lie on the sledge. Then it will slide from a higher place to a lower place by itself at high speed. The game is quite exciting and attractive. Ice Sailing: This requires a recreational item on ice. Ice sailing is made up of a sail, a rudder and ice skates. Just like sailing on water, it depends on wind. When the wind power is strong enough it can slide at an extremely high speed. Skating: Here, you can skate on real ice in a natural skating ground. You can skate freely and indulgently. Playing Top on Ice: This is the children's favorite game. They can whip a top on the ice and it will rotate for quite a long time. Winter Swimming: This kind of swimming is a sport for those who are brave and persistent. The swimming pool is outside. People make it by cutting a hole in the frozen river. Then with the temperature of -30C, swimmers jump into the water. You must prepare yourself before jumping into the cold water and after the swim you should dress as soon as possible!