LETS GO FIND SOME ICE!!!

LETS GO FIND SOME ICE!!!

First let’s talk about Harbin

Harbin, the renowned 'Ice City', is located in the south of Heilongjiang Province, this is the most northeastern part of China and some say it has the shape of a swan when viewed on a map. Harbin is the center of Heilongjiang's political, economic, educational and cultural life, Harbin is described as the pearl beneath the swan's neck. Driving in yesterday, we could see how Harbin plays a vital role in communications between South and North Asia as well the regions of Europe and the Pacific Ocean. It is a vibrant city with all the hustle and bustle. 


Before I visit a city, I find it  useful to know at least a little of its history. Harbin was the birthplace of Jin (1115-1234) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, the latter of which had a very considerable influence on modern Chinese history. At the end of the 19th century, Russia built the terminus of the Middle East Railway here. Later, more than 160,000 foreigners from 33 countries migrated to this place, promoting the development of a capitalist economy in the city. I did notice a few buildings with Russian writing above the doors.

Each winter, vast numbers of visitors flock to this city and the city has adapted itself to meet the needs of this great influx of tourists. Convenient transportation by air makes the journey easy. A train would have been fun, however ticketing was an issue, as explained in yesterdays blog entry. To me, the city has a cosmopolitan feel based on the quality of the lodgings. As I said yesterday reservation should be made well in advance. I made our hotel reservation at 11 months and the options were limited, granted we are here on a weekend which is more crowded.

We were up early and we poked our heads out for a temperature check. Yep it is cold but not that cold, in our opinion, local weather says -10F.

The Shangra-La Hotel Harbin has definitely earned it’s 5 star rating. The breakfast buffet was vast and the quality well above excellent. Many Asian and Western choices were to be had, and the BBQ Pork steam buns were excellent.

We met our guide Fianna in the lobby of our hotel and we were off to visit St. Sophia Cathedral. Sadly, the interior is under restoration and is currently closed. 

St. Sophia Cathedral in Harbin is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the Far East. It is 53.3 meters (175 feet) high and occupies an area of 721 square meters (0.18 acres). In November, 1996, it was listed as one of the Key Cultural Relics under State Protection. Half a year later, the city government repaired it and renamed it as Harbin Art Gallery.

Next we had a short ride to see the Harbin Swim Show. Here a swimming pool sized hole is cut into the ice and kept open with a bubbler. The swim show is simply a group of people who dive into this pool and swim a lap to a ladder and get out. The swimmers do get the crowd going letting you feel the water temp. There was one 76 year old Russian lady who was the belle of the show. Remember the temp is about 1 degree F. 

 

76 Years old and having a fun time

                               KODA I GOT AN IDEA

We walk along the river to the Ropeway, past many many snowmen sculptures. This year there are 2,020 snowmen in Harbin and next year there will be 2,021. Each is different and unique in its own right.  

In Harbin, there is a Ropeway which crosses the Songhua River. Well, ropeway is the local name, it is actually a cable car. We ride it over to Sun Island. This gives us a good view of the city and a chance to see the many activities going on along the river. 

Getting off the Cable Car, we walk to the Russian Style Town. Located in the Sun Island Scenic Area, Russian-style Town is a Russian-themed tourist spot.  The town retains a few dozen Russian-style villas and private residences. You can walk into these buildings for a visit. Sometimes, you might even meet Mandarin-speaking Russians, who will be happy to explain the household furnishings and decorations. The entrance tickets are designed in the form of a commemorative passport. You can bring this passport to each of the cabins, and affix a stamp to it for remembrance. In addition, each of the many cabins sport a different theme. For instance, the "A Hundred Years of Time" cabin has a collection of timepieces, while the cabin named "A Hundred Years of Sound" contains a collection of old music records.  This was a good place to learn about the early Russians who came to this area with the railway.  It was interesting that each building had a fire fighting cabinet stocked with fire gear this along with several out side racks with shovel, Pulaski’s and buckets. 

We made our way to Central  Street. Here we had lunch at the King of Dumplings. Fianna said this is the home of the best dumplings in all of Harbin, and it did not disappoint. We feasted on shrimp, pork, and beef dumplings and a BBQ pork shank. We were stuffed and ready to walk Central Street.  

Known as the “Eastern Moscow”, Harbin is a unique and exotic city. The most vibrant place in Harbin is Central Street, known as Zhongyang Dajie in Chinese. “Central Street” would be a good place to first experience Harbin. This long corridor of European architectural art is the pride of every local in this city.

The construction of this street began in 1898. It was called the Chinese Street at its early age and gained its present name in the late 1920s. Originally, the street was opened up by carts used to transport railway supplies. In May, 1924, the Central Street was floored with square stones according to a Russian engineer's design. Since then it has become a rendezvous of numerous foreign shops, hotels, and bars. Russian leather, British woolen cloth, French perfume, German medicine and plenty more can be found in this fashionable street. In 1997, Harbin government appointed the street as a pedestrian street, which added greater charm to this enchanting location.

With a total length of 1,450 meters (1,586 yards), the Central Street reflects a variety of European style buildings. In total, there are 71 works, some of which are replicas reflecting the European style of architecture. Examples of the Renaissance through to the Baroque Period as well as the Eclecticism to the Modern School can be seen in some buildings.

The present Jiaoyu Bookstore (Education Bookstore) is the biggest form of Baroque architecture in Harbin, the mark of the Central Street. The Mod-Er Hotel (formerly the Modern Hotel) and the Daoliqiulin Shop, built in 1906 and 1919 respectively, are fine examples of Art Nouveau architecture. The Fuer Shop (Women and Children's Shop) in 1917 was the former Xiehe Bank. This building reflects classic Renaissance architecture.

I felt Central Street is a junction where both Harbin's modern and historical civilizations can be seen. It interprets the city perfectly and has witnessed the most brilliant European cultural developments.

Then off to see:

China's largest and most intact buildings in the "Chinese Baroque" architectural style favored in northeast China's Heilongjiang province have been renovated and will open to tourists at the beginning of 2014.

These works of architecture, located in Daowai District of Harbin city, capital of Heilongjiang, are a combination of the Baroque style and Chinese elements such as crane and peony designs.

Built about a century ago (1914-1920) and covering a district of about 300,000 square meters, the buildings adopt Western baroque style for their exterior design, while retaining the traditional layout of Chinese courtyards inside.

The renovations started in 2007. As well as being open to tourists, some of the buildings are expected to be used as commercial districts, according to the housing security and real estate management bureau of Harbin. 

I almost forgot, I must talk about the bread of Harbin.
When we were on Central Street we purchased some Russian Chocolate and Harbin Bread. Locally it is called “lieba” (the Russian chljeb ‘bread’), a large round bread baked with beer yeast. Actually, this type of bread has become the symbol of Harbin cuisine.
Lieba is big, hard and sour, and some even ask if it is bread. But with lieba, you can trace the origin of Harbin, the culture and the people, and learn to get along with them. It is bread which is as big as a pot lid.
The bread is made from simple ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt and hops. Qiulin is the Chinese rendering of the name of a Russian man who established this company. When the Russians built the Middle East Railway in Harbin in 1898, they brought their way of life to the fishing villages of northern China. It was then that a Russian businessman, Ivan Churin, introduced the art of making lieba to Harbin. So far, through the efforts of generations of Russian and Chinese lieba makers, this traditional family art, though already lost in Russia, has been completely and originally preserved in this northern city of China.
Baked with firewood gives it a nice taste, so bread and soup were our dinner before we retired for the night. I  think I might just have to add some beer to my next batch of bread.

Thanks for following along and sharing this journey. 

BEIJING TO HARBIN

Beijing to Harbin

Our original plan was to take a high speed train from Beijing to Harbin. I have an Australian who can book rail travel in China and he suggested we fly as obtaining train tickets can be unsure as they can only be booked 30 days out. Yes, flights cost more but they are assured.

We were up at 0400 having coffee and catching up with the world. We got repacked and have two bags to stay here in Beijing as domestic flights in China are rather restricted with carry on.

Down to breakfast and the waffle and Crepe chef was there making some nice fresh waffles and crepes. After breakfast we finished packing up and decided to head to the airport.

We stored our bags and requested a cab. Our cab driver was speedy and made the 1 hour trip in 40 minutes. It was nice he dropped us off right at the departure doors. Some cab drivers will drop you at the lower parking level.

We located the Air China counters and did the self check in and then dropped our bags. For some, this can be intimidating due to the hustle and bustle of the busy terminal.

Security is always interesting as one never knows what to expect. This time it was all cameras, chargers, batteries, laptop and chargers out, basically, just emptied my backpack. It is always different every time, so one never knows.

After repacking, we made our way to the Air China First Class lounge to wait for a gate assignment. I must say this is a rather nice lounge with nice offerings.

The boarding process for Air China can best be described as organized chaos. For those of you who have been to Walt Disney World and Muppets 4D, think Sam the Eagle telling the cast to enter in an orderly fashion. 

The flight was about 1.5 hours and they served a box lunch which included a bologna like sandwich, some pickled vegetables and an egg.

The Pilot made a great landing and it does look cold outside. We made our way to baggage claim and waited about an hour for the bags to start to appear. It was pretty kewl in that there is a TV monitor showing the ramp agents unloading the bags to the conveyor.

Seeing this was taking some time, Lynn went to find our driver as I waited for the bags. They finally arrived and soon we were off towards the city. This was about an hour drive and the traffic was not bad until we got into the city. 

                              We see ice sculptures on the drive in form the airport,
                              best I could do with the phone

                                             
                                                 Our digs for the next 4 nights

                                                 This is rare in my book

We are staying at the Shangri-La Hotel Harbin. I had made this reservation 11 months ago, as at that time availability was getting low. The rates for hotels in the area go up during the Snow and Ice Festival. Our rate here is about $200 a night (with breakfast), this was about the only room I could find when we booked.

When we checked in, we received several vouchers for drinks and meal discounts here at the property. The desk clerk also told us the Mini Bar was included with our rate. All in all, the place is nice and the location is close to the festivities.

Here are some photos of our room.

We dropped our bags and went for a short walkabout to find some additional water for the room. Yes the provided water will be replaced, but we like to have plenty available.

Temp outside is -4F and the next few days is currently forecast for mid teens.

Back into the room and the room safe is not working so it only took five maintenance guys to get it working. Time for some laundry and maybe just a cup of soup for dinner this evening.

We need to get our gear and clothes together for tomorrow. 

LOCAL WAY TO THE GREAT WALL $4

LOCAL WAY TO THE GREAT WALL  $4

We were up really early due to the time change, so we made coffee in the room and prepared for the day. I walked across the street to an ATM for some additional local currency. At 0600 we had our included breakfast at the hotel. The Novotel Beijing Peace has a very nice breakfast with both Eastern and Western offerings. We had steam buns, French toast, eggs, yogurt, and steamed pumpkin, along with fresh breads and pastries.

We took the Metro from the Dengskikou station to Huoying station, Line 5 transferring to Line 13, then a short, well marked walk to the Huangtudian train station. We were able to use our Metro Card for all travel thus avoiding purchasing a ticket. 

 Lynn Chilling in a very empty 1st class car 

We left the Dengskikou station just a little bit before 0700 and arrived at the train station in time to catch a 0758 train. The service on these trains is non specific with open seating in either a first-class car or a second-class car. There were very few people on this train and there was plenty of seating in the first-class cars.  All S2 trains will take you to Badaling, where you have some options for visiting the great wall, more on those later.

Should one choose to travel by Metro or train, be advised there are security checks at all entrances where your bags are X-rayed and you pass thru a metal detector, this is a very fast process.  

A bit about this journey. This isn't any old train ride.  It's a journey over the Imperial Peking–Kalgan railway, built 1905-1909. This was the first railway to be built by the Chinese themselves without western help, by a US-educated Chinese railway engineer called Zhan Tian-you , known as the Father of Chinese Railways.

Along the Guan Valley...  The train now enters a deep valley.  You'll now see Great Wall on both sides of the train - if this seems odd, here's the explanation:

Broadly speaking, the Great Wall of China runs along the mountain range north of Beijing, protecting China in the south from what was once the Tatar badlands to the north.

However, at this point the Guan Valley forms a passageway through the mountains.  The Great Wall turns to run along one side of the Guan Valley as far as Badaling, it then crosses the valley with a gateway and fort on the valley floor (this is the famous Badaling section of Wall) then it runs back along the other side of the Guan Valley before turning again to continue its usual course along the mountain range.

So at this point there is Great Wall on both sides of the Guan Valley, forming a safe passage for Chinese forces to advance through the mountains along the Guan Valley to Badaling, just short of the Tartar plains.  When necessary, the Chinese could sally forth into Tartar territory from the fort and gateway in the Great Wall at Badaling.

The switchback at Qinglongqiao West...  The railway climbs steeply up the Guan Valley, you'll feel the train struggling slowly up gradients as steep as 33.3% (1 in 30).  Chinese railway engineer Zhan Tian-you famously used a switchback on this route to gain height.  Around 10-15 minutes before Badaling, the train takes a sharp left hand curve into a side valley and comes to a stand at Qinglongqiao Xi station (Xi = West).  It's not a passenger stop so the doors remain closed.  The train changes direction and leaves Qinglongqiao West the way it went in, turning sharp left again to continue up the valley towards Badaling.

The train passes through a tunnel under the famous section of Great Wall and shortly after emerging from that it arrives at Badaling station.  There are in fact two switchbacks with reversing stations on opposite sides of the Guan Valley, one for northbound trains and one for southbound trains. 

We arrived at Badaling station at about 0915 and followed the signs towards The Great Wall.  There are basically three options for visiting the Wall. The signage for all options is well marked. 

 

Options 

 Going up

 I liked the message on the trash cans, and yes the are was very clean

 yep it is steep

 Having been there when crowds are much larger this is a very calm day. A good thing about off season, but the wind was really really chilly

Option One is to walk 260 meters from the train station to the funicular. This is often called a cable car in many of the signs. As we had not been to this south section we were going to take this option, however today it was closed. So we moved on to Option Two.

Option Two is the Cable Car and it is 830 meters from the train station. We saw a ticket booth near the bus parking that had no line so this is where we purchased our tickets. We bought a return ticket for 140 Yuan (about $20 USD). We were old enough (over 60) to get free admission to The Wall.

Option Three is to walk to the main entrance and climb The Wall.

We queued up and were soon loaded onto a cable car heading up towards the North Station. While riding up I noticed the wind socks were flying straight out so, we expected some wind.

Arriving at the top we, decided to climb even higher. This is a nice stair master kind of workout for sure. We made our way up a couple of levels over the steps of many different heights and different degrees of surfaces. We paused and got a few pictures to depict the steepness of the Wall at this section. The wind was quite noticeable as we climbed higher. We then said enough and made our way down to the Cable Car Station.

We had made a bit of a planning mistake in that we did not get times for returning trains. We had an old schedule and made an educated guess as to when the return trains would depart. We decided to take a break and get some refreshment at the cable car cafe. I had an orange drink and Lynn had cocoa. We then went through a gift shop and bought a medal which was engraved with our names and date of our visit. This will make a nice Christmas ornament.

We got back to the station at about 1130 and learned a train would be leaving at 2020 which really meant 1212. At about 1200 we were escorted to the platform and shortly thereafter the train arrived, and we soon departed.

Sitting in a railway station , got a ticket to our destination 

Very Disney Like LOL

                                          Here comes the train

After leaving the Station we again used the switchback. When returning to Beijing, and you look to the left as the train enters Qinglongqiao station, you will see the statue of Zhan Tianyou, father of Chinese railways and the man who engineered this railway line. He is buried here at Qinglongqiao station. This is also his grave. 

This section of rail was part of the Trans Siberian Railway up until the early 2000’s.
To recap, our transportation expense for this day was about 14 Yuan or about $2.00USD one way, so a total of $4.00 RT.

We were back at the hotel at about 1500 and started to regroup for our travel to Harbin. We both were felling a bit tired so we opted to go to our local guys in the Xitangzi Hutong here behind out hotel. A Hutong is basically a small neighborhood here in Beijing. They are usually only a few blocks long and a couple blocks wide. These are tight communities where everyone knows each others comings and goings. 

The Boys took good care of us for sure.

We will repack and call it a day. Thanks for following along and sharing. I hope you are inspired to get out there and experience all life has to offer.

DENVER TO BEIJING

Denver to Beijing

As we had an early flight from Denver, we did our usual and found an airport hotel for the night before our travel day. On Tower Road near DEN, there are several Wyndham properties and we usually stay at the least expensive. This time the Microtel won.

We were up at 0330 and soon off to The Parking Spot. Parked the Jeep and, as usual, there was not a wait and we were on our way to the terminal. The other travelers on the shuttle were all bound for the warmer climates of Hawaii and Florida. The two guys going to Hawaii were appreciative of the local places we recommended. Florida folks were headed for cruises.

We checked our bags and headed to the UAL club room for some porridge. Soon we boarded our flight to San Francisco (SFO) and arrived a few minutes late. That prompted the “Airport Sprint” from one terminal to another, only to arrive as our flight to Beijing (PEK) was boarding.

On this flight we are experiencing the Premium Plus Class level of service. Not business and not Economy Plus, this includes roomier seats, drinks, and better meals and snacks than Economy. I thought the seats would just be old recycled 1st class seats, but they are not. They have recline and leg rest options, as well as the seats are wider. Nice pillow and blanket as well as an amenity kit are included. I had used miles to upgrade to this cabin. We were supposed to travel in this class on our last trip to Beijing but got a further upgrade. I am happy with this level of service and may use it again when available.

We arrived in Beijing at 1530 and proceeded to passport control. Here we did not do well, with people in front of us having issues of some sorts. The line was at times diverted to a faster queue but we several times did not make the diverted cut. Oh well. At 1630 we retrieved our bags and were met by our driver.  In the past we have used the Metro to get to our hotel and it is a good cheap option, but not fun at rush hour and toting bags. The other option is a Taxi, the lines can be a tad crazy and confusing at times but for a few dollars more, a private car is a good option, especially when arriving tired.

The drive usually takes about one hour but with traffic, it was a bit over 1.5 hours. We checked into our hotel, the Novotel Beijing Peace and dropped our bags and went out for some street food. 

 

A nice corner room 

Below is the photo of the Xitangzai Houtong behind the hotel

Here is the jianbing place er enjoyed, they always had a line, and their steam buns were very good. 

We found a street stall open serving jianbing. This is a common street food in China. It is easily accessible around street corners, outside of subway stations and tourist attractions. Though the types of Jianbing vary by city, the main ingredients are generally the same. The dough is made of wheat and grain flour and fried on a griddle with egg as the base. Meanwhile, the center is filled with scallions, lettuce, cilantro, rich chili sauce and a crunchy thin waffle (that is the best way we can describe it).   This made a great meal and cost was $1 US or 8 Yuan. Bummer, they were sold out of steam buns, maybe tomorrow.

There was a Mother and son in line before us and mother encouraged her son to ask us where we were from. We told them the United States and Wyoming, which was met with a look of unknowing. We get that a lot as many folks around the world as well as the US, don’t know where Wyoming is. 

Sadly, I was so tired I did not have a camera with me nor even the cell phone, so will get pictures tomorrow. I think mom got a couple pictures of us. Seems a beard is somewhat unique here in China, this has happened before. Maybe, they do not expect westerners to be out eating out-of-the-way street food.

We did stop and buy a gallon jug of water for 12 yuan, about $1.50 on the way back to the room.

Back to the room to get organized and decide on tomorrows activities.

WE ARE ON THE ROAD TO CHINA

Greetings One and All

We are on the road to China for 8 days. Our main purpose of this trip is to visit and photograph the Harbin Ice Festival. 

                                     Last Years Photos from Visit China web page

Known as the “Ice City” of Harbin, we have learned the temperatures can be rather cold. We are expecting temperatures from a high of 10F to -10F. The temperatures could be even colder, my hope is there is no wind. The cold will be a challenge for the camera gear. We are used to the cold and have the proper gear.  We subscribe to the old Norwegian saying: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”.

Our journey starts in Beijing for two nights before we fly to Harbin. Our one full day in Beijing is currently open and activities will be weather dependent, maybe a trip to The Great Wall.  I am looking forward to eating at the night market, love the street food there.

Originally I was thinking we would take a train to Harbin. Previously we have used a local broker to make train arrangements for us in China. They advised me while trains to Harbin are reliable, acquiring tickets is a hit or miss at the 30 day window. They suggested we fly, so that is what we will be doing.

We then have 4 nights and 3 days in Harbin. While in Harbin, we have arranged for a local guide, driver and a car. This will help us get our bearings and let us cover a good bit of ground during those days. Our last day will be on our own, returning to sights we want to explore and photo further.

While in Harbin we will explore snow and ice buildings, ice carvings, snow sculptures, an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, tigers, and more.


Many have asked how we pack for such a trip and keep the weight down. Currently our checked bags weigh 25 and 29 pounds. We have a weight limit of 40 pounds on the domestic flight.

We have several different bags and chose which one to use depending on the trip. We have a master list with all the weights of each piece of luggage we have. As this trip will involve cold weather we are packing light weight garments which can be layered. Our outer layer will be our Nat Geo Antarctica coats and Cabelas cold weather guide pants. One pair of extreme cold weather boots will be the only shoes we are taking and should be all we need.

We always pack a substantial first-aid kit, just to be prepared along with Duck Tape and a few repair items. The Scrubba will be there for laundry as needed. We usually pack some instant coffee, tea and dry soups for warm drinks. When you come in from the cold this is just a nice comfort thing.

We split our clothing between our checked bags and here is our packing list for this trip. Lynn makes these lists as we pack so we know what has been packed and in which bag. 

Here is a picture of our list which was made as we packed.