Our White Christmas IV – Harbin (28th – 29th Dec)

January is the best time to visit Harbin. The “Ice City” is dressing up for its annual “Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival”. The Festival, established in 1985, is held annually from January 5 and lasts for over one month. This is one of the world’s top 3 ice festivals, attracting hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors from all over the world. We were lucky to be here 1 week before the official launch date (5th Jan) to witness their preparation works for the annual event. Along the roads, we saw lots of sculptors at work. Along the frozen Songhua River, we saw hundred tons of ice cubes being transported to the exhibition site. It was massive.

We hired 2 local drivers (RMB400/day) to bring us around Harbin. It wasn’t ideal to get a local taxi to fetch us around as the local taxi-sharing policy allows the driver to stop by and and pick up another passenger. Also, it was freezing in Harbin and we wouldn’t want to be stranded out there in the cold without any transport.

Here are our Top 5 Moments in Harbin:

NUMBER 1 – SUN ISLAND PARK (SNOW SCULPTURE ART EXPOSITION)
The Sun Island Park is the site of the Snow Sculpture Exposition displaying gigantic snow sculpture. It has the world’s largest indoor ice and snow art museum and it opens to the public from November every year. Entrance Fee: RMB240/adult

NUMBER 2 – 13TH HARBIN ICE AND SNOW WORLD
First set-up by the Harbin Municipal Government in 1999, Harbin Ice and Snow World is by far the largest ice and snow art exhibition in the world. It is commonly referred to as possessing four of the key ‘mosts’: the most art attractions, the most beautiful night views, the most recreational activities and the most forms of entertainment. The exhibits are majestic and magnificent! Make sure you have a good ice/snow boots. It can be very slippery. Entrance Fee: RMB300/adult

NUMBER 3 – SIBERIAN TIGER PARK
Hop onto a mini-bus and experience a close encounter inside the world’s largest wild Siberian Tiger Park. There are over 500 pure-breed Siberian tigers here, with 100 visible to visitors. In addition, visitors can also see white tigers, lions, lynx, leopards, and black pumas as well as Bengali tigers. The tigers are well-fed here. They are pretty big in size. Tip: Take the window seat so you get a better close-up view of the beasts. Inside the enclosure, you are able to buy a piece of meat or live chicken to feed the tigers. Entrance fee: RMB90/adult

NUMBER 4 – ST SOPHIA CHURCH
St. Sophia Church in Harbin is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the Far East. Elkan thought he was in Moscow when we were there! According to TravelChinaGuide: The Byzantine style church has a complex history. Shortly after the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), the Russian built the church of timber in March, 1907. Then, the Russian rebuilt it using masonry and timber four years later. The onset of a second reconstruction by Russian was marked on September 23rd, 1923, and a ceremony was held to celebrate laying the corner stone. It was completed on November 25th, 1932, after nine years, and was hailed as a monumental work of art. Entrance Fee: RMB20/adult

NUMBER 5 – DRAGON TOWER
Standing at 336m, the Dragon Tower is ranked 23rd Tallest Tower in the world (a few meters taller than 332.6m-tall Tokyo Tower), this was the pride of Harbin residents back in 2000 when it was erected. Reason: It is Asia’s tallest Standing Steel Tower. However, some Harbin locals we spoke to mistaken this tower as the world’s tallest. Today, the Dragon Tower has become a photo landmark of Harbin and Heilongjiang Province.

Our White Christmas III – Yabuli Ski Resort (25th – 28th Dec)

We finally arrived at Yabuli Ski Resort after a long 15-hour train ride. This is China’s largest and best ski resort. It provides skiing facilities of international standards with high mountains and good snow. Snow falls for a period of 170 days and temperate goes as low as -10˚ Cecilius. It is also China’s biggest training center for alpine skiers where it hosted many international ski events (3rd Winter Asian Games in 1996 and the Winter Universiade in 2009).

Strangely, this was supposed to be the peak travel season during Christmas and New Year but our hotel was extremely quiet with very few guests. It was like staying in a ghost hotel/town. When we arrived at the hotel at 11pm, we saw only 2 staffs. It was unusually quiet for a 5-star ski resort during this time of the year. There was no other guests in the lounge and lobby. The bar and cafe were closed. It seemed we were the only guests in the hotel.

We were very hungry after the long journey. We were told there was no one working in the hotel kitchen! In the end, we drove out to a nearby farmhouse for our late dinner. It was a farmhouse – not a restaurant. Dining was on a concrete fire-heating platform. The owners burnt firewood underneath the platform to keep the floor warm. There was no chair, all of us sat on the floor by the low dinning table. Dinner was served by the mother and her daughter. Food comes in big serving portions in Northeastern China. The home-cooked food was so tasty that we returned on our last day for our farewell meal!

We spent 2 days in Yabuli. The weather was very cold but it was sunny + blue sky. The snow was good too – not too hard or wet. It was thick and powdery. At some areas, the snow was at least 2ft deep. It wasn’t very crowded so we had the whole place to ourselves. All of us had so much fun in the snow. Elkan was jumping and rolling down the soft snowy slopes. The girls were busily cam-whoring in their pretty ski attires. Harshad got himself a personal pretty snowboard instructor. I was lying comfortably on the snow, enjoying the joyous moments.

Our White Christmas II – Train Rides in China

Christmas Day – We embarked on a full-day train journey to the largest and best ski resort in China. Located in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Yabuli Ski Resort is 1,200km away from Beijing, 200km from Harbin.

It was a mad rush this morning. We were supposed to check out the hotel at 6am and board the train at 7:15am.  Tracy and Kalinda overslept and woke up only at 5:50am. To avoid any more surprises, Harshad and Felicia left the hotel first to recce the train station. Fortunately, the train station is only 10-minute drive away. The girls managed to check out at 6:30am. We managed to board the train just in time. Phew…what an adventure!

There is no direct train from Beijing to Yabuli. We have to transfer to another train at Harbin city. It was a very long and tiring journey. The train from Beijing to Harbin took 9.5 hours. We waited about 2 hours for our next train (and we had cup noodles for our dinner). The second train from Harbin to Yabuli took another 3 hours. At Yabuli train station, we took a 40-minute car ride to our resort. The total journey took about 15 hours.

To fully experience how the local travel, I booked all 4 different classes of seatings for all our 4 returning train rides – namely the “Hard Seater”, “Soft Seater”, “Overnight Soft Sleeper” and the deluxe “Twin Soft Sleeper” with personal in-cabin lavatory.

The train ride from Beijing to Harbin was surprising comfortable and smooth. It was like taking a business class seat. Clean and spacious with lots of legroom and very soft comfortable seat. It cost RMB311/pax. Heading up north, we saw the transition of the landscapes right outside the window. From dried sandy plains to white powered lands, it was like watching the change of seasons from Autumn to Winter. We saw the morning, afternoon and evening sun. We saw towns, factories, farmlands and cities. It was a beautiful moving portrait.

Our connecting train from Harbin to Yabuli was less luxurious but it was the most interesting ride of all. As it was only a 3-hour ride, I bought the lowest grade seating – the “Hard Seater”. It was such a memorable experience traveling in the hard-seater carriage. We mingled with the locals and they were very surprised to find Singaporeans on board. In fact, they were surprised to see “tourists” in the hard-seater carriage. They said most tourists took the “Soft Seater” carriage. Elkan and Harshad attracted the most attention – as it was not a common sight for them to see a young Chinese boy speaking fluent English to an Indian. After breaking the ice with the strangers, the locals offered us food and white wine. They were very friendly and warm people. A couple of them gave us travel tips and warned us against unscrupulous conman. We were all perfect strangers but the atmosphere on board was like a gathering of old friends and families. Lovely!

After a long interesting day on rail, we finally arrived at our ski resort at Yabuli. It was already 11pm at night. (We left our Beijing hotel at 6am). The train ride was an extraordinary experience for all of us – who had been accustomed to luxury traveling. We spent good time on board connecting with one another and mingling with the locals. We slept, we ate, we drank, we sang, we played cards and we danced. It was a different and enriching traveling experience. Bravo!

Here are the 4 classes of Trains:

THE HARD-SEATER
It is not really “hard” like the ones we have on the MRT train. It is economic-class seats for most of the thrifty locals. It is not advisable to travel on this class during peak seasons like Chinese New Year as it will be overly packed and crowded. We took this train from Harbin City to Yabuli. It costs RMB19/pax. We were traveling in a low-peak season and it was only 70% filled. Passengers here are surprisingly friendly, chatty and rowdier. Even though the passengers have to sit according to the seat number, they are willing to exchange seats so you get to seat with your friends and family. Expect lots of activities going on there. Don’t be surprised if they start to make small talks or share food with you. While we were there, our “small talks” became “long talks” that lasted the entire 3 hours. We had lots of fun here.

THE SOFT-SEATER (6-SEATER)
We took the soft-seaters from Yabuli back to Harbin City. It costs RMB50/pax. 6 of us squeezed into a tight 4-bedder cabins. The good thing about soft-seater is there is little chance of overcrowding within the cabin. The full cabin fits 6 passengers. It is ideal if you take up the entire cabin to yourselves so you won’t be in any awkward closeness with strangers. For those who like privacy, there is a sliding door which you can close.

THE SOFT-SLEEPER (4-BEDDER)
It is a small cabin with 4 double-decker beds. Very similar to the 6-seater “Soft-Seater Cabin” we had. We took this class for the 9-hour overnight train from Harbin City to Beijing. It costs RMB433/pax. The cabins aren’t sound-proof so you get to hear noises from the next cabin. We had the whole cabin to ourselves so we didn’t feel unsafe. Sleeping was pretty comfortable except the usage of the lavatory. There were only 2 lavatories on each carriage. It is advisable to be one of the firsts to use the lavatory. Bring your own toilet roll, wet-tissues and hand sanitizers lotion as it runs out pretty fast.

THE DELUXE SOFT-SLEEPER (2-BEDDER WITH PRIVATE LAVATORY)
I was expecting a queen bed but it was a double-decker 2-bedder cabin. The beds are wider and the cabin is must spacious than the 4-bedder ones. It comes with a private in-cabin lavatory so clean freaks need not to worry about sharing germs and foul smell. There were LCD TV at the end of each bed but it wasn’t working for us. It is a very comfortable for a long-haul overnight ride. A big cafe is located just next door and we had our supper there. Felicia and I took this cabin from Harbin to Beijing. It costs RMB840/pax.

Our White Christmas I – Beijing (22nd – 25th Dec)

Elkan is excited. He is looking forward for another white Christmas. He has been bugging me for the snow. He was only 4 when we took him to the snow mountain in Korea back in 2008. Amazingly, he remembers those snow encounters clearly – more than the recent 2009 Japan and 2011 Australia holidays. This year’s holiday travel brief is simple and obvious, Elkan wanted to play snow and Harshad wanted to climb the Great Wall. We decided to spend this year’s Christmas holidays in Beijing and Harbin. Another good news for the group – Santarina Kalinda is spending her Christmas with us in China! The more the merrier!

Our first stop was Beijing – the city with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. To date, China is ranked 3rd (after Italy and Spain) with a total of 41 World Heritage Sites (and another 52 sites under pending).

We spent 4 days in Beijing. We visited 4 key World Heritage Sites (The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China), 2 Olympic icons (The Bird Nest and the Water Cube) and 2 prominent shopping sites (The Village and The Place).

This is going to be another memorable trip (with many “firsts”). At the Great Wall, we had our first scary chair-lift rides up to the fortress. I was petrified by the shaky chair-lift. Not to mention our first thrilling Toboggan down the hills.

Outside the Bird Nest, we experienced our first nerve-breaking walk/dance on frozen lake! Honestly, we had no idea if it was safe to walk on the ice. It felt thin and dangerous. We could see the water underneath the ice sheet. Anyway, we repeated the same dangerous “ice-walking” stunt on the big Lake Kunming at the Summer Palace a few days later where Elkan was jumping and rolling carelessly on the icy floor.

In the coming days, we will be experiencing our first “overnight soft-sleeper” carriage. For some of us, this will be our longest rail travel ever – covering over 1,200km on rail on a 14-hour train from Beijing to the snow mountain at Yabuli, Harbin. (In total, that is almost 28 hours on rail, covering 2,400km.) This is also the gang’s first taste of -25˚ winter. And many more “firsts” yet to be discovered.

Beijing is a popular and familiar city amongst many. Therefore, I shall let the pictures tell the story.

Here are our Top 5 favorite Moments in Beijing:

NUMBER 1 – THE GREAT WALL AT MUTIANYU (慕田峪长城)
Located 45 miles away from Beijing, Mutianyu offers some of the best scenic views of the Great Wall. It is also “quieter” and less crowded than the more popular “Badaling (八达岭)”. To enjoy the view and avoid the crowds, it is worth waking up early in the morning and heads for the Great Wall.

NUMBER 2 – THE SUMMER PALACE (颐和园)
A beautiful summer retreat for Empress Dowager Cixi, UNESCO declared the Summer Palace “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design”. To date, It is the best-kept existing royal garden in Beijing. It is a beautiful composition of man-made structures and nature. The pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges form a harmonious relationship with the natural stone walls and lake. It is truly a living space of outstanding aesthetic value. This is a living museum to witness the great Chinese landscaping.

NUMBER 3 – THE FORBIDDEN CITY (紫禁城)
Home of 24 Chinese Emperors, the 500-year old Palace is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. It is also the world’s largest surviving palace complex, consisting of 980 surviving buildings with 9,999 bays of rooms. (Number 10,000 is a scared number exclusive for the Emperor only). Today, it is an empty Palace with little artifacts. Many national treasures were stolen during the Japanese Invasion and civil wars. Some of the iconic treasures are now displayed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

NUMBER 4 – THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN (天坛)
Larger than the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven was built in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. It is also the place where General Yuan Shikai, then President of the Republic of China, performed a Ming prayer ceremony at the temple, as part of a wishful effort to have himself declared Emperor of China.

NUMBER 5 – THE BIRD NEST (鸟巢) & WATER CUBE (水立方)
Iconic structures of world records – The Bird Nest and Water Cube were made popular during the 2008 Beijing Olympic. To maintain the structures and attract crowds, the Bird Nest is now converted into a Snow Theme Park while the Water Cube has now becomes a Water Theme Park.

Christmas is here! And we are having our little Christmas shopping and dinner at Sanlitun and The Place. Tomorrow morning at 5am, we will be setting off for our long-awaited white Christmas at Harbin and Yabuli. It will be a 14-hour journey on rail. This is going to be exciting and I am expecting a couple of surprises! (And I am sure the ladies and my baby prince will be shivering in the cold!)

Merry Christmas to all my friends and families! Stay tuned for our Harbin photos.