Zhaolin Park

Do pick up a map from the reception counter. As it is an incredibly useful tool, to help you get around the city on foot. It takes around 20mins to walk from the hotel to Zhao Lin Park. Do note that there is a night and day ticket for the park and the prices are slightly different. At night the ice sculptures are lit up thus giving the park a magical feel. A China student pass is extremely useful as with it entry into the park is 1/2 price! A mega saver especially when an adult ticket costs 120-150 rmb!

Every year there is a different theme in the park and when I visited the park, the theme was Disney! The park is filled with hugenormous Disney Fairytale replicates, such as a ship from Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Castles and a Castle. Visitors can climb up the structures and even slide down some of them. I was captivated by a three to four storeys high castle-like structure. It even had an in-built lift, escalator and a mega high slide! Simply Awesome. Visitors can even try ice-cycing - which requires the art of balancing!

377号 Senlin Street
Daoli, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
0451-84692804

Accomodation in Haerbin: JinJiang Inn (Sophia Plaza)

I stayed at JinJiang Inn (Sophia Plaza) for three nights. I highly recommend this hotel because it is a value for money accomodation. I stayed in a twin room and the room was clean and pretty spacious!

Having read online about the horror stories of cabbing around Haerbin. Minimising cabbing was at the top of my agenda! The location of our hotel was within walking distance from most of the major sightseeing spots so it was awesome being able to see the city on twos instead of fours!

Snapshots around the city

Getting from 北京 Beijing to 哈尔滨 Haerbin Hei Long Jiang

China is now a land of remarkable engineering achievement with an railway system that connects even the farthest bits of the country to the capital. There is even a train connecting Beijing to Lhasa! Harbin, Norway, Canada and Hokkaido are famed for their Ice & Snow Festivals. I decided to catch a train northwards from Beijing towards the frigid cold Haerbin to catch sight of this winter spectacular.

A ticket to Haerbin can be bought for any railway station in Beijing （北京西站(Beijing Xi Zhan)/北京北站/北京站(Beijing Zhan)/北京南站）Foreigners are advised to buy their tickets from Beijing Xi Zhan or Beijing Zhan, because there are special designated counters for foreigners with english speaking staff on hand. Tickets can be purchased 5 days in advance. It is advisable to queue for your tickets earlier, or it will be very difficult to get a ticket, especially during the peak season. Please bring your passport to purchase a ticket. The queues at the railway station can be quite long, so please bring something to entertain you while you wait. The train usually glides out of the station on the dot, so please arrive at the station 1 hour in advance.

Depending on your budget you can choose a soft sleeper(4 in a cabin with your own personal tv), hard sleeper(6 in cabin), soft seat or hard seat.

It can be quite confusing for foreigners, to determine the railway station to board the train.
The quickest way to figure out is by looking at the ticket
EG: 北京站(Starting Point) ---------> 哈尔滨(Destination)
The starting point will show you the railway station to board the train.

Food is available in the dining carriages, however most people will bring cup noodles to eat in the cabin, as there is free hot water.

It takes about 10 hours to get from Haerbin to Beijing, therefore do enjoy the gradual change of scenary from a bustling metropolitan city to vast empty land covered in powdery snow with frozen lakes and a few herds of sheeps or goats.

Points to note when flagging a cab at the station:

1)There is no designated Taxi Stand at Haerbin Train Station (哈尔滨 火车站) and most passengers tend to go to the main road to flag a cab.
2)If you find it difficult to hail a cab, you can approach a police officer for help.

Wang Fu Jing - Night Snack Street
Opening Hours: 4pm-9pm

Note : Do not buy the Candied Fruits from the first stall at the start of the street! Nearing closing time, in order to get rid of their sugared fruits, the salesmen will squat on the styrofoam boards which they previously stuck the fruit sticks into! Totally Unhygenic!! A friend who ate the fruits from that stall was down with stomach upset for a couple of days!

Thirsty! Are you interested in a cup of Coloured Sugar Syrup?? Think Twice! Take a look at the cup filled with Blue Liquid and Bubbling "white foam". In order to attract passerbys to his stall, the stall owner will always throw in a couple of pieces of dried ice into the cups! I saw him selling a cup filled with the bubbling liquid erupting like a "mini volcano"! A Health Hazard! Incredibly Deadly!

Fear Factor - I think it is more difficult to overcome the psychological barrier of consuming insects rather than the actual act of eating it! The insects are deep-fried and sprinkled with seasoning! I tried the mini scorpions, they did not taste that bad, pretty crunchy like "Keropok"! Not too sure how the worm looking ones tasted like!

I caught sight of a billboard in a caffe along the sidewalk. A collection of the various flags from around the world was printed on them. Can anyone tell me which country does this flag belong to?