ISLAMABAD – Last year, I was awarded a 10-month fellowship program from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China. Once I shared my plan with my friends about my China trip, they all suggested me to visit Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.
I started to plan for Harbin but when I landed in Beijing on 21 February 2019, I had no idea how to visit Harbin because the Ice and Snow festival finished on 25 February.
In November 2019, when I had lost hopes for attending Harbin Ice & Snow Festival, someone again told me to search for tourist companies in Harbin. Meanwhile, I was attending a closing ceremony of Beijing Institute of Chinese language on 10th November, my mobile phone rang and I received a message
“My dear friend, do you have time from 4th January to 11th January 2020? I’d like to invite you for Harbin Ice and Snow Festival”. I suddenly replied to him and said: “Of course, it’s my dream to attend the festival”.
My fellowship was completed on December 11, 2019 after visiting more or less 14 provinces and 50 cities around China. I landed back here in Islamabad on December 20 and started planning to attend the Ice and snow festival. I did my shopping completed from Beijing but had to buy some warm undergarments from Pakistan.
I packed my luggage and took flight for Harbin on 4th January 2020. After changing three flights and almost spending 20 hours on traveling, I landed on my dreamland Harbin also called as “Land of Snow”. When I stepped out from the plane, freezing winds welcomed me. At Harbin, I found many cultural and historical places. The architecture in Harbin carries not only China’s rich historic heritage but it also has some influence from neighboring Russia and Siberia. The spectacle at Snow City was impressive – as sparkling ice sculptures, or rather, ice buildings, throughout the city.
We were told about the historic perspective of the festival which started 36 years ago and it is one of the world’s biggest ice and snow carnival that is scenic and cultural. The festival is not only the annual important festival for local people but also an attraction for winter holiday lovers from all over the world.
I was a part of a journalist delegation comprising 20 correspondents from around the world especially invited by Harbin Municipal Party Committee’s Cyberspace Office in collaboration with Harbin Culture Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, and co-organized by the International Online Heilongjiang Channel and China Radio International online (CRI).
On the 2nd and 3rd day, we visited many places including Polar Land Park, Harbin Hytera Technology Co Ltd, Sui Hua Heilongjiang Province, Harbin Institute of Vocational Training and many other interesting places. We also attended the opening ceremony of Harbin International Ice and snow festival enthusiastically which was a treat to watch.
On the 3rd day, we enjoyed ice and snow games like motor riding, sliding, horse-riding and so on. In the evening, we visited Central Street that is quite famous around the world for tourism and shopping. I found many foreigners and Chinese rushing and enjoying the street with families and friends in very cold temperatures.
Last but not the least, we took a fast train and off to Yabuli Ski Resort. Yabuli is China’s largest Ski Resort and is more than 100 miles away from Harbin. The city is best known for its dazzling yearly ice and snow festival.
Due to its location in China in far northeast (an area that’s very, very cold), the mountaintops at Yabuli have drops ranging from 650 to 4,000 feet where more than three-feet snow is received annually. There are 50 instructors on staff at Yabuli, and a good number of them speak moderate English.
The best accommodations at Yabuli can be found at the Club Med Outpost, which has plenty of activities for kids. Yabuli provides all type of facilities to visitors including the Ski Resort with the longest single Ski run and the most varied Ski run.
It also has the largest Ski training base in China and the first international Ski school in China. The longest mountain slide in China is also here while the highest quality mountain sightseeing ropeway in the world is also in Yabuli. The city also has the North … most panda house in China which has the lowest temperature in the highest dimension and China’s first national polar training base.
I experienced Skiing with fellows and enjoyed a lot. I fell down many times but I didn’t lose my passion to make the trip a lifetime memory.
I remember one fellow as saying: “Close to heaven, down to earth. On top of the mountains, everything makes sense. Skiing experience with fellow journalists was worth it. Can’t think any other sport give that pleasure when you fall and then again encourage yourself to Ski.”
Moreover, Yabuli provides forest hot spring facilities and tourists can experience an extreme temp between -30°C to -70°C. The spring water is 2808 meters from Yabuli Guokeng mountain with a water temperature of -33.7°C and a total area of 26,400 square meters.
Yabuli forest, with the theme of forest, hot spring and snow mountain, advocates the concept of health preservation and promotes the most characteristic hot spring rich in ‘selenium’.
So adventurists and tourists should not waste their time and just fly along with friends and families to Yabuli to have a novel and lifetime experience of Ice Paradise in Harbin. But tourists must bring warm clothes because the temperature is very cold there – even beyond their calculations. Harbin will not disappoint you. Have fun!
