The specialty in Harbin is winter. It is the coldest provincial capital in the country, known for winter resorts, the ice and snow festival, and other winter related things. Having heard so much about the snow and ice festival I decided that this was the year I would make the trip up the the far northeast.

With my 5 layers of clothing, triple sock lining, double glove lining, hat, hood, and scarf I stepped off the high speed train into Harbin with my travel partner David. Our first impression was that it was not as cold as i expected. By no means was it warm but the air did not have the stinging quality of extreme cold I had prepared for. This taught me the first lesson of the trip: cold is relative and with proper preparation travel to even the most extreme areas is possible with the right planning. After all people live in Harbin and other cold cities all year round.

Before David and I could leave the train station we were approached by an agent selling day tours to the festival sites. This is common in China and sometimes these hawkers offer some pretty good deals. Generally it is worth picking their brain for information, but use extra caution when booking a tour. often these group tours have hidden costs so make sure you find out exactly what you are purchasing before handing over any money. While the price this agent offered was reasonable (15 dollars per person including a meal and transportation) we were not interested. Traveling with a group tour just did not appeal to us. We have both been in China for a while and very capable of getting around on our own.

With the thermometer well below freezing we were not in a position to walk all over town looking for a place. So we found a good hotel right next to the train station. That afternoon we had northeastern dumplings, which as far as I can tell are exactly the same as Beijing dumplings. Then in the evening went to visit the first of three festival sites.

The 2009 theme for the Harbin ice and snow festival was Disney; however the theme was only apparent in the city center location of the festival. Neither of the two larger sites on the far side of the river incorporated the Disney theme. Here are a few pictures from the trip care of David. For more of David’s pictures visit www.DavidAlaire.com