SCENES & SIGHTS

Harbin

Harbin is capital of Heilongjiang Province and the trading center of the northern part of northeast China. Songhua river flows across the city, nicknamed "Ice City" and "Snow city" because it lies under ice and snow for as long as four months in winter. A lot of buildings in the city are in European styles. Every year visitors for such annual events as Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival, "Summer of Harbin" Concert, and Harbin Economic and Trade Talks.

Sun Island

The Sun Island on the northern shore of Songhua river in downtown Harbin is a 38-square-km affair covered with sand dunes. In summer it is a well-known holidaymaking resort, while in winter it puts on a magnificent look. The island is the site of an international snow carving competition, which takes place every January.

Scenic Songhua River

A scenic belt extends along the northern shore of the Songhua River in downtown Harbin, with the majestic Monument to the Anti-Flood Battle in the center. The river is beautified by swaying weeping willows and clusters of flowers on its shores, and by white sails prying its waves. A 5-km-long riverside park lies on the southern bank, while Sun Island Scenic zone is on the northern bank. Winter turns the river into a crystal-clear chain, and the entire scenic belts into a paradise of ice and snow. Zhaolin Park is the venue of an annual ice lantern show and an international ice sculpture competition.

Ice-and-Snow Tours

With long winters, Heilongjiang Province is a major winter sports and sightseeing center in China. Ice sculptures, snow carvings, and snow scenes attract large numbers of visitors to Harbin, Yabuli, Yuquan, the Jingpo Lake, and Taoshan Mountain, where facilities are also available for such activities as winter swimming, ice surfing, sledging, skating and skiing.
Harbin Int'l lice-and-Snow Festival
Time: January 5-February 5
Venue: Harbin
What's On: Ice lantern show, snow sculpture display, and international ice and snow sculpture competitions; winter swimming, ice hockey, speed-skating, alpine skiing; ice-and-snow motion picture festival, folklore singing and dancing, weddings-on-the-ice.
Yabuli Skiing Ground
Yabuli Skiing Ground, 195km to the southeast of Harbin, is one of the largest skiing grounds in China. Also the venue for the skiing events of the 1996 Asian Winter Games, it features a 3,080-metre-long alpine skiing lane with an average drop of 884 meters and an average gradient of 22. Degrees. There are also facilities for ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

Forest and Bird-Watching Tours

Heilongjiang Province catches the fancy of hunters for its jungles teeming with wildlife. Open from September to February, Taoshan Hunting Ground is the first of its kind in China to open to game hunters. For water-bird hunters there is Lianhuan Lake Hunting Ground 233km from Harbin. Twenty-six km from Qiqihar is Zhalong Nature Reserve, an excellent bird-watching center with 269 kinds of birds. It is also known as the "Land of Cranes" because it is the natural habitat for 6 of the world's 15 breeds of cranes.

Wudalianchi Lakes

Situated in north Deduo County, Wudalianchi, or Five Interconnected Lakes, is a topographical miracle wrought by an erupting volcanic mountain more than 60,000 years ago. The mountains and caves around the lakes, and the water in them, are known for their exotic shapes and hues. It is the venue of China's largest cold mineral water recuperating center.

Jingpo Lake

One of China's national scenic resorts, the 90-square-km Jingpo Lake sits 110km south of Mudanjiang City and, at an altitude of 350 meters above sea level, is China's largest alpine lake. Spring flowers, summer waterfalls, autumn leaves, and winter snows have produced 8 scenic spots around the lake.

Heilongjiang River

Nicknamed "Mysterious Scenic Horizon", the Heilongjiang is an international river, which meanders its way across Russia, Mongolia and China. The middle section of the 4,370-km-long river marks the boundary between China and Russia. Its water showing a darkish hue, the river looks like a swimming dragon as it flows through a picturesque landscape teeming with local folklore. Cruises on the river begin at Mohe in the north, and pass such places as Xilinji, Heihe, Xunke, and Zhanhe. Daredevils may also go rafting in the river. Mohe is China's northernmost town; also known as North Pole Village, it is where the aurora borealis can be observed during the summer solstice, which falls on June 21 or 22.

Daqing: Petroleum City

Daqing, a major Chinese petrochemical center, is also a rising city whose landscape is graced with myriads of oil refineries and drillers. The city itself is providently landscaped, and a visit to it is highly recommended.