KATHMANDU, Jan 22: If you ever harboured the dream of visiting one of the coldest places on Earth and savouring its beauty, then Harbin of China is the place to go. But you need to muster guts to go there.
Here you can see structures and sculptures carved out of ice - wonderful artistic illustrations. You can enjoy ski. You can also beat the cold by bathing in hot water. December to January is the right time to be in Harbin to take first-hand experience of all these activities.
Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang province in the far north-east of China. This province is named after the Heilong River. Heilong means a black dragon. Many arts and structures are made out of ice blocks and sculptures carved out of piles of snow during December-January, which are kept on display for the visitor. Even an ice sculpting competition is organised every year towards the beginning of January in Harbin.
The 36th Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival kicked off on January 5 this year on the northern side of the Songhua River. The theme of the Festival this year is, 'Ice and Snow Integration, Happy to Go Together'. The specialty of this Festival is that castles, streets, walls and columns, all erected from ice, are put on display on nearly 600 thousand square metres of sprawling area. These structures are lit by colourful lights which further give a glitzy and enlivening look to the 'ice city' in the night. These structures exist until March.
This time of the year is a festive time for the locals and it is also the time for the snow lovers across the world for holidaying with the joy of the Festival. During the winter, the lakes and rivers in Harbin are almost frozen. This time, distinguished guests and foreign dignitaries from various countries and mayors from different metropolises attended the Festival opening ceremony.
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According to the event organiser, Harbin Municipal Government, the Festival is being held this time around with the main programme and 400 sub-activities. How big a structure can you construct on a pile of snow, you will get a fair idea of this when you visit the Taiyang Dao Island located at No. 3 Jingbei Road, Pingfang district. Mammoth snow and ice sculptures have been constructed here. Several of these structures are created by the contestants. One can also see sculptors in their work here. Enjoying skiing at Yabuli peak Crowds of ski enthusiasts and learners can be seen at Harbin's Yabuli Mountain. This ski spot is located 117 kilometres to the south-east of Harbin. You can take high-speed train to get there. There are adults around enjoying skiing with hordes of youths also trying their hand at this sport, learning and taking instructions from their instructors. One can reach the summit of Yabuli hill by cable car and from there ski downhill through meandering ski courses.
The 2020 World Paranordic Skiing Asia Cup Championship was held here this time. China's largest ski resort is located at Yabuli Mountain and this is the first choice of Chinese skiers. However, some ski enthusiasts and players from Russia and countries of East Asia also come here.
A volunteer assigned at the ski resort, Han Peizhe, said promotional programmes targeting the Europeans have not been planned here as there are already many ski resorts throughout Europe. According to him, the temperature here is in the range of minimum minus 42 degrees Celsius and maximum minus 23.5 degrees Celsius during the winter. At other times of the year, this 1,374 metres high mountain range and its surroundings change into beautiful woodland and a park. Visitors here can enjoy playing ski as well as observing the hot spring water and the water park.
There is also a panda house built out of bamboo at this place. It is spread across 6,500 square metres area. A pair of panda can be seen here munching bamboo shoots and frolicking around. Attractive Central Avenue The Central Avenue is 1,400 metres long and 11 metres wide boulevard. It is the major commercial hub of Harbin. It starts from the Memorial Tower on the bank of Songhua River and ends at Sinyang Square. Also called Central Street, its wide streets and squares are paved with stone. One can observe the traffic from the square.
The old architectural styled buildings have been well-protected here. These buildings bearing Russian architecture are grand and impressive. The squares are neat and clean. There is an artistic underground toilet in the middle of the road. This demonstrates how sensitive the locals are regarding sanitation. As evening sets in, one can observe interesting scene at the square with the roadside stall owners selling various food items shouting out loud inviting the pedestrians to buy their stuff. T
he 53-metre-tall Easter Orthodox Church, St. Sophia Cathedral, dominates the cityscape in its grandeur. There are Western-style shops and stores here selling expensive and luxury foreign goods like branded fur, woolen and cotton apparels, medicines, jewellery, watches and other electronic gadgets.
With a population of around 40 million, this province is also the seat of Heilongjiang University. The Harbin Vocational and Technical College is situated in Suihua city. More than 12,000 students are imparted training on mechanical and electrical engineering, construction engineering, electronic and information engineering and art and design, among nine disciplines at this large polytechnic institute.
Among the students, 26 are from the African country Zambia. Half of the Zambians are learning Chinese language before joining the technical courses. Manager at Practice Bases of Welding, Naichao Li shared that his Department planned to construct a nuclear plant in future. According to him, the Department is striving for pursuing research work on advanced welding technology and for accommodating more and more foreign students.
College President Liushen asked the visitors not to be surprised on seeing adults taking training here, saying, "There are three types of trainees in our college - those who have migrated here, unemployed and retired servicemen." He said this centre has significantly contributed to reducing unemployment in China and specifically in the province. According to him, the College aimed at imparting training for the candidates with limited diploma education and offering jobs to them in unlimited social service.
Feng Zhensheng is a retired army personnel who is being trained in the Automobiles and Maintenance Department. He is from Heilongjiang. In course of a short conversation, he expressed his satisfaction with the training being imparted at the centre.
Music is one thing that cannot be left out while talking about Harbin, a city with a population of over 10 million. Sweet music can be heard playing at the nooks and corners of this city. This city which is famous for music had won the title of 'Music Capital' from the United Nations in 2010. And fitting to its sobriquet as the Music Capital, this city is hosting the Fourth Schoenfeld International String Competition 2020 on July 15-29 this year.
