Harbin is the largest city in China that is the closest to Siberia.
The last day on Harbin! I’m actually excited to get back to Guangzhou and warmer temperatures. It is pretty here but the temperatures range from -15 C to – 20 C. At that temperature the air is very dry. Using lip balm and moisturizing often is a must. You also need several layers under a really good coat and insulating snowpants and boots.
We packed everything and put our luggage on the bus. We headed to the riverfront and walked to the flood control monument which intersects the riverfront and the road to the central market.
We first walked down the central market street to west 12th to see St. Sophia’s church. The architecture here is but Chinese but like any eastern european country.
St. Sophia’s is a Russian Orthodox church which is beautiful. Unfortunately they were renovating the inside so we could not enter.
From there we went in and out of shops in order to warm up a bit. Taking gloves off to take a picture left fingers numb!
Musicians took turns playing music or singing from this balcony. It was beautiful. This guy played beautiful old music on the saxophone.
One of the things people do here is buy ice cream to eat on the street. It is just ordinary ice cream, but something people do. It actually didn’t make me any colder.
We went in and out shops mostly to look for caviar. There was none to be found. I think it is banned due to covid-19. The virus had been found on fish products earlier in the year. I was disappointed in that.
I did find this bread flavored soda. I did try it. It tastes like that yummy taste you have in your mouth after you eat really good bread. It is a lingering bread taste and actually quite tasty. It is a favorite in Russia.
We found a Russian restaurant that had good food though I did not find the potato latkes I was looking for. I had a beetroot salad and potato mushroom soup.
Next we took the cable car across the river. The number of things you can do on this completely frozen river is amazing. Skating, sledding, pulled by dog teams, and other fun activities. If you love winter and outdoor activities, you will not be bored! The spaces they have created here is amazing. The ice is 1 meter thick.
A walk along the river back to the bus to look at smaller snow sculptures.
We also saw construction of the sculptures in this temperature. It was amazing.
A street food market for stinky tofu. It is just fermented tofu. Yummy but had to eat fast before it became cold.
Now back to Shanghai and then on to Guangzhou!