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Harbin, often referred to as Little Moscow, is China's northernmost major city and capital of this most northerly Heilongjiang province. Historically, the city has had a lot of Russian influence, in particular after the Russian Civil War of 1918. The influence remains clearly visible in the building styles and foods. The world famous Harbin Snow Festival with its Snow Sculpture Park and Ice Lantern Festival (held between December 31 - mid February) is a family treat not to be missed. The Siberian Tiger Park is another highlight of the visit, especially for children.
Harbin is at the same latitude as Montreal, and winter temperatures is between -10 and over -30 °C.(in the past three years the lowest is around -17 due to the influence of the global warm).
Find the link of the Article below on CCC's Harbin Trip by That's Shanghai editor who took the trip with CCC in 2006. (http://www.thatssh.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=965&Itemid=39) |
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Highlights
* Ice Lantern Festival at night is poetic and colourful fiesta of ice and light.
* Daytime Snow Sculpture Expo on Sun Island is worldly famous
* Drive into a park of over 200 free roaming Siberian tigers and lions on snow, feed them with flying pheasants and watch them capturing their prey is special experience. Great fun for both adults & children.
* Watch swiming and diving peformance on the frozen river, and play ice Slides.
* Drink in an ice Bar on the street of Russian-influenced architecture.
* Japanese Germ Warfare Base in Harbin is an eye-opening site to get to know the history of World War II in the Far East.
Best time to visit
Winter. Travel soon to avoid the peak season starting late January - February.
Harbin Snow Sculpture Expo & Ice Lantern Festival begin officially on the second week of January annually till mid February. But they are actually open to visitors right after christmas, when ice lanterns are complete and 80% snow sculptures are done. By then, you can see sculptors working on them.
Summer is popular for local tourists.
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Helpful Info
Weather: -15℃ － -25℃ Please check the forecast before the trip! (try www.weather.com)
What to bring: your passport, fur lined shoes, ear muffs, fur-lined leather gloves, down jacket, several layers of socks, padded pants, hat, scarf and mask
Useful hint: Digital camera batteries tend to use up their power quicker in the cold weather. CCC recommends that you keep your camera inside your jacket until you want to use it or have more batteries to use.
Family friendly?
It's suitable for people of any age and is child-friendly. Siberian Park and Snow Amusement facilities (slides and others) are highlights for children.
Hard to aquire train and air tickets
Due to the popularity of the Harbin Snow and Ice festivals and the increased amount of travel associated with the winter vacation and Chinese Spring festival, you may not be able to obtain even a single train or plane ticket. It become tighter from mid-January to Feb.15.
Train condition
The travel train to Harbin is the one of the best in China. All carriages are equipped with high-class soft-sleepers and washrooms. The quilt is very clean and each berth is set up with a TV with English channels (HBO, etc.).
Food:
A mixture of Chinese food with Russian influences. Flavors are not spicy but food is filling. Main cooking methods: braising, double-boiling, steaming and stewing. Specialties: Russian red sausage, Meat Stews, Wild mushrooms, Caviar, Chocolates, cakes and Harbin beer (the oldest beer brand in China). On the CCC tour you have the opportunity to sample local dishes or choose alternative cuisine.
Shopping
Harbin is famous for selling many Russian products including the Russian Doll Babooshka. Caviar is easily purchased in shops and markets in the city. Harbin is also famous for its Dongbei (northeast of China) Ginseng, wild mushrooms, fur and Harbin red sausage.
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Itinerary
Day 1 Harbin
Beijing travellers: take a morning flight to Harbin (breakfast on the plane)
Shanghai travellers: take an evening flight the previous night and transfer to the hotel. Have breakfast in the hotel and meet up with the Beijing group at the Snow Sculpture Festival on the Sun Island Park. After an abundant meal of Dong Bei Specialties for lunch, we visit the Safari Siberian Tiger Park and at night join the Ice Sculpture and Lantern Festival. Afterwards, we drive back to the downtwon to enjoy dinner at a Russian Restaurant
Day 2 Harbin / Fly out
Drive to Pingfang District to visit Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base and World War II Far East Memorial Park (40-60 minutes' drive – worth visiting, no scary photos as the Nanjing Maccacre Museum but interesting sites of Japanese Arm Headquarters, Germ Warfare base constructions and rats & Flea farmhouses). Alternatively, visit Harbin Aquarium housing Whales, Penguins, Polar Bear, seals, foxes, and wolves, and watch a seal and whale performance.
We will then try Dongbei style Jiaozi (dumpling) and other dishes. In the afternoon, we go to watch winter swimming & diving groups on the frozen Songhuajiang river, and then visit St. Sophia Orthodox Church and then enjoy some free time to shop around, relax in some local cafés or go to the local markets like the underground seafood markets which is famous for caviar. Alternatively, you can call in at Zhaolin Park, a small park in the downtown area, which was the original site for the Ice Lantern festival (best to visit after dark).
then transfer to the airport for a flight back home.
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Harbin to Beijing 20:20--22:05
Harbin to Shanghai Pudong 18:30--21:15 |
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Depart Beijing
Three Tiers |
Price |
Single Supplement |
Payment Deadline |
Method of transport |
|
Early Bird Price |
No longer available |
RMB350(1 night) |
Monday 15th December, 17:30 |
To: solf slepper
From: flight |
| Regular Price |
No longer available |
RMB350(1 night) |
Wednesday 24th December, 17:30 |
To: solf slepper
From: flight |
| Last minute Price |
No longer available |
RMB350(1 night) |
From Thursday 25th
December |
To: solf slepper
From: flight |
|
Depart Beijing
Three Tiers |
Price |
Single Supplement |
Payment Deadline |
Method of transport |
|
Early Bird Price |
No longer available |
RMB700(2 nights) |
Monday 15th December, 17:30 |
To: flight
From: flight |
| Regular Price |
RMB4,350 |
RMB700(2 nights) |
Wednesday 24th December, 17:30 |
To: flight
From: flight |
| Last minute Price |
RMB4,500 |
RMB700(2 nights) |
From Thursday 25th
December |
To: flight
From: flight |
|
Depart Shanghai
Three Tiers |
Price |
Single Supplement |
Payment Deadline |
Method of transport |
|
Early Bird Price |
No longer available |
RMB700(2 nights) |
Monday 15th December, 17:30 |
To: flight
From: flight |
| Regular Price |
RMB4,800 |
RMB700(2 nights) |
Wednesday 24th December, 17:30 |
To: flight
From: flight |
| Last minute Price |
RMB4,950 |
RMB700(2 nights) |
From Thursday 25th
December |
To: flight
From: flight |
Children's Discounts
Payment Terms and Conditions
Payment must be received before published deadline to receive corresponding price.
Please refer to the following terms and conditions associated with each method of payment:
Payment at office: CCC must receive the amount (Cash or from credit card) before the published deadline to receive corresponding price.
Credit card: If paying by international credit card authorization form (moto form), CCC must receive your form 2 days before the published deadline in order to have time to process it, and for funds to be received on/by the published deadline.(click to view details)
Bank Transfer: CCC now requires that your payment must be transferred into Chinese RMB before you wire your bank transfer. We must receive a copy of the bank transfer receipt before the published deadline in order to guarantee your price.
Last minute booking: CCC cannot guarantee that we will be able to reserve tickets and rooms at this late stage but we will try our best. Thank you for your understanding.
CCC will respond to every email concerning payment immediately. If you do not hear from us this may indicate that we may not have received your email and we would advise you to call us to confirm. We cannot guarantee that we receive every email so the onus is on you to ensure we receive the payment information before the published deadlines. Thank you for your understanding.
CCC services include:
--Train Beijing-Harbin ( soft-sleeper) & fly back to Beijing (fly to Harbin will be arranged by request)
or flight Shanghai-Harbin-Shanghai
--1 night accommodation in Gloria International hotel (4-star)
or two nights for Shanghai participants & Beijingers who take plane to Harbin.
--transfers in customary air conditioned coaches
--entrance fee for all sights mentioned in the program
--all sightseeing and transfers with CCC guides & local English-speaking tour guides
--All meals during the trip (includes one meal in a Russian restaurant)
If there are less than 10 participants, CCC has the right to cancel the trip.
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