“Incredible frozen sculptures of Sun Island Park.
Really amazing!”
Recently, we visited the sun island exhibition by day, and ice&snow world in the evening. At the time we visited, the Sun island sculptures weren't quite complete, but I think that was a bonus as we got to see some of the making and practice for the opening ceremony. Some of the snow sculptures are incredibly detailed, but for me, the exhibition pales in comparison to ice & snow world across the river - that is really spectacular, but should be viewed in the evening, as the ice exhibits there are illuminated, and look amazing after sundown. We joined a 2D1N Harbin Ice & Snow Festival Tour organised by World Heritage Network that specializes in arranging tours for foreign tourists to explore Harbin. If you are looking for a tour which shows you around Harbin including this exhibition and ice & show festival at night, try emailing them and book your tour here:worldheritage101@yahoo.com and the network will arrange everything for you. With just a few exchange of emails, we were picked up at our hotel the next day by a local chinese guide who spoke very good english and our guide made our tour to this place so enjoyable and memorable. With a guide and private transport, I would think most people will need about 3 hours to explore each place. To stay that long though, you will need to be either used to low temperatures (-20 degC and down), or bring good cold weather clothing.
Really amazing!”
Recently, we visited the sun island exhibition by day, and ice&snow world in the evening. At the time we visited, the Sun island sculptures weren't quite complete, but I think that was a bonus as we got to see some of the making and practice for the opening ceremony. Some of the snow sculptures are incredibly detailed, but for me, the exhibition pales in comparison to ice & snow world across the river - that is really spectacular, but should be viewed in the evening, as the ice exhibits there are illuminated, and look amazing after sundown. We joined a 2D1N Harbin Ice & Snow Festival Tour organised by World Heritage Network that specializes in arranging tours for foreign tourists to explore Harbin. If you are looking for a tour which shows you around Harbin including this exhibition and ice & show festival at night, try emailing them and book your tour here:worldheritage101@yahoo.com and the network will arrange everything for you. With just a few exchange of emails, we were picked up at our hotel the next day by a local chinese guide who spoke very good english and our guide made our tour to this place so enjoyable and memorable. With a guide and private transport, I would think most people will need about 3 hours to explore each place. To stay that long though, you will need to be either used to low temperatures (-20 degC and down), or bring good cold weather clothing.
The only real catch is the remote location; we took a train from Beijing (the daytime express - we couldn't get tickets for the sleeper trains, though as the best of the exhibits are the night-time illuminated ones, it worked out OK). Traveling by air is faster, but however you get there, its quite a long trip for a couple of days worth of sightseeing. Engaging a private guide with private transport from World Heritage Network to explore the whole of Harbin and especially the ice exhibition is highly recommended.
...Commented by Rachel Lee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
...Commented by Rachel Lee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“The Ice & Snow World is simply amazing!
A must visit snow place in China!”
We were there for the second time this year and it is one of the most amazing experiences I've had in the past ten years. With a guide from World Heritage Network, it just made our trip even more enjoyable than the last time. It was like we had just entered some kind of alien ice world, the whole park was lit up with lights, and although there were quite a lot of people, it never felt too crowded or too busy. This time we joined a 3D2N Harbin Ice & Snow Festival Tour to cover all interesting places to visit in Harbin and the network provided us a local guide who spoke good english with private car transport . Based on our first experience last year, we had difficulty touring this place alone without a tour guide as there was no transport system like subways or buses that can go from one place to another. One may find difficulty to get transport back to hotel after visiting the festival at night. So this year, we have decided to engage a private tour guide and we found this network in Tripadvisor. It is also highy recommended by our friends who had been with them. The network can be contacted by email: worldheritage101@yahoo.com Trust me these private tour guides from World Heritage Network are not only professionals, they are also extremely friendly. With the help of our guide, it easily took us two hours to walk around the whole park, and there was a lot to see and do. You wouldn't think such a place could offer so much, but they had it all - skiing, tobogganing, ice slides, bikes which you could ride on ice, a dance stage and much more. Honestly, of all the Ice Festival attractions this was easily the best of all, and although it is a little costly, it's worth it - just make sure you visit it at night, as it does not look as impressive by day and also engage a local tour guide from this network or join this network's comprehensive tour that covers not only the ice & snow world but also all of Harbin.
...Commented by Sim Yong Chu, Singapore
...Commented by Sim Yong Chu, Singapore
“Never miss the Siberian Tiger Park when in Harbin. It will open your eyes!”
Our Harbin tour guide organised a trip to the Siberian Tiger Safari Park and it was amazing. The 1st part of the tour is a mini-bus safari around the park where there are over 200 tigers roaming around. It was amazing to suddenly see over 20 odd tigers simultaneously coming out of the cages and rushing to feed on the pheasants. It was a great experience seeing how quick the tigers capture their prey. The driver was very good in ensuring we got as close to the tigers as possible without putting the passengers in danger. The bus ride could have been longer though. It was only around 10 to 15 minutes. Tip: when on the bus, try to get the window seat for a better view, or sit in front of the bus next to the driver to get good camera shots. Also, bring a cloth to wipe the window as the it gets fogged up pretty quickly. The 2nd part is a walking tour to see the caged tigers and lions. Here you can purchase meat or chicken to feed the tigers. It is a great experience feeding the tigers. Tip: it can get quite expensive feeding the tigers, so we just did it once. There will be a lot of people feeding as well, so there will be a lot of opportunity to watch them feed and take photos. Overall an amazing tour and I like to thank World Heritage Network for providing us a very wonderful local guide that made our trip to Harbin so enjoyable and fun. Highly recommend it or you can check out their website for more information on this tour:www.whnharbin.blogspot.com Also, the walking tour is outdoors, so keep warm and dress as if you are going to the Ice festival.
...Commented by James R. Brutino, New York, USA
...Commented by James R. Brutino, New York, USA
"Skiing at Yabuli Resort is like a dream come true!
A miracle world for skiing fan !!!"
Recently, I decided to make a trip to Harbin to experience skiing and went to Yabuli Ski Resort. I was pleasantly surprised by the selection of skis, snowboards, modern ski lifts, and ski apparel. The ski lift had a conveyor belt that brings skiers/snowboards up to the lift point. I did a day tour with World Heritage Network and was provided a private car transport with a local guide who drove me there from my hotel in Harbin. It was a long journey. Took me about 3 hours to get there. At the resort. I really had fun skiing and the mountain white view was so beautiful and spectacular. The slopes could use some more work as there were only two opened (hasn't snowed for two days). The black diamond portion was icy the first quarter and then the blue portion was powdery and fun. Just have to get past the black diamond part.There were lots of beginners on the green slope causing traffic, but thats to be expected. Should probably prepare some snacks as food options are limited to ramen for 10rmb (or hot water for 5rmb if you bring your own ramen). My guide was patience and friendly and waited for 4 hours for me at the nearby hotel before driving me back to Harbin. Another 3 hour journey and I was already freezing like mad. Definitely worth checking out and spending a good 4 hours skiing as one spends 6 hours traveling to and from Yabuli from Harbin. Do engage a local guide who speaks good english that provides private transport. To enjoy all this convenience, you should engage World Heritage Network for their guide and transport service. Trust me you gonna need it. I like to thank this network for making my trip to Yabuli Skii Resort a very fun, enjoyable and memorable experience.
...Commented by Siao Yang Mei, Hong Kong
