Harbin is often referred to as “Little Moscow”, as it’s China’s northernmost major city, bordering Russia. We were actually surprised at just how Russian-influenced it was – lots of Russian architecture, food, shops, and even many locals spoke Russian or had inter-race marriages with Russians. Very surreal!

We were here for a 3-day stint to check out the area, as well as the world famous Snow Sculpture Park and Ice Sculptures.

Oh, did I mention it was…….. -30 celcius?!??!?!

Have you experienced -30 degrees before? I certainly hadn’t, nowhere close. It’s far, far colder than Moscow, with a cold so frightfully biting that it HURTS. You can’t have any bit of skin exposed, because the air is so frigid it actually feels like your skin is burning. No matter how many layers you wear (I had 5), the cold still eats right in. I could survive a maximum of 1 hour outdoors before my toes BURNED so badly I wanted to cry, and had to go inside to warm them back up. It’s phenomenal and shocking just how bitter and freezing the weather is.

Yet, despite the cold, archaeological records show that prehistoric humans lived in the area around Harbin as long ago as 22,000 years ago (!). And the Harbin locals actually seem pretty comfortable – wrapped up, but they could tolerate being out in the open air for far longer. I was astounded at the people selling stuff on the streets, standing out at night in a chill that made me want to scream, yet they stood for hours selling stuff.

But IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! I was really eager to experience what -30 degrees felt like, and now I know 😉 And Harbin is a beautiful place – EVERYTHING is white and made of snow and ice. A whole city, covered and carved out of ice. Really amazing. It was truly like being in a different world – seeing huge ice buildings and sculptures along the streets, and walking around amidst a blanket of snow.

Ice ice ice, everywhere

Stepping right out of the airport and we see this, made entirely out of ice blocks

Fish in big bowls hanging from the ceiling, in our hotel lobby

Icicles formed on our eyebrows, eyelashes, clothes, everywhere!

A hearty meal in a Russian cafe – so many of them around!

All cosied-up

Caviar, butter, baguette. Oh the simple pleasures….

Chris adored it. So did I!

Boneless chicken thigh and mushrooms. Looked terrible but tasted amazing!

Minced lamb kebabs with tomato salsa

Pate on crackers