Harbin Attractions

Much of the Russian architecture remains standing today and one of the prime attractions of the city is a walk along the Central Street. There are buildings of most European early twentieth-century styles along the length of this cobbled street, which remains today the most popular shopping area of the city. While McDonalds, KFC, and Western stores have redecorated most of the interiors, there are some buildings that have survived that kind of unfortunate modernization and still look and feel quite European.

Central Street is found in Daoli District, which was where the majority of the foreigners settled. It is now the center of the municipal government offices and the site of most of the best sightseeing opportunities in Harbin. Strolling around the area you will find a little Russian chocolate shop, Russian gift-stores, coffee shops and some of the most expensive restaurants in town.

Church of St. Sophia is located to the east of the Central Street, surrounded on all sides by modern department stores. It’s a lovely Orthodox church that is Harbin's most famous landmark. It was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution but later restored to its original 1907 splendor. Inside there is a little photographic exhibition tracing some of Harbin's history.

There are a number of other Orthodox churches you will find around the city center that are worth a few minute's look, though none are as impressive as St. Sophia's.

Walking along the river is entertaining any time of the year and whether you're watching the locals paddle rented boats in summer or trying to remember how to ice-skate in the winter, there's plenty to do to occupy a few hours. There's the odd toboggan for hire if you're feeling brave, amore sedate pursuit is to wait for the old woman with scissors to find you – for just RMB 1 or 2 she'll cut a perfect profile of you in some colored paper.

For those with antifreeze for blood, you can speak to local guides about finding a hole in the ice for swimming – but there are no saunas here to run into after your dip, so it is fairly likely you will catch severe hypothermia. In case you were thinking that it was a tradition, then be assured that the locals think the winter swimmers are all crazy.

Across the river, taking either the ferry or a taxi, you'll find Sun Island Park, which was once the retreat of choice for Harbin residents in the hot summer. A huge park with plenty of green to counteract the gray palette of the city's apartment blocks, it's pleasant to stroll around when sunny, though it really comes into its own when snow falls and the yearly sculpture exhibition moves in. This is the artistic high point of the winter season, with the snow sculptures (ice covered with compressed snow) being crafted by artists from around the world. From small figures to 30 feet wide panoramas, the artists try to out do each other year after year. There are also a number of "ice-games" you can play in the park, and for a few RMB you can hire sleds drawn by huskis.

If animals are indeed your thing, then you might want to take a look at the Siberian Tiger Park. 15km further north than Sun Island Park, here you can find about three hundred Siberian tigers, lions and other big cats. There are only an estimated 700 Siberian tigers left in the wild, so Harbin's park is an important breeding base, though rather unusual in that it allows visitors to purchase the food that's thrown to the cats. You can buy a chicken, bits of beef or even a whole deer and in a circling and shaky bus, watch the tigers enjoy their meal. Critics argue that this practice associates tourists with feeding-time.

The Ice Lantern Festival is the fun highlight of the year in Harbin. Held in Zhaolin Park in Daoli district, teams of workers transport large chunks of ice taken from further north along the Songhua River (thanks to global warming, increasingly further) and carve it into shapes or whole buildings. Neon tubes are inserted inside the ice, and then the whole thing is lit up in luminescent blues, pinks, green and yellows. It's like a frozen Disneyworld and they often build replicas of famous buildings from around the world: Big Ben; the Eiffel Tower; the Taj Mahal; and, of course, a stretch of the GreatWall. There are also a few vertiginously high ice slides you can slide down, an ice maze, and an 'ice forest', where the trees are covered with a spider's web of icicles. It is all wonderfully surreal, and there are endless photos to take, if your camera does not freeze.