Harbin’s St. Sophia’s Cathedral // 我们到了哈尔滨

So, here’s a little map to help explain where Harbin is. It’s the capital and largest city in the HeiLongJiang province with a population of approximately 9.46 million. From Shanghai, it was about a 2 hour flight, and we grudgingly awoke at 3am on a Sunday to catch our flight at 7am to Harbin. Once we arrived, we gathered our luggage in a sleepy daze and layered up to prepare for the freezing temperatures outside. As you can see, we were pretty close to Russia, and in January, this part of the country get’s pretty frosty. We came prepared with snow gear and all, but we really had no idea how to prepare for these temperatures! One friend traveling with us was from the Philippines and just learning how to shop for winter gear was an eye-opening experience for him! Well, once we got all bundled up, we ventured into the below freezing temperatures outside, and managed to find a nice warm taxi. Within an hour, arrived without any issues to our hotel in the city center. Nap time soon followed.

Well, actually I was the organizer/day planner for this trip, so I researched Harbin quite a bit before we arrived, but even once we arrived, I was still blown away by how cool this city is! I think everyone just imagined Harbin to be a small, isolated town that was frozen over, but it was always bustling and actually very well developed. The best part was seeing all the Russian architecture and cultural influences. The St. Sophia’s Cathedral was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel, and it was so beautiful, inside and out. The coolest part was there were always these pigeons flying around the Cathedral which made it that much more majestic. Inside was kind of like a museum with photos showcasing Harbin’s history.

Oh yeah, so I guess I forgot to mention WHY we decided to come to this freezing city in the first place. Well, this time of year, from about early January to mid-February, Harbin hosts its incredible Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. It’s one of the “must do in China”, but many people psych themselves out because of the cold and never make the time to go. Well, IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT AND AMAZING and I would highly recommend it to anyone living in China during January. Just make sure you dress accordingly, otherwise your little toes and fingers will freeze off. My eyelashes froze at one point and that was pretty gnarly.

So basically, located throughout the city, there are tons of huge ice sculptures with colorful lights all throughout. These ice sculptures are basically like ice castles. These photos are just from a small park that we ventured to the first night we were in Harbin. Conveniently, just a 10 minute walk from the hotel.

After our outside fun, me, my Spanish, and Filipino friend ventured to this hidden pub for some local Harbin brews, where, ironically enough, there was a Filipino cover band playing! Filipinos in Harbin.. who would’ve thunk it. The best part was when these drunk Chinese guys got on the stage and started singing and dancing too!