Thursday, January 11, 2007 Of ice, snow and frozen toes By Dorothy Bangayan The unlonely planet
SOMEONE had this bright idea of celebrating the Christmas Holidays at the Snow and Ice Lantern Festival in the city of Harbin, northeast of China. And so this is how I ended up in all two layers of thermal suit, a sweater, a ski jacket and a trench coat, double socks and double gloves and still freezing my toes off in the dead of winter in the famous "Ice City".
Harbin has one of the four largest ice and snow festivals along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.
Held every winter from late December to early March (or depending on the weather), blocks of ice, clear as glass, are taken from the frozen Song Hua River and are transformed into a veritable Ice and Snow city.
A must visit is Ice and Snow World, a glittering theme park carved in ice and snow. It takes only 20 days to literally make this winter wonderland of life sized ice towers, ice sculptures, ice palaces, ice temples, igloos and even an ice replica of the Great Wall of China.
Ice cafes inside the park offer piping hot chocolate for 20 RMB. Highway robbery if you ask me but at a certain freezing point, anyone will fork over whatever money they have in their pockets for a bit of warmth.
If you feel too frozen to walk, hire a horse drawn sleigh to drive you around the park, although you will still get tempted to get off halfway through. A mind nurtured from a tropical environment will be pleasantly surprised by the ingenious uses the Manchurians have created with ice and snow. An ice maze can keep you lost for hours in the bitter cold. The kids in the group had a grand time though on the Ice slides, where one has to bring a rubber tube up the top.
Get in and an attendant will push you off the edge. Or go on those sitting ski rides where ski poles push chairs propped on an ice lake. You can also ski on a manmade slope and skate on their frozen lake.
Another cool spot to chill is the Lantern festival in Zhaolin Garden showcasing ice-lantern exhibitions. Cross an ice bridge to see ice and snow sculptures dotting the park while ice benches line the walkways for tired feet.
There is even an ice obstacle course for kids starting with an ice-climbing wall. The ground is of snow with scattered shards of ice that seem to glow like moon rocks, deflecting light against lanterns above the ground.
Believe me, taking pictures is a whole lot harder than you think. Try maneuvering the camera with your double-gloved hands or try not developing camera shake when your hands are shivering from frostbite. And try to be a little careful when walking. Hidden patches of ice on the ground can be slippery.
The temperature during our stay ranged from negative 11-24 degrees Celsius. This January when temperature drops to negative 30, the actual Snow and Lantern Festival begins with the construction of a monumental edifice worthy of hype. Last two years ago, it was an Ice Hotel with room rates going as high as 1000 RMB a night and last year, an Ice Restaurant. This year however is still a surprise. Only those who dare venture to Harbin at the coldest time of the year will soon find out.
An experience that leaves chills to the bones and wonders to the eyes. Harbin leaves me with fun filled memories of ice, snow and frozen toes.
How to get there: There is no direct flight from the Philippines to Harbin. Take an international flight to Shanghai or Beijing. From there, domestic flights are available to Harbin.
