The Harbin Ice Festival: Rated 'Very Cool' by Tourists Everywhere

This past week, I traveled with a group of 6 teachers up, up, up into the northern nether-regions of China. Harbin was a gorgeous town, surprisingly so; we had heard mediocre reviews. Being so close to Russia, the architecture and aura of the place were distinctly different from other Chinese towns that I have visited. It was very eastern European, very clean, and very, very cold.

After wrapping ourselves in several layers of clothing, we ventured out into the cold. Wandering around the town, we toured the cathedral and a few museums. Stephanie, George, and I took a bus to visit a germ warfare museum, used by the Japanese during WWII to conduct horrifying experiments on the Chinese. It was both horrifying and fascinating at the same time.

The Ice Festival, the main attraction of this excursion, was simply glorious. Though the entrance price was a steep, it was worth every penny. There were free rides, ice slides, and so much more in this frozen wonderland - not to mention the beautiful ice sculptures that draw tourists from around the world. Stephanie and I brought out our new Communist Hats just for the occasion.

The following day, our troop took a shoddy bus ride through a wildlife preserve, home of the Siberian Tigers. We drove through huge enclosures filled with these animals. They were not afraid to get up close to our van, either. Two large tigers escaped into the middle ground that separated two caged areas, running around the small lot and coming with in inches of our van. The driver, obviously a seasoned veteran of tiger escapes, turned the van into a mechanical-sheep dog of sorts, guiding the fugitives back into their cells, and granting us another chance at life.

In another part of the park, we even got to feed the tigers! It was just as frightening and intense as the pictures look.

Not only did we see the tigers, but also White Siberian Tigers...

          ...and Jaguars...

... and  Leopards...

 ...and White Lions...

...and, you'll never guess, LIGERS! Cool!

That night, we indulged our childhood fantasies at the Disney Ice Festival. It was quite magical, to be cliche. 

Thursday night, we headed to Beijing for a night our before our return to Jinan. Due to unexpectedly heavy traffic, not to mention a taxi driver who spontaneously broke into song and forgot where we were going several times, Stephanie and I missed our train home. No matter, we spent the day carousing about in Beijing before catching an afternoon train home. I simply love that girl.

Going back to work that weekend wasn't easy, but the knowing that it was my last full weekend of work took away some of the sting. I leave China in one week! 

Where has the time gone?!