Long hiatus from the blog. I've been without internet in China's northern most province this past weekend, Heilongjiang. It is as barren as you can get in China, with one of its few claims to fame being the city of Harbin, which can only be described as neon lights and ice. It is on the Russian border and gets many of its architectural influences from its neighbour. I wanted to visit Harbin before it warms up because I hear the city is pretty much useless when there's no snow scenery. There was actually an ice sculpture festival a few weeks back which we unfortunately missed, and the remnants of which are now off limits to visitors for safety reasons. So we made do by just looking at the melting ice castles from afar. Basically we tried escaping Beijing's frosty weather only to end up in a city 20 degrees colder.
Harbin is an 11 hour train ride away, and a big group of us took a hard sleeper overnight last Thursday. The hard sleepers are the budget of the sleeper trains and feature an open cabin with rows and rows of three tiered bunk beds about half a meter wide and half a meter apart. We were all assigned the top bunk, which is the worst considering the roof is so low you can't sit up in bed. Instead we opted to create ruckus in the dining car with cheap Chinese rice alcohol and Vodka in honour of the Trans-Syberian railway. The workers and poor Chinese travellers were not so amused.
The city is a massive hazard to itself. City council has never heard of snow removal or salt as a melting agent, and every street is thickly paved with shiny black ice. Sightseeing on the first day consisted of slipping and sliding through the downtown monuments, wiping snot, and trudging around with miserably wet shoes and feet. The next day we went to the Japanese Germ Warfare Museum, and let's just say I would not want to go there if I were Japanese. The articles on display were from the second world war when Japan occupied parts of China and used Harbin as a biological weaponry research ground, using instruments for human torture that were provocatively disturbing, but I probably could have done with a more reflective and less anti-Japanese message.
Harbin's other attraction is the many bath houses scattered around the city, ranging from seedy houses with neon lighting to 4 star hotels promoting the most luxurious of hedonistic relaxation. We hit up a place that was recommended by our hotel concierge and just melted in its luxury. For 38 RMB ($6) you could stay in the spa all day, take a warm bath, play pool, lounge in your own bed with personal dvd player, receive a massage, get your body beauty-scrubbed by women in bikinis and combat boots, enjoy three meals a day of all-you-can-eat seafood, and get your every wish attended to by the keen staff. Well, not every wish as our friend discovered when he asked his masseuse to marry him and move to Holland.
The city knows how to live.
The last major attraction was a Siberian Tiger Park, where hundreds of tigers are on display in fenced fields, and you get to buy live chickens, pheasants, and even goats to feed the tigers and watch them fight over the kill. Not exactly everyone's cup of tea, I know, but I was more engrossed by the sheer animalistic carnage than horrified by the cruelty we were promoting and paying to enjoy. The boys thought it was the most awesome thing they'd ever seen... Peta could have had a field day, but the way I see it, it was a mirrored reflection of the wild. The animal kingdom works around a hierarchy and survival is a luxury reserved for the fittest. No? lol... I should stop digging myself a hole.
This is one for the "Only in China" category.
Harbin wasn't the most exciting of cities, and it definitely could be less of an eye-sore, if only they took down half of the tacky lights stringing every lamp post and tree. But the experience of China's coldest city, the amazing company to do it all with, and the ridiculous laughs that came with it, made it a weekend to remember.
Pictures to follow soon.
For now, here's a video of the Lions of Puxi, a reggae group from Shanghai who sing in Chinese, English, and French. Totally rad. I went to see them perform live at Yugongyishan, this sick live music venue located in a Hutong last week, and was blown away by the sheer goodness. Enjoy =)
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