Harbin

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Northeast China (东北) » Heilongjiang (黑龙江) » Harbin (哈尔滨)

Contents

Location of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province
Location of Harbin in Heilongjiang Province
Sun Island
Sun Island

[edit] Overview

Best known for its annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, and widely accepted as the best choice of natural summer resort, Harbin (哈尔滨) has both a European and Asian feel as East meets West in the Russian and Chinese architecture of St. Sophia Church and the Dragon Tower. With its onion-domed buildings, the winding cobblestone streets, fantastic sculptures and ice lanterns, Harbin is one of China's better-kept secrets.

The cuisine in Harbin is clearly influenced by Russia, Mongolia, Korea and of course China. The wide ranges of food choices will surely fulfill your demanding appetite. Moreover, the people in Harbin and Northeast China (东北) gather at restaurants not just for food, but also for getting together, talking, drinking, and eating the night away.

Every year Harbin welcomes large numbers of tourists. The city's transport and hotels have been meeting the needs of seasonal tourists for decades.

Harbin's surrounding areas is still undisturbed with full of forests, lakes, mountains, awaiting you to explore.

Harbin has a population of 9.7 million and covers an area of 53,068 sq km.

[edit] History

Jin (1115-1234) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties once settled in Huining (会宁), a small city near Harbin as their capitals. In 1897, a group of Russian engineers set up a camp in today's Harbin while surveying the Trans-Siberian Railway, and later built the railway terminus here. During World War II, Harbin was occupied by Japanese, and later captured by the Chinese in 1946. Since early 20th century, Harbin has attracted people from all different countries. Today Harbin boasts over 160,000 foreigners from 33 countries. Once a Russian-built outpost of the railway, Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang province, and has become a vital economic, transport center in Northeast China.

[edit] Weather

 Current Conditions (2008-11-21 11:00:00, local time)

Harbin
Clear

Clear

Temp: 19°F (-7°C)
Wind: SW at 13 mph
Humidity: 68%

 Harbin Weather Forecast

Today
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny

26/10°F

Saturday
Partly Sunny
Partly Sunny

32/8°F

Sunday
Clear
Clear

32/8°F

Monday
Cloudy
Cloudy

30/13°F

Weather Forecast

Weather averages for Harbin
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average high °C (°F) -13 (9) -7 (19) 3 (37) 14 (57) 21 (70) 26 (79) 28 (82) 26 (79) 21 (70) 12 (54) 0 (32) -10 (14)
Average low °C (°F) -23 (-9) -19 (-2) -9 (16) 1 (34) 9 (48) 15 (59) 18 (64) 17 (63) 9 (48) 1 (34) -9 (16) -19 (-2)
Rain cm (inches) 0.35 (0.1) 0.26 (0.1) 0.71 (0.3) 1.89 (0.7) 2.7 (1.1) 6.31 (2.5) 10.66 (4.2) 8.81 (3.5) 3.86 (1.5) 1.9 (0.7) 0.94 (0.4) 0.48 (0.2)
Source: per MSN 2008

[edit] Map

Click here to open Harbin map.

[edit] Getting in & Getting out

[edit] By Air

Harbin Taiping International Airport (HRB) is located 33 km (about 21 miles) to the northwest of the city center. It was built in 1979 and is relatively small airport capable of handling 6.66 milliion passengers every year, 3000 passengers per hour, and 180 airplanes per day. There are over 50 air routes connecting it to all major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu. International flights include Khabarovsk and Vladivostok (Russia), Niigata (Japan), Seoul (South Korea).

  • Airport Hotline: 0451-8289-4220
  • Airport Shuttle: 0451-8289-4114

The airport shuttle to downtown Harbin is 20 RMB, and taxi to downtown Harbin is about 100 ~ 120 RMB.

Front view of Harbin Train Station
Front view of Harbin Train Station

[edit] By Train

Located on Tielu Jie (No. 1 Tielu Jie, Nangang District, Harbin, 150006), Harbin train station has a history of over 100 years (originally built by the Russian in 1899, and was later expanded several times in 1955, 1960, 1972, 1989 and 2002.

Search the Harbin train schedule on this site for detailed info.

  • General Inquiry at Harbin Train Station： 0451-8642-0115
  • Train ticket reservation line： 0451-5360-2828

[edit] By Bus

The main long-distance bus station is Nangang Station (南岗站), which is located across the square from the Harbin train station. In addition, there are other stations such as Daowai Station (道外站), Daqiao Station (大桥站), Jiaohua Station (教化站), and Three Trees Station (三棵树站).

There are 12 highways (including state highway 102, 301, 202 and 221) from Harbin going to different cities, such as Beijing (about 13 hours), Mudanjiang (about 4 hours), Qiqihar (about 5 hours), Changchun (about 4 hours), Jilin (about 6 hours), Dalian (about 10 hrs), Shenyang (about 8 hours), Yanji (about 9 hrs).

  • Harbin Passenger Station general inquiry： 0451-5364-0770
  • Nangang Station info line: 0451-5366-5901

[edit] By Ship

Harbin is located at the middle reaches of the Songhua River (松花江). The port has freight and passenger ships going to Russia, Japan, South Korea, and some areas in Southeast Asia. The port usually only open from mid-April to early November due to the weather conditions in winter.

There are three daily ships going to the Sun Island (太阳島), a famous attraction in Harbin.

  • Harbin Ferry Inquiry line: 0451-8868-6615
  • Harbin Ferry Passenger Station info line: 0451-8461-6851

[edit] Getting Around

[edit] By Public Bus and Tour Bus

There are over 90 bus lines in Harbin. In addition, there are many tour buses going to different tourist attractions.

The passenger station hotline is 0451-5364-0770

[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car

Harbin has a variety of taxis, ranging from low-end Xiali (夏利) to mid and high-end cars such as Santana (桑塔纳), Jetta (捷达), Citroen (富康). The cost for low-end ones is 7 RMB for the first 3 kms, and then 1.6 RMB for each additional km. High-end ones are 8 RMB for the first 3 kms, and then 1.9 RMB for each additional km.

Harbin Cab company phone: 0451-8838-1537

St. Sophia Church (圣索菲亚大教堂)
St. Sophia Church (圣索菲亚大教堂)

[edit] Attractions

  • Ice and snow tour:

Ice and snow tour has acquired the supreme quality of Harbin, which becomes one of four domestic tour hot lines around Spring festival and becomes might one of thirty-five trump products presented by National Tourism Administration to the world as well.

  • Hunting tour:

Characteristic tour, mainly composed of Yuquan hunting square, is a hunting tour line of stretching towards Wulong National hunting plaza in Tonghe county.

  • Folk custom tour:

It is a designed activity for showing minorities' traditional customs in Heilongjiang to the travelers. Hot lines as following:

A line: Harbin---- A-cheng ( Man race village ) -------Hulan ( farm cottages)

B line: Harbin---- Heihe(e-lunchun race)—tongjiang(Hezhe race )--- Man race autonomic village in A-cheng

  • Anti-hot tour:

Harbin summer holds the great difference in temperature between day and night, pleasant cool, and it is a famous anti-hot interest of china. Anti-hot vacation tour takes the Sun Island, two-dragon mountain as the main scenic spots with the assistance of Changling Lake, west countryside fish pool and the surrounding vacation area. Song-mountain, Yuquan hunting plaza, Yabli windmill village are also good traveling places to visit.

  • Jin dynasty's culture tour:

Probe into Jin dynasty's culture as the main contents of tour activity fabricates Jin dynasty's culture tour. Huining court site in A-cheng region is the cradle of Jin dynasty's culture of china. The site takes on unique exploiture profits of tour.



more Harbin attractions

[edit] Hotels

[edit] Budget

[edit] Luxury

[edit] Restaurants

Chinese

  • Eastern Dumpling King (东方饺子王)
There are at least 4 branches of this restaurant in Harbin. The main branch is located at 39 Zhongyang Dajie (中央大街39号). This one is an extremely popular Chinese restaurant in Harbin. It serves some of the best dumplings in Northeast China. Popular dishes include sanxian dumpling (shrimp, pork, and garlic chive), corn and pine nut dumpling, celery pork dumpling, fried beef dumpling and cabbage pork dumpling.
  • Big Harvest (大丰收)
This is a very large restaurant located at 283 Yiman Street (一曼街283号). It serves traditional Northeast China cuisine in a unique environment: the dishes are huge; sunflower seeds are spread on tables as appetizers; guests sit on benches and drink beer out of bowls; the only tea available is made from wheat.
  • Beilaishun (北来顺清真饭店)
Tel: 8461-5531. The most famous Muslim restaurant in Harbin. Located at 51 Youyi Road (友谊路51号), this restaurant serves typical Muslin dishes such as mutton hot pot, tender strips of lamb braised in soy-and-garlic sauce.

Western

  • Portman Western Food Restaurant (波特曼西餐厅)
Tel: 8468-6888. Address: 53 Xiqidaojie, Zhongyang Dajie (中央大街西七道街53号). Portman serves the most authentic Western food in Harbin. Live-music performances start every night at 9pm.
  • Huamei Restaurant (华梅西餐厅)
Tel: 8461-7368 Address: 112 Zhongyang Dajie (中央大街112号). Russian, British, French and Italian dishes are offered here.
  • Cafe Russia (露西亚西餐厅)
Nestled inside an old Russian building near the Flood Control Monument on Zhongyang Dajie, Cafe Russia serves a small but satisfying selection of Western dishes all under a fantastic ambiance.

[edit] Shopping

[edit] Night Life & Entertainment

[edit] Sports & Recreation

[edit] Excursions & Day Trips

China's largest oil fields. Two hours' train ride from Harbin.
Formed by a volcanic crater in ancient times. Daily buses between Harbin's main long-distance passenger bus station and the Wuda Lianchi bus station at the Wuda Lianchi Worker's Sanatorium. The bus trip takes about 5 hours.
Today's Acheng. It was served as the first capital of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) between 1122 to 1234. Only the ruins of the old city exist today. Many artifacts excavated from here are displayed in Harbin.
In Mudanjiang (牡丹江) area. Trains N2, N3, N4 go to Mudanjiang. Then a short bus ride can take you to the Mirror Lake.
In Mudanjiang (牡丹江) area. Hosted many winter ski sport events including the Asia Winter Games.

[edit] Tips & Practical Info

  • Police: 110
  • Phone Number Inquiry: 114
  • Fire: 119
  • Ambulance: 120
  • Traffic: 122
  • China Telecom Customer Hotline: 180
  • Weather Forecast: 12121
  • Taxi Complaints: 8632-2900 8632-3900
  • Harbin Tourist Complain Line: 8466-4315
  • Mayor's Hotline: 8461-2345
  • Hospital:
    • No. 1 Hospital of Harbin
Address: No. 151 Diduan Street, Daoli District
Tel: 468-3684 (Admin office)
  • No. 1 Hospital of Harbin Medical University
Address: No.31 Youzheng Street, Nangang District
Tel: 5364-1563
  • No. 2 Hospital of Harbin Medical University
Address: No. 247 Xuefu Road, Nangang District
Tel: 8660-522, 8660-5612
  • Harbin Children's Hospital
Address: No. 57 Youyi Road, Daoli District
Tel: 8488-1200
  • Provincial Hospital
Address: No. 82 Zhongshan Road, Xiangfang District
Tel: 566-2971

[edit] See also

Wikipedia:Harbin

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