So after seeing all these photographs, are you ready for a winter trip to Harbin?  Then perhaps some of the information on this page will prove useful.  It’s not meant to be comprehensive; it’s just some advice based on my own experiences.  Thoughout this page are photographs of the Gloria Inn, which I highly recommend as lodging for winter festival visitors planning their own trip.  This is the lobby of the new north wing of the Gloria Inn; the series of huge glass dishes hanging from the ceiling is actually a fountain, with water flowing from dish to dish.

The new north wing of the Gloria Inn, which is the section where visitors should stay; it rates four stars on China’s five-star scale, whereas the old part of the hotel rates three stars.  It’s difficult to justify flying all the way from another continent for the sole purpose of seeing the winter festival here; however, Harbin does makes an excellent side trip for tourists already planning to visit other parts of China during the winter.  The festival in Harbin officially opens on January 5 every year, but typically soft-opens a week or two early.  The official closing date is sometimes February 5, sometimes February 28 (in 2010, it’s February 28), but actually the festival continues into March if the weather remains cold enough.  As of 2009, tickets are about $22 for the Ice and Snow World (the big nighttime ice show), about $18 for the Snow Sculpture Art Fair (the daytime snow show), and about $15 for Zhaolin Park’s event (the old-style ice show) now called the Harbin Disney Ice Festival.  In my opinion, the best time to visit is mid-January; by then, the snow sculpture competition at the Snow Sculpture Art Fair and the ice sculpture competition at the Ice Lantern Party have completed, and visitors can see the final results while they’re still fresh.

One room of the huge presidential suite at the Gloria Inn.  Because many foreign tourists start their Harbin trip from Beijing, that is what I’ll be assuming for my suggestions here.  A quick trip to Harbin from Beijing would last two days and one night: that would entail flying to Harbin on the first morning, visiting the Snow Sculpture Art Fair (in Sun Island Park) that afternoon, visiting the Ice and Snow World (on Sun Island just west of Sun Island Park) that evening, visiting the old Russian district (Daoliqu) and Saint Sophia on the second morning, and flying back to Beijing later that afternoon.  Staying a second night, which I do recommend, allows a visit to the old-style ice festival at Zhaolin Park.

The atrium in the new wing of the Gloria Inn.  Harbin is a quick 90-minute flight northeast from Beijing, and flights between the two cities are frequent.  For tourists already in Beijing who decide at the last minute to visit Harbin, flights are easy to arrange, even a single day in advance.  Just visit the travel agency of any major hotel in Beijing, and they’ll book the flight and give you the airline ticket right there.  A ticket costs around $100 each way, and does not vary in price between airlines.  In China, there’s no price advantage to booking tickets in advance, though promotional discounts are occasionally available.

Another of the nicer rooms at the Gloria Inn, showing some of the hotel’s mix of Chinese and Russian styles.  One reason I recommend the Gloria Inn is its location: it’s at the north end of Zhongyang Dajie (Central Avenue, the main Russian street) on the banks of the river Songhua Jiang.  This means the Flood Control Monument is outside the front entrance, the start of the walk south through the Russian district to Saint Sophia is outside the front entrance, Zhaolin Park is only a couple of blocks east, and Sun Island is less than 15 minutes away by taxi.  In other words, it’s in the best possible location for visitors to Harbin.  The hotel houses a very good Chinese restaurant, and there’s even a McDonald’s at the southwest corner of the hotel and a Pizza Hut across the street for the less adventurous.

The older south and west sections of the Gloria Inn.  Despite the frigid weather, photography in Harbin is generally not a problem - though of course some care must be taken with cameras.  Keep your point-and-shoot camera inside your jacket so your body heat will keep it warm.  Try to do the same with your digital SLR camera, but don’t be surprised if it’s too big to fit inside your jacket.  My Nikon D200 and Nikon D90 had no problems spending three hours at a time in temperatures far below zero, but perhaps I was fortunate.  Batteries in digital cameras run out more quickly in the cold, so a spare will be needed to get through a few hours of photography - which is the most one can stand outside in a Harbin winter anyway.  Keep the spare battery in a place where it’ll stay warm, like a pants pocket.  Fingers go numb quickly in Harbin’s cold, so let the camera handle as much of the work as possible and keep setting changes to a minimum.

The western facade of the Gloria Inn at night.  The Inn, like much of downtown, is a 45-minute taxi ride from Harbin’s airport, which costs around $10.  Room rates at the hotel start at around $100 during the festival, but some negotiation (or booking through a well-connected travel agent) can bring that price down.  Finally, dress warmly; I’ve found that L.L. Bean’s heaviest parka and insulated boots work extremely well in this environment.  Have a great trip!