30 December 1998
After spending two futile weeks in Jilin waiting for the weather to turn cold enough for seeing ice rimmed trees and mist on the Songhua River, I finally moved on to the capital of Heilongjiang province, Harbin. The plan was to catch the Ice Lantern Festival and then head home.
Sightseeing of Harbin included Sun
Island, the cobble stone paved Central Street and St. Sophia’s Eastern Orthodox
Church. Night falls early in this part of the world at this time of year; by
17:00 or so I was already watching the Ice Lanterns glow in the darkness of
Zhaolin Park.
Ice Lantern Next Stop
18 May 1999
The train ride from Shanhaiguan to Harbin lasted a whole 12 hours. The last time I visited was during the Ice Lantern Festival; the reason for backtracking was to see the volcanoes and marshland in friendlier climates.
Set off for Beian by train. My seat number was special agent Bond’s code, 007. Nothing special about the ride though, the usual crowded mad scramble. The 60 km ride from Beian to Wudalianchi (Five Large Connected Lakes) took another 2 1/2 hours by bus, with the usual stops and bickering between passengers and the driver.
Wudalianchi was formed by volcanic activity and is probably the only such area in China. I did some walking around the mountains and went up to the crater of the extinct volcano. There is also a location that resembles the Stone Forest in Yunnan.
Zhalong Reserve
Moved on to the city of Qiqihar, home of Zhalong Nature Reserve. The Reserve is 26 km southeast of Qiqihar and is made up of marshes that are temporary homes to migratory birds. According to my ticket there are 15 types of crane in the world and 9 of them are found in China. Zhalong is home to 6 types of red crowned and white crowned cranes.
Go back to provinces section Next stop