Heilongjiang

Heilongjiang is China's northernmost province, named after the Black Dragon River, known as the Amur, which forms the border with Russia. A vacation in Heilongjiang means ice palaces and temperatures below minus 20 degrees in Harbin in winter, and green forests, lakes, and wetlands full of cranes in summer.

Harbin: Russian Flair and Ice Sculptures

Harbin was founded in the late 19th century as a hub of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which Russia had built. Russian merchants, Jewish families, and émigrés after the October Revolution shaped the city; St. Sophia Cathedral with its green onion dome and the cobblestoned Central Street with its Art Nouveau facades bear witness to this. Every winter, the Ice and Snow Festival transforms the city: at Harbin Ice and Snow World, illuminated castles, temples, and slides are built from blocks of ice cut from the Songhua River, and giant snow sculptures stand on Sun Island. Siberian Tiger Park is home to Amur tigers in large enclosures. Harbin is also worth a visit in summer, when people stroll along the Songhua riverfront, swim in the river, and celebrate a beer festival. On the edge of the city, a memorial on the grounds of Unit 731 commemorates the human experiments carried out by the Japanese army.

Sights in Heilongjiang

Jingpo Lake in the southeast was formed by lava flows and has a waterfall from which cliff divers plunge into the depths. At Wudalianchi, volcanic cones and lava fields surround five connected lakes. In the Zhalong wetlands near Qiqihar, red-crowned cranes nest in summer. In the far north, in the village of Beiji near Mohe, visitors hope to see the northern lights and experience the shortest nights in China; in the far east, near Fuyuan, the sun rises first in China. The Yabuli ski resort, a few hours' drive from Harbin, is one of the largest in northeast China.

Food, Getting There, and Best Time to Visit

The cuisine is hearty: guobaorou in sweet-and-sour sauce, stews with sauerkraut and glass noodles, plus red Harbin sausage and dalieba, a large loaf of bread modeled on Russian bread. Harbin Beer is one of China's oldest brewery brands. Harbin's airport offers domestic and some international connections, and high-speed trains run to Shenyang and Beijing. The best time to visit for the ice festival is January; for nature and forests, it's summer from June to September.