Just as everyone warned, visiting Harbin required wearing every layer of clothing I brought. The temperature rose above zero (celsius) only briefly one of the days I was there; otherwise Harbin was hands-down the coldest place I've every been to in my life. A city of ice and snow (a lot of dirty, dirty snow!)
Because the windows of the buses are perpetually frosted over, people rub out peep holes in the windows to be able to see which stop they are near. As a newcomer to the city, riding the buses required paying close attention to the loudspeaker stop announcements, if I could hear them at all over the blaring radio. I managed not to ever get lost, although I did miss my stop once.
The cold weather culture of Harbin is one of bundling up, suffering a little, and then finding somewhere indoors to sit and defrost. Cheap 小吃 (snack) joints, tea and coffee shops, and various KFC establishments served as life savers. Luckily I still had essays to grade and therefore had another reason to sit inside.
The weather aside, I really enjoyed my trip, and rather liked Harbin as a city. Upcoming posts: Harbin Ice and Snow Festival and Siberian Tigers!
Pengyou, this entry was amazing! I'm all about the cold weather culture, that is, except for the cold weather. I'm writing this from Gerald's house now! 明天见！
ReplyDeleteYour father [I addressed the xmas letter to "Daddy & Momma Kent" and he later appropriated himself to "(Big) Daddy Kent" :) ] wrote about his excitement in how you were going to an Ice Festival in Harbin, assuming that I knew what he was talking about and that I was following your blog. Luckily he mentioned the word "blog" .....so here I am having just finished reading through it all and leaving a few comments!! I don't know how I must have forgotten that you said you would have a blog while in Dalian.....I'm heartbrokenly sorry Mawmawgui!! I look forward to your latest post!! Hope you're warm, HUGGIES <3
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