After you arrived at Harbin Taiping International Airport your tour guide will be waiting for you holding a welcome board. Then you will be transfer to the hotel for a short rest. In the evening, you will visit the Ice Lantern Fair in Zhaolin Park. Ice Lantern Fair, also named the Ice Lantern Show, it is hold every year from 5th January to the end of February in Zhaolin Park. The park located in the downtown, it is a small and peaceful place. Still you can see pretty ice sculptures without many crowded. Especially at night when the ice sculptures are lit then which looks like a magical world.
After breakfast your tour guide will meet you and escort you to visit the Harbin St Sophia Cathedral church, with Byzantine style and meaning of 'God's wisdom' for name, look so beautiful as if it had been made by God's hands. The church's original shape and Latin cross footprint was preserved during reconstruction. It was first built in 1907 and rebuilt into brick and wood structure in 1912. It is the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East.
Then move on to the Sun Island, where the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo is held every winter. You can see various awesome snow sculptures and do some optional activities (snow tubing, dog sledding etc). Proceed to the Siberian Tiger Park to enjoy a safari style trip to see the tigers and lions (feeding the animals is optional). Pay a visit to the New Synagogue, which is the largest Jewish synagogue in East Asia. It was the important venue for the nearby Jewish people to hold religious and educational activities.
Later, you will pay a evening visit to the Ice and Snow World. Located on the north bank of the Songhua River, the Ice and Snow Amusement World is a major attraction of Harbin Interactional Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival dunging the winter. There are full of awesome ice and snow sculptures created by artists from all around world. Kind note that please wear enough layers of proper clothes and warm shoes to keep you away form the freeze especially when you want to stay there longer to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
After breakfast, our guide will escort to visit Stalin Park and see the winter swimming performance. Then we will drive about 1.5 hours to Jihua Ski Resort where you can select to enjoy skiing and more activities are on your interests. (Ref. ski price: CNY180/ 2 hours; CNY240/4 hours). In the evening, we will drive back to Harbin for a relax.
Jihua Ski Resort, also called Jihua Changshou Mountain Ski Resort, sits in Binxi National Forest Park as the nearest SSSSS-level national ski resort to Harbin downtown (38km).This national ski resort is built in a natural basin and surrounded by mountains, the towering peaks snake around and enclose the resort forming a natural wind-sheltered heaven. The resort has 15 different ski slopes, which in total cover a distance of 30 km, cater for beginner, medium and advanced-level skiers. The resort has a ski school, which offers more than 100 professional skimeisters. The resort is the only training base for National Youth Skiing Team. The resort area gets heavy snowfall, with about 150 days of snow every year. It can receive 5,000 people at the same time. It is an ideal place for cross-country skiing.
A morning drive about 2 hours from Harbin to Songyuan to see the interesting Mongolian winter fishing in Chagan Lake. Then pay a visit to Miaoyin Temple (a Buddhist temple), and then move to a museum to learn some facts about the Mongolian people's fishing and hunting clture. This evening, you will stay overnight in a local homestay (facility in the room is basic, with toilet, bath room, heated system or air conditioner, with simple Chinese breakfast. No hotels in Chagan Lake. You can only stay in the local homestay or leave for the hotel in Changchun).
Chagan Lake
Chagan Lake, Mongolian as "Chagan Naoer", with a meaning of white holy lake, is located in Qianguo county, Songyuan, Jilin China. With an area of 307 square kilometers, it was once a fishing and hunting resort for emperors since the Liao & Jin Dynasty. The lake is always known for traditional winter fishing from then on. The traditional winter fishing method is listed in 2008 as China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Drive in the morning from Jilin to Changchun to see the Puppet Manchurian Palace and the Eight Ministries of Manchukuo. Later, visit the Culture Square, where you can take some pictures or buy some local products and tourist souvenirs at its nearby shops, you can taste some ginseng tea (free of charge) if you visit the ginseng shops. Stay in Changchun City.
Morning drive to view Jilin Rime Ice Island (depends on the weather, Songhua Lake is another option for rime ice sight) and Manchu Wula Town. In the afternoon, we will drive back to visit Jilin Meteorite Museum in Jilin city.
After breakfast, you will have a relax until the time to transfer to the airport or railway station for your next destination.
