Hēilóngjiāng

Introducing Hēilóngjiāng

Blessed – or cursed – with one of the coldest climates in Asia, Hēilóngjiāng (Black Dragon River), surprisingly, promotes its frigid winters as the peak tourist season. And travellers do come – braving the -30°C weather and howling Siberian gales common to the country’s northernmost province – primarily to marvel at the elaborate ice sculptures that glitter throughout the city of Hāěrbīn during its famous Ice Lantern Festival.

If you bring warm clothes – and we mean layers of thermals – and restore yourself with hearty stews and the local firewater, you can enjoy this sparkling spectacle. Hēilóngjiāng is also the centre of China’s emerging ski industry, offering some of the country’s best skiing at Yàbùlì.

In any season, Hāěrbīn is worth visiting for its Russian-influenced architecture and pleasant pedestrian streets, particularly in the Dàolǐqū district near the tree-lined riverfront. When the sun is shining, you can unwind with a walk along the river or on cobblestone-lined Zhongyang Dajie, stopping to sample steamed cornmeal buns or Russian-style sausages.

Other Hāěrbīn attractions include a new museum that illustrates the city’s Jewish heritage, a collection of Buddhist and Confucian temples, a park that attempts to protect the rare Siberian tiger and a haunting museum that details grisly wartime experiments by the Japanese.

Between May and September, you can explore the lakes, nature reserves and forests throughout the rest of the province. Things to see include sparkling Jìngpò Hú (Mirror Lake); the Wǔdàlián Chí area, with its volcanic landscapes and mineral springs; the Zhalong Nature Reserve and its rare wild cranes; and the remote regions along the Russian border.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009