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Tag: Harbin

  • Harbin Ice and Snow Festival: Oliver Sale, China – February 2019

    ***哈尔滨冰雪大世界***

    期末以后，我考试结束了。回家以前，因为我要打发一个星期的时间，所以我坐高铁从北京到哈尔滨。那个城市是黑龙江省的首都———中国最东北的省。 有一个同学和我一起去，我们住在我哈尔滨语友的家里。跟他的父母练习中文非常有意思。

    Harbin Ice and Snow World

     

    每个冬天哈尔滨有“哈尔滨冰雪大世界”———世界上最大最有名的冰雪节。冰雕师从很多地方来参加，做冰雕。第一天我们去参观，逛了几个小时。阳光灿烂，就是温度特别特别低，可能零下十度，所以我们常常得找个咖啡店暖和暖和。冰雪节像一个大游乐园，不但有冰雕，而且有滑梯和其他活动———我们滑冰！我们看了很多的冰雕，又雄伟又漂亮。有一些是世界上最有名的建筑，比如说罗马斗兽场和伊斯坦布尔圣索非亚大教堂。

    第二天我们去老虎园参观，看了东北虎，是黑龙江省的。然后我们从冰上过河，河流结冰因为天气太冷！河流很宽，可能五百米左右，我们走了十分钟。

    因为哈尔滨离俄罗斯不太远，所以城市的建筑和饮食受俄罗斯的影响很大。我们去一间俄罗斯式教堂参观，还有品尝地方风味。

    然后我们回北京去。去一个那样冷的地方并且感受那个地方的文化非常有意思！

     

     

     

     

    Snow sculptures

     

    ***Harbin Ice and Snow Festival***

    It was the end of term and I had just finished my exams. I had a week to kill before going back home so I took the high-speed train from Beijing to Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang—China’s most north-eastern province. A class mate came with me and we stayed at my language buddy’s house. It was fascinating to stay with a Chinese family and chat with his parents in Chinese.

    Ice scultpures

    Every winter Harbin hosts the “Harbin Ice and Snow World”—the world’s largest and most famous snow and ice sculpture festival. Ice sculptors come from all over the world to make sculptures. On the first day we went there, and walked around for several hours. The sun was shining but it was extremely cold, perhaps -10 degrees, so we often had to have a coffee break and warm up. The festival is like a big theme park with not only ice sculptures but also slides and activities—we went ice skating! We looked at the sculptures which were both impressive and beautiful. There were some of the most famous buildings from around the world, such as the Colosseum in Rome and Istanbul’s Hagia Sofia.

    The Colosseum (lit up!)

    On the second day we went to visit the tiger park and saw Siberian tigers, which are native to Heilongjiang province. We then walked across the river which was frozen solid, because the weather is so cold. It was very wide, perhaps 500m in width, so it took nearly 10 minutes.

    Because Harbin is close to the border with Russia there is also a lot of Russian influence, for example in the architecture and cuisine. We visited some Russian-style churches and tried some local delicacies.

    Russian-style church

    We then returned to Beijing. It was so interesting to spend time in such a cold place and to gain an insight into the culture there!

     

    Walking across the frozen river

  • 严寒的哈尔滨 Bitter Harbin: Daniel Osborne, China – February 2019

    十七个星期以后，终于我才放假。北京现在零下5度，所以人们建议我可能去比较暖和的地方，比如云南、香港或澳门。可是我却决定去更冷的地方：哈尔滨！我之所以去哈尔滨是因为每年从十二月到二月哈尔滨举行国际冰雪节，是在中国最厉害、最有名旅游胜地之一。

    Saint Sophia’s Cathedral

    哈尔滨有坎坷的现代历史。1896年以前，只是一个很小的渔村。 可是第十九世纪末，俄罗斯工人开始建造跨西伯利亚铁路：在哈尔滨的铁路连接贝加尔湖和符拉迪沃斯托克。在日俄战争(1904-5年），哈尔滨是俄罗斯军事行动的基地。1917年，为了逃避俄罗斯改革，许多俄罗斯来到哈尔滨，因此当时哈尔滨有在苏联之外最多的俄罗斯人口。因此，在大街上俄式建筑触目皆是。比方说， 圣索菲亚教堂是城市里最大和最漂亮的教堂：它的深绿的穹顶真的让人吃惊：很容易想象站在莫斯科！我也尝了尝俄式食品， 比如罗宋汤，真的很好吃.

    另外哈尔滨国际冰雪节是世界上最大的冰雪节。在1984年，第一个冰雪节，只吸引了中国人；可是那个时候以来，成为了国际的活动，吸引从天南地北的人。在2018年，一千八百万人来到哈尔滨。冰雪节由太阳岛和冰雪大世界组成。太阳岛具有各种各样的雪雕。虽然巨大，可细节非常精致。天黑了，我去冰雪大世界：拥有照明的全尺寸建筑，由直接从松花江锯开的2-3米厚冰块组成。建筑包括寺庙、大本钟和罗马圆形大剧场！虽然天气严寒所以我手机很快地没有电，但我还拍了几张照片：五颜六色的建筑和乌黑的天空的对比度真的很特殊。两三个小时以后，看到了几乎所有的冰雕，很想回宾馆：虽然我穿着三件毛衣、两件外套、四件长裤，可真的冷得要命！

    在哈尔滨最可怜的是侵华日军第七三一部队遗址纪念馆。在第二世界大战，日本军队进行凶恶的实验：3000个中国人和敌人的士兵作为实验对象：科学家故意地使得俘虏人感染瘟疫、霍乱和炭疽了。一些更可怕的实验包括没有麻醉的活体解剖。看到了所有使用过的医疗设备、图片显示有最厉害的症状的俘虏以及目击者的叙述使得我非常感动。我也感到愤怒因为发现了很少进行这些实验的日本将军和士兵被绳之以法：美国战后的政府和日本政府订了一个密约，日本当事的豁免权作为对给美国实验结果的报答。

    Ice sculptures

    After seventeen weeks, I’m finally on holiday. It’s now -5 degrees in Beijing, so people recommended that I go to somewhere warmer like Yunnan, Hong Kong or Macao. But instead I decided to go somewhere even colder: Harbin! I decided to go because from December through to February each year Harbin hosts the International Snow and Ice Festival, which is one the best and most famous tourist attractions in China.

    Harbin has an tumultuous history. Before 1896, it was just a small fishing village, but at the end of the 19th century, Russian workers started to build Trans-Siberian railway: Harbin’s railway connected Lake Baikal and Vladivostok. In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, Harbin was the base for Russian military activities. Then in 1917, many Russians came to Harbin to escape the Russian Revolution, thus Harbin had the largest Russian population outside the Soviet Union at that time. Therefore, on the streets there are Russian-style buildings everywhere. For example, Saint Sophia’s Cathedral is the city’s biggest and most beautiful church: it’s dark green dome really is jaw-dropping! I could have quite easily be standing in Moscow! I also tried some Russian delicacies, like borsch, which was tasty.

    Snow sculptures

    Also, Harbin’s International Snow and Ice Festival is the word’s biggest Snow and Festival. In 1984, at the first festival, it only attracted Chinese tourists. But since then, it has become an international event, attracting people from all over the world. In 2018, 18 million people came to Harbin. The festival comprises of Sun Island and Snow and Ice World. Sun Island has various snow sculptures: despite their large size, they are nonetheless very intricate. As it became darker, I headed over to the Snow and Ice world which had full-size illuminated buildings, made up of 2-3 metre thick ice cubes cut directly from Songhua River. The buildings included temples, Big Ben and the Colosseum! Although it was bitterly cold, and so my phone quickly ran out of battery, I still managed to taken some photos: the contrast between the multi-coloured buildings and the black sky really was something special. But after two or three hours, having seen nearly all the sculptures, I really wanted to go back to the hotel: even wearing three jumpers, two jackets, and four pairs of jeans, I felt absolutely freezing.

    The Unit 731 Mausoleum is the most pitiable attraction in Harbin. In WW2, Japanese soldiers carried out atrocious experiments: 3000 Chinese and enemy soldiers were guinea pigs for the experiments; they were deliberately infected with the plague, choler and anthrax. Some of the more horrific experiments include vivisection without anaesthesia. Seeing all the used medical equipment, the photos showing the prisoners with the awful symptoms as well as the accounts from the prisoners moved me greatly. But I also felt angry because I learned that very few Japanese generals and soldiers who carried out these experiments were brought to justice since the post-war American and Japanese governments made a secret deal whereby those Japanese involved got immunity in return for giving the US the results of their experiments.

  • A trip to China’s Northeast: Gavin Vine, China – March 2017

    在上个月的报告中我写到了我在云南的经验，则这个月我要写我在一个很不同的地方的经验，中国的东北。 我在中国已经听说了很多东北的刻板印象，据说东北人很有幽默感，很会喝酒。 考虑到这一点，我和朋友们就决定去东北亲眼看情况是不是这样。 我们安排了去东北三个省的每一个省。我们的第一站是沈阳，辽宁的省会。 我们一下车，就对极度的寒冷天气感到震惊，我们以为北京算是个很冷的地方，可是沈阳的天气是无比寒冷的，晚上的温度下降到零下20摄氏度。我们像是在寒冷气温里的企鹅一样摇摆行走于这个城市之间，可是因为温度太低，所以我们晚上没有机会出去认识那些地道很逗的东北人。

    几天后我们到了哈尔滨，这次我们都下定决心去认识一些东北人。幸亏，我们的华人澳大利亚朋友当时也在哈尔滨，所以跟他解释我们去东北的原因以后，他就把我们介绍给他一辈子都住在哈尔滨的奶奶。尽管奶奶并没有和喜剧演员一样的有幽默感，但是我们还是玩得很开心。最搞笑的事情是她用布盖住了房间里最贵的物品，像是担心我们会把它们偷走一样！

    Chilling (literally) at the Harbin Ice Festival

    ENGLISH:

    In my last report I wrote about my experience in Yunnan, but this month I would like to write about my experience in a very different region – China’s Northeast. Throughout my time in China I have heard various stereotypes about this region. Apparently, people from the Northeast have a very funny sense of humour and the ability to drink lots of alcohol. With this in mind, my friends and I decided to go to the Northeast to see with our own eyes whether this really was the case. We arranged to visit each of the three provinces in the Northeast, our first stop being Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province. As soon as we got off the train we were struck by the bitter cold. We thought Beijing was a very cold place, but the weather here was another level of cold, with the night time temperature dropping to around -20 degrees Celsius. Like Penguins, we waddled around the city, trying our best to keep warm. However, due to the extreme temperatures we were unable to go out in the evening and get to know the hilarious people we had heard so much about.

    A few days later we arrived in Harbin, this time determined to meet some Northeasterners. Fortunately, our Chinese born Australian friend was in Harbin at the same time. After we told him our reason for coming to the region, he introduced us to his grandmother who had lived in Harbin her whole life. Although she was by no means a comedian, we still had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed her company. The funniest thing was that she covered up all the expensive items in the house for fear that us foreigners would want to steal them!

  • Imogen Page-Jarrett – Harbin Snow & Ice Festival, 2015

    哈尔滨冰雪节

    二月底我和莫宁同学去参观中国最北方黑龙江的哈尔滨冰雪节。一年一度的哈尔滨冰雪节持续一个月，大型冰雕、滑冰、冰上赛艇、狗拉雪橇、街边冰质酒吧以及冰灯等等比比皆是。冰雕里有彩灯，形成各种各样的模型。因为今年是羊年，一进冰雪大世界就能看到巨大雪做的羊雕。还有一个300米大冰滑梯，英国广播公司网站首页发布的。滑下来非常可怕，不能控制速度，到最后滑得越来越快！

    冰雪大世界置于穿过哈尔滨市大河的对面。除了冰雪大世界意外，冰冻的大河上也举办很多冰雪相关的活动。越野车啊、滑雪场啊、冰屋啊，甚至还有白狐狸啊都有。还可以做缆车，在天上穿过下面河上所有的活动。所有年龄的人搜在参加，都在冰上摔倒！

    哈尔滨城市发展较晚。1900年前主要还是一个小渔村。哈尔滨的发展归因于俄罗斯与欧洲大量的犹太人。犹太人因家乡的种族及宗教歧视而逃跑到靠近俄罗斯边缘的哈尔滨。现代哈尔滨的建筑大量是被犹太社会盖得。我和莫宁推荐去哈尔滨的游客去参观哈尔滨的教会堂，还得去中央街，两边都是俄罗斯式的建筑。我们在犹太教堂里参加了一场笑音乐会，演员都是哈尔滨本地音乐学校的学生，演的非常漂亮，环境很有历史感。我们还特别喜欢圣索菲亚大教堂，是拜占庭式建筑的典型代表。

    哈尔滨的好吃有西式俄罗斯的，还有东北的，韩国的。逛街时，总能看到人在吃著名的马迭尔冰棍儿，是哈尔滨中央大街特色冷饮，有奶油色，特好吃。很让我吃惊的是，在哈尔滨人喝热可口可乐！不可思议会好喝的！

    哈尔滨人因高身材、浪漫的性格而有名。据俗话，跟那边的男人交往非常有刺激，可是因为不靠谱，太浪漫的性质，而不应该嫁给那边的男人。

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Harbin Snow and Ice Festival 20th March 2015

    At the end of February I went with my classmate Nina to the Snow and Ice Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang.  Once a year the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival is held for one month. You can find large-scale sculptures, ice-skating, ice “rowing”, husky sleds, ice bars on the side of the streets and ice lanterns all about the place. Inside the ice sculptures are coloured lights, and the sculptures take on all kinds of forms. This year is the year of the goat, and thus as soon as you walk in the Ice and Snow World you can see a giant sculpture of a goat sitting there. There is also a 300 metre long ice slide, which made the front page of the BBC’s website. It was terrifying to ride, as you couldn’t control the speed and you just got faster and faster the further you went!

    The Ice and Snow World is situated on the other side of the large river running through Harbin. Aside from the Ice and Snow World, there are also lots of snow and ice related activities on the frozen river. There are snow buggies, ice skating rinks, igloos and even snow foxes. You can also take a cable car up into the sky to see the bustle down below. There are people of all ages participating and falling all over the place.

    Harbin’s development came comparatively late. Up until 1900 it was still a small fishing village. The reason for its development are the large number of Jews who came over from Europe and Russia. Facing discrimination at home, the Jewish people fled to Harbin, near the Russian border. A lot of modern Harbin’s architecture was built by the Jewish community. Me and Nina would recommend going to see the synagogues, and also to Zhongyang (Central) Street, which has Russian-style buildings on all sides. We also went to see a concert inside the main old synagogue. The performers were all studying at Harbin’s college of music, they performed quite beautifully, and the setting had a very historic feel to it. We also really enjoyed Saint Sofia Cathedral, which is a beacon for Byzantine architecture in the region.

    Harbin cuisine is comprised of Russian style, Dongbei Chinese and Korean style, principally. When walking along the street, you can always see someone eating the famous “Modern” ice-lolly, which is local to Zhongyang Street itself. It’s very creamy and delicious. What made me most surprised was that in Harbin they sell hot Coca Cola. I can’t believe that that would taste nice!

    The people of Harbin are well known for their tall stature and romantic natures. The saying goes that it’s very exciting to date a man from Harbin, but because they are unreliable and “too” romantic, one should not go so far as to settle down with one!

     

  • 2015年二月：Harbin & Spring Festival – Struan Rutherford, February 2015

     

    一月二十七日，我从北京去哈尔滨，中国北方黑龙江省的省城。由于黑龙 江从俄罗斯很近, 哈尔滨还有很独特混合两国家的文化。我去看 聖索菲亞教堂，亚洲最大东正教教堂。教堂的架构非常漂亮。 虽然聖索菲亞教堂现在不是在服务的教堂，但是里面有摄影馆。摄影馆给我很有意思关于城市历史的一瞥。还有，我去哈尔滨国际冰雪节。我以前看到很多照片可是我还没明白真的规模。

                                     

    整个村庄被修建了冰，包括酒吧，饭馆，教堂和邮局。我最终决定加入很长的排队。我不知道为什么我们都排队但是这个地方明显很流行。过了一会独自在寒冷站，我跟我的中国排队邻居开始谈话，我问他们为什么我们排队。答案是三百米的冰滑。这个冰滑听起来有点吓人但是我全神贯注于谈话所以我不担心太多。排队是非常好为了有效地花时间练习汉语的机会。滑冰实际上很痛苦因为滑冰结束的时候，人民被扔到雪墙上。

    虽然大部分我的同学们回国，我跟有些朋友住在北京来过春节。二月十八日以前，我觉得春节庆典大概跟西方除夕庆典有相似。最大的区别是城市成为非常安静。北京成为鬼城因为大家回家来跟家人过春节。焰火的使用也比较有声有色。从晚上八点到早晨三点，北京不断有焰火。从我窗户的风景很漂亮，城市非常丰富多彩。十九日，我们去看地坛的庙会。庙会的气氛很激动：大量人群，很吵音乐和很多食品。而且，我们观看了舞狮表演。我们那天经历很多中国文化！我们的假期很快结束但是我盼望不久再上课。

     

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION

    On the 27th January, I set out from Beijing for Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province in Northern China.　Due to its proximity to Russia, Harbin retains a distinct character that blends two different countries’ cultures. I visited St Sophia’s Cathedral, the largest Orthodox church in Asia. The church’s architecture was fantastic. Although St Sofia’s is no longer an active church, it houses a photography museum which provided an interesting insight into the city’s history.　I also went to the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival. I had seen a number of photos but I did not truly appreciate the scale of it until I entered.

     

    An entire village including bars, restaurants, a mock church and even a post office had been constructed entirely out of ice. I eventually chose to join a queue for an attraction that was evidently extremely popular although I did not know exactly what it was. After a while standing alone in the cold, I decided to strike up conversation with my Chinese neighbours about what we were queueing for. The answer was a 300m long ice slide which sounded quite worrying but I was too engrossed in conversation with my Chinese neighbours to think too much about it. The queue was a great opportunity to make productive use of my time by practising my Mandarin. The ice slide in the end ended up being rather painful, especially as the slide came to a rapid end in the form of a wall of snow that riders were flung into.

    Although most of my classmates had returned home, I stayed in Beijing with a few friends to celebrate Spring Festival. Before February 18th, I thought that Spring Festival celebrations would be similar to Western New Year celebrations. The biggest difference was how quiet the city became:　Beijing became a ghost town as people returned home to celebrate Spring Festival with their families. The use of fireworks was also more impressive. From about 8pm until 3am, there were constant fireworks. The view from my window was wonderful; the city was extremely colourful. The next day, we went to the Temple of Earth to explore the temple fair. The temple atmosphere was very exciting: large crowds, loud music and lots of food. We also saw a lion dancing performance.We experienced a lot of Chinese culture that day! Holidays are now coming to an end but I look forward to starting class again before long.