Harbin--The Russian Influence--Part III

The next day the International Workshop for AIDS/HIV Prevention in Heilongjiang Province begins.

Here is Judith beginning her talk.

After the workshop we go to our customary banquet, but this time it is at a special place. We ate in a building with a long Russian past. Construction of the building began in 1903 and at various times it was used by the railroad construction engineers and later Russian officers after the Japanese-Russian war (which the Russians lost).

We were given a booklet of pictorial history of the building, but it is not in English and efforts to find out its history in the Internet were futile.

Black bread is a specialty in the area due to the Russian influence and it was served at our dinner as an appetizer. No where in China have I ever seen a piece of bread unless it was set out in one of the western hotel breakfast buffets. So, as Chinese cities go, Harbin is very unique. Also this is the first time we didn’t eat at a round table. All the top health officials were present, including the president of the local hospital research center. Since a round table was missing there was a lot more movement to the toasting procedure. As is the custom the host gives the first toast, then priority of status dictates the following toasts. At some point there seems to a slight loll in the toasts so the guests can join in, which is only the polite thing to do.

On the way back to our hotel we stop and see the magnificent Russian Orthodox Church, St. Sophia. The loudspeakers were playing balalaika music.

We briefly walked down the famous Zhongyang Street. It is the longest business street in the country and is the main shopping district. There are ice sculptures spaced throughout the street. Below is a cello player and in the background, the Modern Hotel can be seen. The Modern Hotel was first built in 1906 and is of typical architecture during the French King Louis XIV period in the renaissance.

Here is another European building along the street.

Harbin, The Ice City Part II

The snow sculptures are across the river as are the ice sculptures. The snow sculptures are in Sun Island Park.

This is the kind of day it was. Have I mentioned that it is cold here?? Although difficult to see, there is a graceful cable suspension bridge under the sun.

There are moderate, large, and monster size sculptures to see. Photography is difficult due to the gray day and lack of contrast of the sculptures. Most of the photos have been adjusted to provide more contrast.

While touring the grounds we were treated to a small parade consisting of a band and Xmas characters that played Jingle Bells and other secular Xmas tunes as they hustled around the grounds.

We did stop for hot tea in this house with the red lanterns. Never has tea seemed so welcomed. There is a huge sculpture of a father winter in the background. It is about 3 stories high.

As you can see, the sculptures were quite detailed and impressive. The young English speaking woman on the left was our guide and facilitator for all our trip. Did I mention that it was cold?

The Ice City-Harbin, China January 2009

Some History

Harbin originally a Russian-built railway outpost carved out of the wilderness on the banks of the Songhua River is the northernmost major city in China and capital of Hei Long Jiang Province. It is the country's coldest province, with winter temperatures that hover, on average, around -15°F (-26°C). Like many border regions, it is an amalgamation of clashing extremes, home to one of China's roughest mountain ranges, some of its most fertile soil, its largest oil and coal fields, its most pristine wilderness, and most of its few remaining nomad groups.

The city was founded in 1897 as a camp for Russian engineers surveying construction of the eastern leg of the Trans-Siberian railroad. Demand for labor and the city's laissez-faire atmosphere quickly attracted a diverse population of outcasts from Latvia, the Ukraine, and Poland, as well as Manchuria. Many Jews migrated here and their influence can be seen in some of the old buildings in the city. At its height, one of the most bizarrely cosmopolitan cities in Asia -- cold, dirty, rife with speculation and venereal disease, architecturally vibrant, and a model for ethnic and religious tolerance. For a while it was referred to as the “Paris of the Orient”.

The town fell under Japanese control during World War II and was finally recaptured in 1946 by the Russians who gave it back to the Chinese in a few months. In fact, these three countries have been taking turns occupying the area for many years.

Most original foreign residents fled at the end of World War II. The city has begun to recover some of its former face, however, as trainloads of Russian merchants and prostitutes flood back to take advantage of China's new economic momentum.

Since 1985, Harbin has been host to the Harbin Snow and Ice Festival held during the month of January, it is China’s original and greatest ice artwork festival, and one of the largest of its kind in the world.

We fly into Beijing and check into the Raffles Beijing Hotel as we have done several times previously. Several special rates can be found on their Internet site as they aggressively try to attract guests. The hotel is centrally located between the Forbidden City/Tienanmen Square and a major shopping area on Wangfujing Street and our favorite massage place. Here is a photo of the lobby.

The next morning we taxi to the airport and fly to Harbin and check into the Sangria La Harbin Hotel into a room overlooking the Songhua River. Judith arranged to have the hotel car pick us up making the trip comfortable and stress free as the driver made our way on snow covered roads that had been treated with ashes to help traction. I realized that the temperatures at Harbin would render road salt useless.

I took this photo through the hotel window. The sun seems to be trying vainly to stay above the horizon. It is as cold outside as this photo portrays.

Later, the ice festival buildings and grounds can be seen with the lights turned on.

As you can see the festival covers several acres, with tall structures and lots of lights. Later we go for a brief and cold visit.

That evening we sign up to eat at the Ice Palace. The Ice Palace is a small restaurant constructed entirely of ice which is accessed off the back door of the hotel. The meal is a hot pot which requires that various meats and vegetables be placed into the boiling mixture of exotic broth and cooked until done. The problem was that use of chop sticks is not possible with a thick pair of gloves and our hands got quite cold. It helped when they brought a heated stone, but that too became cold before dinner was over. In fact toward the end of the meal, the still unused food was frozen to the plates.

This is fine hotel with larger rooms and we stay for 4 nights. After we are settled off we go to see the snow sculpture part of the Winter Festival.

One More Sunrise

The most mystical sunrise I have ever experienced was at Yangshuo, China. The day before we traveled down the Li River, and checked in at a 3 star hotel overlooking the river for two nights. The first night, I woke just before sunrise and as soon as I saw the sun come over the horizon, I ran for my camera.

I took several pictures trying to frame the sun and the karst hills to get a good composition as I leaned out the window. Too bad I could not capture the quietness or smell of the dampness that accompanied the event. I like the one below the best.

Sun Rises For The Start of 2009

If you stay at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach, you can walk down to the beach before the beach chairs are occupied, sit and watch surfers carry their boards up the beach as the sun rises just to the right of Diamond Head.Kuta Beach in Kuta Bali
In Ubud, Bali at the Kupu Kupu Resort. The fog is raising from the valley below.
From our balcony of the Marriott Resort Hotel in Bangkok viewing the Chao Phraya River
Watching the fog burn off as we cruise down the Three Gorges Yangtze River.

Standing on the grounds of the Dreprung Monastery overlooking Lhasa, Tibet below.
In St. Petersburg, Russia looking at the statue of Peter the Great, the Bronze Horseman, as the snow sweeper trucks clear the overnight snowfall.
At the Uno Lodge near San Rafael Mexico.


We rose early in the morning on our final day at Kruger National Park, South Africa and found two lions along the road. The sun shines off the male's mane.

Sunsets for the end of 2008

I have picked out several sunsets I have taken traveling here and there as a metaphor for the end of 2008. This was taken in Puerto Rico. I don't think I ever saw a sunset this color before.
These next two were taken in Kauai, Hawaii outside our Sheraton Hotel room.

This was taken at the southern end of Lake Malawi near Mangochi, Malawi.
When in Bali, Indonesia, sunsets and be viewed at Jimbaron Beach while dining on the sand. These two photos were taken on different trips.

Some of the most dramatic sunsets I found on Lombak Island, Indonesia at the Oberi Hotel near the small village of Tanjung. The first one below is looking at the island of Bali. The infinity pool at the Oberi gave this shot an added dimension.
I think this is my favorite although I really like the one above. This was taken at Senggigi Beach on Lombak.

A Short Lesson in World Economics

One of my blog's links is to DanWei.org which provides some interesting news in China. As you might expect, China holds some fascination to me as I have been a frequent visitor to many, many areas of the country.

When Judith and I go for one of our many foot massages, our masseuses who like to practice their English, usually ask us if this is our first time to China. Then we rattle off all the places we have been (it's good practice for longer term memory) and are always impressed. Most Chinese will never see their own country as we have seen it.

Everywhere is China we see construction cranes hovering over cities like giant condors, making the concept of a city skyline having its own beauty rather disturbing. Then there is the considerable air pollution caused by industry, cars/trucks, and geographic conditions. We see people everywhere aggressively trying to sell us something hoping we have no concept of how to effectively bargain the price down to what a Chinese person would expect to pay. We witness hundreds of thousands of small shops (mostly dirty, poorly stocked and in general unattractive). The people who sit idly by eke out a subsistence living causing me to wonder what happens when the K-Marts of China rise from the enterprising fervor driving the creation of hundreds of Chinese millionaires.

So I start to think and read about how China gathers the resources to make all this credible economic expansion continue and the impact it makes and will make in the future. When will China address its environmental problems? How much increased economic freedoms will lead to human rights freedoms?

But here is something I am sure of. China and the United States are married economically and will continue to be in the future, which is a lot better than each leading the single life.

I ran across this YouTube interview from Hans Rosling, Swedish World Health professor, about China. It is very good. Who do you suppose is going to provide the economic support for the bail outs there are/will take place in the United States?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzHRCuT5eDQ

And check out his blog at roslingsblogger.blogspot.com

These should expand some brain cells.

Favorite Photos in No Particular Order

I couldn't believe my eyes at first, but this elephant painted this picture in Chang Mae, Thailand.This photo was taken from a helicopter showing the "back" side of Kauai, Hawaii. The Potala in Lhasa, Tibet. The blueness of the sky at an altitude of 13,500 feet has to be experienced. The Potala was the cultural and governmental center of the Dali Lamas. A journey through it will give you a thorough understanding of the smell of burning yak butter. Tienanmen Square pre-dawn waiting for the flag raising ceremony, with the Forbidden City beyond. Latter that day the earthquake in Sichuan Provence killed 80,000 people.The photo shows the barren landscape of one of the poorest countries in the world, Lesotho, and a family dwelling made of rock and sheep dung. The women and their children come together while their men are off somewhere.
Looking at Columbus Circle in New York City from inside the CNN building.