5 Days Charming Harbin & China Snow Town Winter Tour
Dream-like Snow Paradise
Dream-like Snow Paradise
This 5 days private tour is one of our best-selling winter holidays. Its best highlight is China Snow Town which is reputed as the no.1 snow town in China and the best place to feel the charm of snow in the paradise-like world. All your imagination and desire about snow can be satisfied here. No matter you want to capture gorgeous panoramic view of the snow village, enjoy the fun of playing with snow, do some light hiking to nearby hill to watch sunrise, or experience real life of local snow town people... you will also explore the magnificent snow and ice sculptures, exotic streets and grandiose buildings in Harbin which is the best gateway to the Snow town.
Please note: The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival usually lasts from late December to late February, with the Harbin Ice and Snow World open only during the festival. To fully appreciate the stunning ice and snow artworks, please plan your Harbin trip accordingly.
Day 1 Harbin Arrival
Harbin airport/train station pick up & hotel check-in
Ni Hao! Welcome to Harbin, the Capital of Heilongjiang Province, which is well known as the "Ice City" in China. Your local guide will meet you at the arrival hall of the airport / railway station. Then you will be escorted to your hotel (prebooked by us) in downtown Harbin. The rest of today is on your own to explore this city.
Arrival Ideas:
Harbin Taiping International Airport is 41 km’s driving distance from downtown area. It has flights from Beijing (2 hrs), Dalian (1.5 hrs), Qingdao (2 hrs), Jinan (2 hrs), Xian (3 hrs), Shanghai (3 hrs), Chengdu (3.5-4 hrs), Ordos (2.5 hrs), Hangzhou (3 hrs), Guangzhou (4-4.5 hrs), Xiamen (4-4.5hrs), Wuhan (3-3.5 hrs), Sanya (5 hrs) and more destinations in China, and more international cities like Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, Moscow, Phuket Island, etc. While Harbin West Railway Station has high-speed trains linking Harbin with Beijing (7~8 hrs), Changchun (1 hr), Shenyang (2.5~3 hrs), Dalian (4~5 hrs), Jilin (2-3 hrs), Tianjin (6.5 hrs), etc.
Evening Ideas (Explore on your own):
In this evening, you can visit Zhaolin Park, one of the 3 main venues of Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, to appreciate the wonderful world largest scale of outdoor ice lantern show. Take a relaxing walk in the “ocean of ice lantern” with over thousand exquisite arts that are totally different every year and feel the joy of the big World Ice and Snow Festival. (Note: it runs every year from January 5th to the end of February. Please wear warm a down coat and shoes when visiting it at night)
Ice City - Harbin
Day 2 Harbin - China Snow Town (B)
Driving 5-6 hours to China Snow Town & Snow landscape sightseeing
After breakfast, meet your guide and driver at your hotel, then drive 5~6 hours to China Snow Town, the No.1 China Snow Town located in Shuangfeng Wood Farm in Mudanjiang City, about 280 kilometers from Harbin. On route, you will enjoy the beautiful snow scene in the winter wonderland - bright sunshine, clear sky, fresh air, endless snow-capped land, primitive wooden houses.
After arrival, take a short rest in your hotel and then reach up the viewing deck to capture a panoramic view of the amazing China Snow Town, a dreamlike paradise. Later, enjoy a leisure walk along the 500-meter-long Xueyun Avenue with all wooden houses hanging with red lanterns and if you like, try some local snacks at this lively street. Have fun at Snow Town Photography Ground where you can play with snow, bringing you a happy childhood memory. Later, walk around the snow town at your own pace, you can enjoy amazing snowscape and experience the lifestyle of snow town people. When the night falls, if you like, walk outside and enjoy the charming night view.
Please Note:
1. Weather condition and what to wear: The weather is freezing in China Snow Town and the temperature is around -15 ℃ to -35 ℃ during November to February. Take enough warm clothes, shoes, wind cap, and gloves with you. And sunglasses, sunblocking scream, antifreeze, high-calorie snacks are also needed.
2. Snow activities to enjoy more fun: Many exciting snow activities are provided in this town. If you are interested, you can try skiing, snowmobiling, dog-drawn sled, horse-drawn sled, etc. You need to pay an extra fee for each activity.
3. Photography tips: If you like photography, you can go to Dream Home to shoot the snow mushrooms, performance of Errenzhuan and take photos of sunset and panoramic view of the whole white world. Remember to bring the cold-proofing and warm your camera.
4. Best location for Night View: Night scene is the essence of China Snow Town. There are three best locations to appreciate night view - Dream Home, Xueyue Avenue and Fairytale World Plank Road.
Day 3 China Snow Town - Harbin (B)
Today's highlights: China Snow Town, Sunrise, Dream Home
Today's highlight is the Yangcaoshan Hill, one of the most beautiful places around the Snow Town. At about 1,250 meters above sea level, it's the tallest peak in the region and known as the most beautiful place in Snow Town. With its rare trees, it is the best spot to view sunrise and sunset. If you want to enjoy the sunrise view, do remember to come early, as the sun rises at 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. in winter. When the first ray of the red sun shines on the vast snow land, it is so magnificent! Then the red and golden sunlight is going to sprinkle over the whole hill, bringing vitality to life.
After breakfast, you will take the mini sightseeing bus to Yangcaoshan Hill. The road is about 5 kilometers from China Snow Town to the top, full of gorgeous rime and misty pines. When reaching up the top of Yangcaoshan Hill, you will be rewarded with a expansive panoramic view of the whole hill, which is the best moments to take pictures as many as you can. (Alternative transportation: Instead of taking mini sightseeing bus, you can choose snow mobile to reach up and down.) After the fun time at the top, it is time to get back. Take mini bus down to China Snow Town.
Later, continue your adventure to Dream Home which is a famous site to shoot some Chinese TV series and movies. Take photos and know the real life of the loggers.
In this afternoon, it is time to say goodbye to this fairytale world. You will be driven back to Harbin.
Day 4 Harbin (B, L)
Today's highlights: Ice and Snow Festival, International Snow Sculpture Art Expo, Siberian Tiger Park
After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. Firstly, you'll visit the Sun Island Scenic Resort, which is a major venue to hold the International Snow Sculpture Art Expo on Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in winter. Walk into this vast pure lovely fairyland of 60,000 square meters and meet the incredible “white visual storm”. Have a close look at the thousands of excellent large-scaled artistic snow sculptures of landscape, cartoon, figures, buildings, etc., which will make you wow at the outstanding talent of the craftsmen who inject life into the cold snow. With so amazing backdrop, you just can’t help taking some great photos to record the great moment (You are highly advised to wear sunglasses to visit the Snow Sculpture Art Fair since the snow is really glaring especially in sunny days.)
Then, be escorted to the nearby Siberian Tiger Park, the largest breeding center in the world for the endangered Siberian Tigers. Over 1,300 purebred Siberian Tigers are raised there. You’ll not only pay a safe walk to observe different kinds of tigers (Siberian Tigers, White Tigers, White Lion, Leopard, Liger, etc.), but also take a tourist bus with wire-mesh protection through the park to closely see the tigers and lions and take some photos.
After dinner, you will head to the incredible gorgeous Ice and Snow World (Opening time/hours: around December 23 to next late February/9:30 – 21:00), the highlights of the annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. Start your freedom stroll in the dazzling magical world of ice to appreciate over 2,000 pieces of sculptures of ice and snow dyed with romantic colorful LED lights, including pagodas, towers, famous world architectures, landscapes, etc., which easily makes you want to stay longer in such a magic world. Besides the sightseeing, if you would like to enjoy the festive atmosphere to the fullest, you can choose to have fun with the world's longest sliding, or other winter activities on ice, such as ice maze, ice climbing, skating, etc.
Note: 1) Please wear enough layers of proper clothes and warm shoes to protect you from the freeze especially. 2) An indoor Ice and Snow Paradise with smaller scale is built in the scenic area of the Ice and Snow World, and tourists could also enjoy the ice and snow there as well when the festival ends. 3) There may be long queues in front of some hot activity items in the Ice and Snow World during traditional Chinese Lunar New Year and weekends.
Day 5 Harbin Tour & Departure (B, L)
Today's highlights: St. Sophia Cathedral, Zhongyang Pedestrian Street, Laodaowai, Jiuzhan Park
Today after breakfast, meet your guide and driver, then go to Sophia Square to admire the holy appearance of the St. Sophia Cathedral. This must-visit site is a typical Byzantine architecture constructed in 1907 with a large green dome and was once the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East. The cathedral is the symbolic architecture in Harbin and at present is used as Harbin Architectural Art Gallery and displays some souvenirs. Then, you’ll visit the nearby exotic Zhongyang Pedestrian Street. Stroll along this 1,400 meters long historic street to appreciate the 71 precious buildings in different styles with long history, including Renaissance, Baroque, etc. (The Stalin Park is very close to the pedestrian, so if you are interested and time permits, you could walk there to admire the Russian architectures and enjoy many creative artistic sculptures.)
Then, make a historical visit to Laodaowai, where Harbin originated. This popular featured street block is so far the largest Chinese Baroque street block in China where boasts many meaningful old Baroque styled architectures with rich romantic color from early 20th century. Walk free along those old streets and alleys to appreciate the ancient buildings with western façade but traditional Chinese courtyard and interior designs and interesting folk sculptures, and hear the good telling of the old life of Harbin people and history of Harbin in the past 100 years. After that, visit the Jiuzhan Park along Songhua River. Here you will watch some winter swimmers including some elders up to 60-70 years do winter swimming in the so cold water under the frozen water surface, and many people having fun on some interesting activities on ice, such as skating car, sliding, winter fishing, etc. on Songhua River.
After the tour, your guide and driver will escort you to the airport or train station for your flight / train to your next destination or home. Tour ends!
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room
and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your
traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of
currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 7.00. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change
according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi Wonder,
Thanks for your email. We are back home now after our three weeks tour to S. Korea and China, in which the Yangtze River cruise was a key part of the trip.
I have to tell you we enjoyed the cruise very much. Everything was as what we expected. And thanks for your help for not only booking the cruise for us but also answered all the questions we had...which helped us a lot in preparations.
The Century Oasis was a very nice river cruise ship and the people are professional. The room was very nice and food was very good. We were arranged with other English speaking people as a small group for local excursions which is a great experience. Overall, I would highly recommend this cruise.
We are planning more sightseeing trips to China such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Xinjiang, etc. We hope your company can help us for the arrangements in the future.
As 2024 is quickly drawing to close, we wish you all the best for the new year.
Yours sincerely,
Andy
Dear Mr Leo Li,
Good evening to you.
Thank you for planning my trip to Yunnan on 16-26/5/2024.
Although the trip started with an unwanted incident on the day of our arrival but overall it was a good trip especially in Dali and Lijiang. Both the tour guides, Sally and Rodney were attentive with good service and are knowledgeable.
I would say that the Kunming tour guide, Jenny was not at fault for not meeting us at the airport because she was given the wrong information that our flight was rescheduled to arrive at night instead of afternoon. She showed us the WeChat message. She is a friendly tour guide.
For your information, our visit to Shangri-la was average only. We missed out going up to turn the big wheel. Only realised it when we went back to the hotel. Anyway, it’s in the past.
Overall, the trip is wonderful with our bucket list ticked!
I am thinking of another trip to China also in May next year and would like to have your suggestion. Are you still with China Discovery?
Regards,
Ms Chai
Hi Shirley,
Thanks for all the good arrangement. Special thanks to Jessica for taking good care of us. She made a very memorable Huang Shan trip for us. The accommodation and transport arrangements were flawless. Looking forward to have my next visit with you all.
Thong
Dear Rita,
Tqvm again for all your support & your professionalism and great friendship. Below are our team appreciative & constructive feedback for your attention.
Keep in touch and god bless you always.
Thanks and regards,
Chew
Hi Phoebe!
Our tour was fantastic! Jane was a wonderful guide and the views were amazing.
Thank you so much helping organize the tour, and for the little gifts too!
It was great weather! We got to see so much!
Esther
excellent assistance, helpfulness and courtesy. My contact 'was Shirley, prepared friendly and punctual. Highly recommended...
"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.
Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.
Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!
After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.
Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.
We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.
Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.
Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.
Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!
Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!
Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.
Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!
In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!
The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.
If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.
Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.
We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.
The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.
There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.
All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!
Ice City - Harbin
David’s group from USA - China Snow Town
Janislene from Brazil - China Snow Town
Millicent's group from USA - China Snow Town
Elmira and Nick from Australia - Harbin Sun Island
David’s group from USA - Harbin Ice and Snow World
Yong’s group from Malaysia - Siberian Tiger Park
Wendy's clients - St. Sophia Church
Laodaowai Street Block
Kayla Williams's group - Zhongyang Pedestrian Street
Harbin is suitable to visit all year round, and winter season during November to March is the best time to experience its charm as the Ice City with romantic snow scenery. However, the hot Harbin World Ice and Snow Festival is held usually from late December to late February and even early March, which is slightly different every year. So to have best fun in the big gala of ice and snow, you are most recommended to visit Harbin during December and February.
| Venue | Events |
|---|---|
| Ice and Snow World | - Annual Harbin Ice and Snow World - Open Ceremony of Harbin Ice and Snow Festival - … |
| Sun Island | - Annual International Snow Sculpture Art Expo - Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition - Harbin Ice Snow Group Wedding Ceremony - … |
| Zhaolin Park | - Annual Harbin Ice Lantern Art Fair - Harbin International Ice Sculpture Competition - … |
Remember to wear much to keep warm! Harbin is located in the very Northeast of China and has severe cold winter with average temperature of -14.2℃ (6.44℉) during that season. To help you keep warm, it is best to wear thick clothes and warm shoes, such as down coat, thick jacket, mouth-muffle, gloves, hat, wool socks, snow boots, etc. Besides, sunglasses are necessary to visit the Snow Sculpture Art Fair at Sun Island.
Since Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, it offers a large number of accommodations at different levels, including 5-star international brands, 4-star comfort hotels, budget hostels and inns. You can find one very easy in the city. Usually, for travelers to Harbin, we suggest you arrange your accommodation in Daoli District where offers most of the tourist attractions and that is very close to Sun Island and Harbin Ice and Snow World, convenient places for eating, shopping and entertaining. Besides, Nangang, Harbin West Railway Station and nearby area, and Songbei District are also good places to stay.
We China Discovery have rich experience to provide Harbin tour arrangement and customization services for global visitors. If you would like to extend your Harbin tour to more attractions, such as the nearby Yabuli Ski Resorts with exciting skiing and other winter activities, China Snow Town with lovely snow sceneries, etc. or more interesting destinations like Jilin, Dalian, Changchun, Shenyang, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xian, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Yunnan, etc., please feel free to tell us about your ideas, and our professional travel expert will help you to customize your travel to Harbin and the whole vast China with their knowledge and sincerity!
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