6 Days In-depth Harbin Tour with China Snow Town & Yabuli Skiing
Comprehensive Way to Explore All the Bests in and around Ice City
Comprehensive Way to Explore All the Bests in and around Ice City
Someone come to Harbin for the stunning Ice and Snow Festival, someone want to enjoy the adventure fun of skiing, while some travelers want to feel the most beautiful snow and ice scenery... Why not combine all the best highlights and awesome experience in one trip? If you say "Yes", this 6-day in-depth Harbin tour is the ideal one for you which covers Ice and Snow Festival, China Snow Town, Yabuli Skiing as well as valuable tour services, such as tour guide, private transfer, comfortable hotels, etc.
Travel route: Harbin / China Snow Town / Yabuli Ski Resort / Harbin
Good to Know: The best time to take this tour is during late December ~ early March since all the sites are open to travelers. More importantly, Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is held from January 5th to late February. Don’t miss the best time!
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)
Zhaolin Park Ice Lantern
Day 2 Harbin - China Snow Town (B)
Driving 3 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 - Yabuli Ski Resort (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, say goodbye to this fairyland and drive about 2 hours Yabuli Ski Resort, one of the largest ski resorts in Asia. Stay overnight in Yabuli.
Day 4 Yabuli Ski Resort - Harbin (B)
Skiing and take part in optional activities in Yabuli Ski Resort & Drive about 3 hours to Harbin
After breakfast, start enjoying your skiing tour for about 2 or 3 hours in Yabuli Resort. Forget your age or level of skiing, and the world advanced ski resort would provide the best highlighting moment for you. Put on the warm clothing and ski on the pure white snow-capped mountain with your favorite speed, with the charming view of shimmering winter snow, warm sunshine and azure sky being the best background. Just put yourself into the snowy wonderland to ignite your winter holiday, laugh out loud, and play it to the most!
Besides skiing, you can go to experience some other optional activities in Yabuli Ski Resort, such as horse sledges, snow tubing, snowmobiling, etc. Please note optional activities are not included in the tour price. Extra payment are charged by the resort.
Horse Sledge: sitting on the sledge pulled by the horse on the snowfield, you could appreciate the amazing sightseeing of the vast snow world, snow-covered pine trees in the forest, and lost in this fairyland with ease and leisure.
Snow Tubing: sit on the tube facing the bright sky and slide along the professional and safe snow trail. Since there are no controller and speed & direction of the tube, you will feel the excitement and thrilling of sliding from the peak to the lower location freely and highly.
Snowmobiling: The cool motorcycles are well-equipped with the wheels like tracks of a tank and are easy to be handled and of course safe. Ride one to tour in the beautiful snowfield and drive all the stress far away.
In the afternoon, be escorted back to Harbin City, which would need about 3 hours. Have a good rest in your hotel.
Please Note:
1. Simple equipment such as skiing boots, poles and snowboards are included in the package, but other advanced equipment like horse sledge, snow tubing, snowmobiling, etc. need extra payment.
2. If you want to spend longer time skiing beyond 3 hours or choose intermediate or advanced skiing, you could give some extra payment to enjoy it the most.
3. You should wear helmets, glasses, gloves, knee-pad, and skiing suit. If you don't bring yours, you can rent the equipment with reasonable prices at the ski resort.
Day 5 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 6 Harbin & Harbin 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 Rita,
The best experience ever!!!! I fell in love.
I received your lovely card and cute gifts, thank you so much.
Done it! As always it’s my pleasure to hire your company services, see you in the next adventure.
Emmy
Hi Rita,
Please kindly see the feedback below.
We are a family of 7. This private tour package definitely met our expectations! Both tour guides (Chengdu- MAY & Chongqing-DAVID) provided us a very good service, both friendly and very flexible despite the change in our tour schedules. They were also very responsible and ensured our safety, meals and transports were well taken care of, especially since we have elderly and kids in our group. Both tour guides are very fluent in English too so it is very convenient for some of the non-chinese speakers in our group.
We will look for the same tour agent again in our next trip to China!
Best Regards,
Victoria
Hi Shirley,
Thanks for the tour, and the itinerary that you planned for us was very comprehensive and detailed. We enjoyed it very much. The tour guide was also very friendly and experienced. He followed your itinerary closely and brought us to all the sites and explained in detail. He also recommended and brought us to enjoy some of the local cuisines during lunch.
Overall, we are impressed by the excellent service, reliability and quality that yourself, the tour guide and the driver has provided us. We would like to visit China again and we will not hesitate to engage your services again. Thank you!
Regards
Chun How
Hi Shirley,
I'm writing to provide some feedback on our recent Xian and Beijing trip that you put together for us.
We travel a lot, in the past year to Japan, New Zealand, China, Turkey, Africa, China, and finally this Xian/Beijing trip. I bring this up to highlight that we deal with a lot of travel professionals. You are easily the best travel professional we have dealt with through all of those trips. My wife, who happens to be Chinese asked me to make sure to keep your contact information for future China trips, with the intention of replacing the China based agent her brother usually uses for our trips.
Please let your manager know that we would probably not have used your company if not for you. Bamboo Travel is new to us and in a foreign country, so we had doubts as to what to expect. Your service was excellent from start to finish which really gave us confidence in your company. We had a little bit of an unusual itinerary and some constraints related to our other China travel prior to this tour. You were able to work through all of our issues with fast responses to our questions.
You also went what I would say was above and beyond expectations. The final example of that is a friend in the US was shipping some things to our hotel in Beijing for me to bring home to her. I contacted you to confirm the hotel name before they shipped the items, expecting I would then have to figure out the shipping details. Your reply not only confirmed the hotel, but you provided the shipping info in both English and Chinese, which saved me the hassle of trying to figure which address to use. Not a huge thing, but it's those small things that add up to a big difference in customer experience.
Thanks again for everything!
Xian:
Our guide was Waldner and we liked him from the start. We were just coming off another tour with another company which had maybe the best tour leader we've ever had. Even though we were always comparing Waldner measured up well. He was great at explaining the history of places we visited as well as answering our cultural questions. The restaurants/food were very good. He and the driver also modified the itinerary somewhat to optimize the driving based on our arrival and departure times and locations. We liked the hotel in Xian. The car (van) was very comfortable. Waldner also helped arrange tickets for a night show for us.
Beijing:
Pickup was great; even though we got in late the guide that picked us up was there and actually met us at the track. Cindy was our guide and we really liked her also. She is very knowledgeable and willing to answer (a lot of) questions. This was my 3rd time in Beijing and it was amazing what a difference having a good guide made. Cindy and the driver also modified the itinerary to optimize the driving. She also helped us book tickets to two shows, one of which was not on your list of optional items (Lao She tea house). Cindy was concerned about us ordering a cab so she stayed at the show to make sure we got back to our hotel ok. The restaurants/food were very good. The hotel was good but not great; for example we had hot water issues every day, and when I went to pick up a package that was shipped to me they just left me to dig through a pretty large pile of packages all addressed in Chinese.
To wrap up, I would rate the overall experience of looking for a trip, picking a company, and traveling 9.5 out of 10. Shirley, your service was 10 out of 10.
See you next trip!
Terry
Dear Rita,
Feedback.
The trip organised by Rita Jiang to Beijing and Xian was very well planned and enjoyable, showing the best of Chinese history, culture, heritage, and enormous progress.Your 2 guides, Linda Chua and Beryl are very good. Linda went out of her way to take us to Peking Opera at night. The kids were tired, so we did not go to Summer palace and Heavenly temple, and did not go to Xian Pagoda. It was our choice, so its ok. (I have been to all)
The 2 bus drivers were excellent, very careful, disciplined and good temperament and helpful. I could not give a tip to Beryl at Xian station, as I had to rush into toilet inside, and did not know she could not enter the train Station.
The pace was good, but the last day of train from Xian, to hotel (plus late dinner scrabbling in Beijing), then early next morning to airport was too Hectic. However, it was because we had to return on 8.12.24. we wish we could stay longer in Xian, and elsewhere. We could probably have gone to Xian by train, then fly back to Beijing by plane, but one way tickets could cost much more.
Anyway, thank you very much for all your fine arrangements. We all enjoyed the short trip.
For the kids, the major highlights were the Great Wall, Terracotta warriors, Acrobatic show. They will treasure. I will plan more trips for them to China.
Best wishes and warm regards,
Richard
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!
Zhaolin Park Ice Lantern
Iwan's family from Indonesia - China Snow Town
David’s group from USA - China Snow Town
Janislene from Brazil - China Snow Town
Janislene's group from Brazil - Yangcao Hill in China Snow Town
Yabuli Ski Resort
Yabuli Ski Resort Snow Mobiling
Yabuli Ski Resort Horse Sledge
Jenn's group from Canada - Sun Island, Harbin
David’s group from USA - Harbin Ice and Snow World
Janislene from Brazil - Harbin Ice and Snow World
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!
Harbin / China Snow Town / Harbin
Harbin / Yabuli Ski Resort / Harbin
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