8-Day Summer Retreat in Northeast China (Harbin, Yanji, Changchun)

Taking advantage of my husband's heat vacation for a summer retreat in Northeast China

D1 Shanghai -> Harbin

2021-7-27 Due to the typhoon, our scheduled flight was delayed by 2 hours, arriving at Harbin Taiping International Airport at 22:40. Fortunately, there was an airport shuttle, and we easily reached our booked hotel, the Madiel M Hotel. This is the hotel we checked into.

It's a suite; I won't post photos of the bedroom.

D2 Harbin - Gogol Street, Central Street, Flood Control Memorial

2021-7-28 Woke up naturally in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast was a buffet combining Chinese and Western options, with a good variety, quite nice.

At 9:00 we took bus No. 8 (here I should mention that when we travel, we usually take it slow; if time permits and public transport is available, we don't take taxis. On public transport, we can see local culture and save money too. So we usually choose hotels with convenient transport). After 5 stops, we arrived at Gogol Street, having done some research beforehand that there are many historical buildings there.

St. Alexis Cathedral

Church of the Protection of the Mother of God

German Lutheran Church

Former site of Russian Pharmacy

Then we had lunch at Laochang Chunbing (one of Harbin's must-eat restaurants)

The spring pancakes were very chewy.

Since we only finished washing up around midnight last night, after lunch we took bus No. 13 back to the hotel to rest.

At 14:00 we set out to explore Central Street, starting from Daoli West 13th Street all the way to Daoli West 1st Street, covering the entire pedestrian section of Central Street. Finally, we arrived at Stalin Park and viewed the railway bridge from a distance on the Songhua River.

Madiel Hotel (National Key Protected Unit, built in 1906)

The following four buildings are part of the former Jewish activity sites in Harbin (National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units):

1. Jewish Hospital

2. Jewish Cinema

3. Qiulin Yanghang Daoli Branch

4. Far East Bank

Madiel Ice Cream (Harbin's trendy ice cream) is a must-eat

Colorful matryoshka dolls

Along Central Street, there were portrait painters in a row, and a child stepped forward for a trial drawing; the painter had real skill.

We walked all the way to the Flood Control Monument by the Songhua River

Viewing the railway bridge over the Songhua River from a distance

Russian-style kiosk in Stalin Park

For dinner, we returned to Huamei Western Restaurant on Central Street. The restaurant was founded by a Russian Jew and was awarded China Time-honored Brand in 2011, ranking among the top three popular restaurants in Harbin. It was also a must-eat place for this trip.

The restaurant's decoration is elegant, luxurious, and grand.

Russian-style borscht

Russian-style salmon

After dinner, we went to St. Sophia Cathedral to wait for the beautiful moment when the lights come on.

We took photos from different angles, having a great time.

Around 7 o'clock, the lights slowly lit up.

This photo felt perfect; we wrapped up and headed back.

Central Street was still lively at night.

Back at the hotel, we booked the high-speed train tickets to Yanji for the 30th.

D3 Harbin - Siberian Tiger Park, Harbin Grand Theater, Sun Island, Chinese Baroque

2021-7-29 Left at 8:00 and took bus No. 29 to Siberian Tiger Park.

Siberian Tiger Park is the world's largest breeding and research base for Siberian tigers, a national base for tiger species breeding.

We entered the tiger park in the park's vehicle.

The park raises over 400 tigers and also has a wildness training area to maintain their instincts.

We also watched a tiger eat a live chicken: first biting the chicken's trachea, then plucking feathers with its mouth, and finally devouring the whole chicken that was just squawking. It was a harsh lesson of the survival of the fittest. Since the scene was too brutal, no photos were taken.

Not far from the Tiger Park is the Harbin Grand Theater, another popular check-in spot. Without blue skies and white clouds, the photos were less impressive.

Then we took a bus to the famous Sun Island, with the melody of "Sun Island" by Wang Liping and Zheng Xulan playing in my ears: "In the bright summer days, the sky is so clear; the beautiful Sun Island is so enchanting..."

Sun Island is free!

We took a ferry across the Songhua River back to the Flood Control Monument.

Seeing that it was still early, we continued by bus to Chinese Baroque to view the Baroque architecture.

One of the liveliest streets there.

The residence where Xu Shichang lived while serving as the Governor of the Three Northeast Provinces.

For dinner, we ate at Zhang Bao Bao.

Harbin's famous Guobao Rou (sweet and sour pork), which my friend insisted I try. The taste was indeed good.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel. Today's step count was over 27,000, impressive! But since we were strolling and sightseeing, we didn't feel too tired.

D4 Harbin - St. Sophia Cathedral, Middle East Railway Bridge, Harbin Museum

2021-7-30 After breakfast at the hotel, we visited St. Sophia Cathedral and entered for a tour.

Upon entering the cathedral, we got a free Madiel ice cream with the ticket, so we took a photo with it as a backdrop.

Passing by Harbin Museum, we could enter just by showing the health code. Since time was limited, we only visited the Harbin City Development Exhibition Hall.

The former Middle East Railway Bridge, now a trendy glass bridge.

We planned to have lunch at Dongfang Dumplings on Central Street before checking out and heading to the train station, but when we entered the restaurant, there was a 30-minute wait. Time didn't allow, so we returned to the hotel to check out, took a taxi to Harbin West Station, boarded the D116 train, and arrived in Yanji at 18:00. Then we took another taxi to the Taiyuan Hotel in Yanji.

The hotel is on a pedestrian street, quiet yet convenient, great.

Based on online searches, we chose a Korean-style restaurant, Micun Bibimbap, for dinner.

Tuna bibimbap and pollack — delicious!

Night view of Yanji.

Back at the hotel, we booked a one-day tour to Changbai Mountain for tomorrow. Soon, Ctrip customer service called to confirm that a special car would pick us up at the hotel tomorrow. A girl happened to be staying at the same hotel, what a coincidence!

D5 Yanji - Changbai Mountain

2021-7-31 At 6:20, driver Mr. Sui picked us up at the hotel, even bringing KFC breakfast — we were touched. A white SUV, with the driver and us, total four people, very comfortable. Mr. Sui, who also served as a guide, explained the customs of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and key points for visiting Changbai Mountain. At 9:00 we arrived at the Changbai Mountain service area, about 2.5 hours by car. Then we queued for the eco-bus (large bus), then queued for tickets for the shuttle, and finally boarded a small 10-person car that went through countless hairpin turns to reach the summit. To control crowds at the top, we had to queue in snake-shaped barriers. We reached the main peak at 11:30 (I have to praise the management of Changbai Mountain Scenic Area: even though the queue was long, the order was excellent).

To see Tianchi (Heavenly Lake) on Changbai Mountain, nine out of ten attempts fail. Thick fog is common, and sudden downpours often occur. It's sunny at the foot but rainy at the top. Perhaps our prayers over the past few days moved the heavens — climbing to the top, we were lucky enough to see the mysterious Tianchi, making the long queues worthwhile.

Visitors queuing below.

Sure enough, it started raining heavily while we were waiting for the downhill bus, but it didn't last long; the rain stopped when we got off. It didn't affect our visits to the remaining 6 scenic spots:

2. Julongquan (also called Little Tianchi)

6. Underground Forest

Since the Underground Forest trail takes 2 hours round trip, we walked about 2 kilometers and then returned.

We reached the foot of the mountain at 16:00, contacted Mr. Sui, who drove us to Zhang Shifu Samgyetang Restaurant (on the way, he also introduced Yanji's trendy dining spots).

After dinner, we visited Yanbian University and the trendy spot across from it for photos, pretending to be in Korea.

Then we walked back to the hotel and booked the train from Yanji to Changchun on August 2 and the flight back to Shanghai on August 5.

D6 Yanji - Water Market, People's Park, Yanji Museum, China Korean Ethnic Folk Village, West Market

2021-8-1 Woke up naturally and went to the Water Market for breakfast.

Yesterday, driver Mr. Sui also mentioned several must-visit places in Yanji. The Water Market, which is the most characteristic of Yanji's Korean culture, is a must. It's a morning market open from 4:30 to 9:00, with all kinds of breakfast foods, clothes, and daily necessities — very lively.

We bought two portions, and they tasted good.

Across a small river from the Water Market is the Yanji People's Park.

Then we visited the Yanbian Museum, seeing the Korean Ethnic Folk Exhibition and the Korean Farmers' Dance Exhibition.

In the afternoon, we visited the China Korean Ethnic Folk Village.

Yanbian Korean Ethnic Folk Village is located in the southern part of Yanji city. It is a tourist attraction that collects and preserves the cultural wisdom and atmosphere of the Korean ethnic group, where one can appreciate and experience traditional Korean lifestyles.

There were many beauties dressed in Korean traditional clothing, but they were tourists renting costumes for photos — also a beautiful sight.

Most buildings in the village are new, but there are a few old houses over a hundred years old moved here from nearby areas.

Residence of a wealthy Lee family farmer

Farmhouse of Hamgyeong Province

Residence of a noble Yangban family

Finally, we returned to the West Market.

Yanji West Market is a large market with a wide variety of goods. It would take at least a day to browse everything. Since we arrived at 4:00 PM, near closing time, we only had a quick look around. It had everything, but we didn't take photos.

For dinner, we ordered several dishes at Grandma Yuan's Samgyetang Restaurant, of course without ordering samgyetang today.

This mixed dish was quite tasty.

Back at the hotel, the room was spacious.

D7 Yanji, Changchun - Puppet Manchurian Palace Museum

2021-8-2 After breakfast, we checked out and took a taxi to Yanji West Station, boarding the D118 train to Changchun. After 2.5 hours, we arrived at Changchun Station at 12:10, and a taxi took us to the Changchun Yatai Hotel.

After lunch, we visited the Puppet Manchurian Palace Museum.

The Puppet Manchurian Palace Museum, located at No. 5 Guangfu North Road, Kuancheng District, Changchun City, Jilin Province, was formerly the office building of the Jilin-Heilongjiang Salt Transport Bureau during the Republic of China period. It includes 50 original state exhibitions of the puppet Manchurian court such as Jixi Building, Qinmin Building, Tongde Hall, 2 large basic exhibitions, and 3 special exhibitions.

The museum houses a large collection of puppet Manchurian palace artifacts, modern Japanese artifacts, modern Northeast Chinese artifacts, folk artifacts, representative modern calligraphy and paintings, sculptures, and works by intangible cultural heritage inheritors. It is a national first-class museum.

Despite heavy rain outside, we toured various halls, seeing the life of the former emperor and later citizen at different stages. The museum displayed many photos we had never seen before. We spent a full 3 hours there until the staff reminded us the park would close in 15 minutes.

Due to the pandemic, we decided for safety reasons to end our summer retreat two days early, changing our flight to the night of August 3 and canceling the remaining hotel bookings.

D8 Changchun - Changchun World Sculpture Park, Changchun Film Studio, and Changchun Historical Buildings

2021-8-3 To save time, we checked out in the morning, left luggage at the hotel, and started the last day's itinerary.

Changchun World Sculpture Park, located in the southern part of Changchun's Renmin Street. It is a theme park integrating contemporary sculpture art and showcasing various sculpture schools worldwide, combining natural landscapes with cultural attractions. It features large sculptures by Rodin imported from the Rodin Museum in France, including "The Thinker," "The Age of Bronze," "The Burghers of Calais," and "The Walking Man."

India - Life Under the Tree

Brazil - Bathing in Sunshine

Russia - Golden Dream

China - Bare Face

There were few tourists in this huge park, which made our visit more pleasant — we could take our time and take pictures freely.

India - Supreme Friendship

North Korea - Flower Girl

Botswana - Village Musician

Ireland - Tree of Life

Philippines - Family

China - Grandmother and Grandson Affection

Canada - Universal Love

Rodin's "The Thinker"

Rodin's "The Burghers of Calais"

Rodin's "The Age of Bronze"

Libya - Love Sun

Visited Changchun Film Studio.

After lunch, we walked from south to north along Xinmin Road and Renmin Street, exploring Changchun's historical buildings.

National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit: Former Site of the Ministry of Transportation of Manchukuo

National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit: Former Site of the Ministry of Justice of Manchukuo

Former Site of the State Council of Manchukuo

Former Site of the Ministry of Military Affairs of Manchukuo

Jilin University campus at Culture Square

Former Site of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Manchukuo

National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit: Former Site of the Central Bank of Manchukuo

Soviet Red Army Martyrs Monument at the center of People's Square

People say you must eat dumplings in Northeast China. In Harbin, we didn't have time to eat at Dongfang Dumplings (ranked No.1). In Changchun, we saw Dongfang Dumpling House and had to try it. We ordered one portion of mackerel dumplings and one of pork and cabbage. Delicious.

After finishing dumplings, our 8-day summer retreat in Northeast China came to an end. The flight took off on time at 20:10 and arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport at 22:40. I hope the pandemic ends soon, creating a comfortable travel environment, and looking forward to the next trip.