Harbin, a city of mysterious color, is attracting more and more people from all over the world to come and feel its fervency in the freezing weather. Compared to its other nicknames of "Paris of the East" or "Moscow of the East," amid the meandering famous Songhua River, the 100-year old "city of ice," with winter lows hitting minus 30 degrees Celsius on a common basis, has become the land of passion in its winter, thanks to the spectacular natural as well as cultural landscapes.

 The honors and dreams of a city

Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. Looking at the map of Heilongjiang, you can see it resembles a swan trying to fly high into the sky, while Harbin is like a pearl adorned on its neck.

Harbin is a city of many nicknames and stories, indicating its history, customs, and establishment as well as the fascination of its natural sceneries from different perspectives.

"The city of ice," as Harbin is widely called at home and abroad, originally referred to the use of ice lanterns made by the local people for living and entertainment, which first began thousands of years ago. Historical records show that during lantern festivals, local residents used to make ice lanterns for celebrations and when a lantern was lit, it looked like a crystal. When we see today's ice lanterns, it seems that we are seeing a flashback in history.

"Harbin" itself means "flat ground" according to legend. This explanation seems to hark to the chilly winter days when snowflakes fell and winds blew and the villages seem to be lonely and desolated in the old times.

There are also other explanations of "Harbin," such as the "black river beach" and a "fishing net bleachery." You can imagine the scene of the local minorities' life: In the light of the setting sun, they fish, hunt, sing, and dance on the Songhua River bank. Even nowadays, tourists are still arrested by the bold and flowing Songhua River (originally meaning "river from the heaven") and the Sun Island Scenic Area, which is full of the taste of rural life.

Another interpretation of "Harbin" is the "hometown of swans." However, what appears in front of our eyes now are thousands of wild gooses flying between the north and the south, giving us a fascinating view.

The city is also nicknamed "the land of churches" and "eastern Paris." They are the epitome of the latter-day Harbin. In the early 20th century, there were dozens of churches of the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, as well as Islamic mosques and Buddhist temples. Apart from these, hundreds of buildings of the Roman, French, Russian, Judean, and Arabian styles were built here. These constructions are not only concrete history, but also the embodiment of the respective countries' intelligence and pathos as well. All these make Harbin a city rich in vibrant cultures.

Some people also call Harbin the "city of lilac." Each spring, after a bleak winter, fragrance of lilacs, which passes the message and hope of spring, can be smelled in every corner of the city, fusing both Chinese and Western cultures.

From Harbin, the focus of Heilongjiang Province, you can easily go deep into the inner land of the province to experience the forests, the lakes, and the rivers, as well as the excitement of hunting, drifting, and adventures. You can also go to the cradle of the Manchu or experience the pleasure of skiing at the Yabuli International Ski Resort. It might also be a good choice to pay a visit to the former residence of the famous female writer Xiao Hong.

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