China's frozen assets

Harbin, in the north-east, makes the most of its bitter winter by creating a town of exquisite ice sculptures. ROBIN TUDGE reports.

Minus 10 is a good nip for Beijing's winter, provoking locals to say yi-dian leng, or "It's a bit parky," but little else hangs in the vapour. Genuine cold, -30 deg C, where going out involves 20 minutes preparation, is found 1000km further north in Harbin.

Wedged between Russia and North Korea as the capital of Heilongjiang province, the city has harnessed its harsh weather and celebrates it each winter by building a fantastic second town of monuments, buildings and sculptures picked, sculpted and chainsawed from ice: the 20-year-old Ice Lantern festival.

Roads and pavements are marked with figurines and archways from China's legend-ridden history to socialist worthies and movie stars. All lead to Zhaolin Park and the frozen Songhua River, the arena for the greatest constructions.

Swans, dragons and maidens, stars and cogs, dogs and tanks vie with the Forbidden City, the Kremlin, Big Ben and others in 18m structures in free-resting ice, contrasting stunningly with a brash concrete high-rise stabbing the city's skyline.

Getting there takes a little courage. From Beijing it's a 90-minute flight over a petrified sea of brown rock mostly covered with ice and snow. The drive in from Harbin airport is fraught. Despite the icy roads, bus and taxi drivers seem to consider every vehicle to be an obstacle that should be passed at the highest speed. As well as ice, the roads are coated with soot from factories and oil, causing congestion and wheel-spinning as drivers fight for their share of the road.

To avoid the worst of the air pollution it's best to stay between Jingwei Jie, Jingyang Jie, and no further south than HongJun Lu.

We opted for the deluxe Harbin Tobacco Company Hotel on ZhongYang Diejie. Deluxe, at 450 yuan ($130), still meant half an hour's negotiation for hot water and coffeeless breakfast. This isn't untypical.

ZhongYang Diejie is a pedestrianised, cobbled shopping street flanked with old European-style buildings.

South to Qinyang Square, the street markets materialise with everything from foot treatments to seeds and fish. Everywhere red flags backdrop the tacky glitz of newer shops while people peddle a living in the grimy cold. It's a juxtaposition of victorious socialism, new wealth and shocking poverty.

The extension of the Trans-Siberian railway from Vladivostock effectively turned the former fishing village of Harbin into a Russian outpost.

The grandiose splendour of the town's tsarist past is still visible in its pastel- coloured stucco villas and tree-lined boulevards which link the squares of onion-domed churches, earning it the nickname Little Moscow.

Much has been lost to war, revolution and re-development, but thankfully not the Church of Saint-Sophie on Toulong Jie. This blood-brown brick Orthodox church with its vast green dome was deemed such a masterpiece that neighbouring buildings were demolished to show off its architectural magnificence.

Back on ZhongYang Diejie, among the boutiques we found an amazing honey shop, and a tea shop where the cheapest teas are about 250 Yuan ($73) a kilo. After dinner in one of the many restaurants that have hot plates for frying your own supper, we headed for Zhaolin Park and its stunning displays.

In the day the park can look distinctly forlorn, but night offers the full, gaudy effect of the lights on the ice pagodas, castles and figurines. The steam of breath and the blur of falling snow adds to the surreal effect.

Next day we visited the Songhua River arena. My friends inched down the 60 steps while I took the ice-toboggan slide - cheap, fast and terrifying.

On the river a vast clock tower oversees an ice maze, climbing wall, a dog-sled track and skating rink that slips around a Ben Hur arena of Asian temples.

And though we regretted that we hadn't had time to see the rare Manchurian tigers at the zoo, we did witness some a crowd padding around like drunk bears. These turned out to be supporters of the freezophiliacs - a band of middle-aged men and women who, twice a day, plunge into the icy waters of a specially cut pool.

The swimmers climb on to ice plinths and dive in with aplomb, to the oohs and aahs of the crowd.

A fitting end to a surreal weekend.

Case Notes

GETTING THERE: Return flights by Air China from Beijing to Harbin cost about 1540 yuan ($452). A taxi from the airport costs about 100 yuan ($29) and the airport bus, 10 yuan.

FESTIVAL: The river and park costs 30 yuan by day and 50 yuan at night. The festival runs from January 5 to late February, with a huge fireworks finale. The larger monuments stay until collapse or demolition in March.

TOURS: Pack your winter woollies and visit Harbin on a six-day tour to this temporary fantasy land. The tour costs $2480 and includes breakfasts and dinner.

CONTACT: Destinations Adventure, ph (09) 309 0464, fax (09) 377 4586. Email: imtrav@destinations-adventure.co.nz