A few Harbin journeys...

Over the long weekend I took a couple of Harbin journeys… Many of the landmarks and scenes described here can be seen in photo form on my photo pages…

Scenes From Harbin
Scenes From Harbin II
Final Scenes from Harbin - NEW

On Saturday, I took a walk up to Hongbo Square. It was about a 45-minute walk in one direction. Luckily I did meet all 9.4 million people from Harbin that day as they all had decided to go shopping at Hongbo.

To get to the square you go out of the training center and turn right and go up the hill. I walked past the entrance to the amusement park and past the big electronics mall. Then you reach the crazy intersection where 6 roads meet with no lights, no signs and no traffic circle, just cross at your own risk. At the intersection is the interesting oversized gyroscope. Going straight leads to the train station, going right leads to the Harbin Ice House, but I decided to bear left at the Gyroscope and head towards Hongbo Square.

A few blocks later I witnessed not one, two or three, but SIX fire trucks headed off in the same direction with their lights on but no sirens. This is odd since I have only seen a fire truck one other time in Harbin in the ENTIRE seven months I have been here. I have never seen a fire station.

As I neared Hongbo square, the volume of people increased rapidly. I reached a point where you could not cross the road (due to the fences), so you had to take the underground tunnels to cross the road. Underneath the intersections were entire mini malls and you could get to any of the four corners of the intersection after going underground. There were people everywhere; it was mayhem and madness to me, normal to everyone else. It made all of my adventures walking in NYC feel like being in a 100-acre meadow with seven other people.

Anyway, any idea I had of trying to do any shopping was shot down with the impossibility of moving in any direction of my choosing, so I headed back to the training center, but it was a nice walk on a sunny Saturday afternoon. On the way home I saw a couple of pick up basketball games and a few kids rollerblading in the park.

On Sunday I joined Pei Ying and Tim for some shopping at the flea market across the tracks from the Carrefour. When I say “across the tracks” it is an accurate description, as this part of Harbin is certainly lacking in aesthetic beauty. However, they had quite a few interesting Chinese trinkets and antiques at the flea market. Pei Ying is an expert bargainer also! Tim purchased a very unique version of “The Art of War” in Chinese characters in a scroll-like book. The vendor wanted 800 Yuan ($100) for it, but Pei talked her down to 150 Yuan and got a few other cool trinkets thrown in for free. All in all, Tim and I probably saved over $200 (US) by having her with us. You can see Pei (in the orange) bargaining with a vendor below:


The flea market was huge and vendors had everything from shoes and clothes to computer chips and tools. There was a guy selling used TVs and speakers and another building new bikes.

After the market, we took Pei out for lunch at another all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink place. They cooks came by with grilled meat and fruit on skewers, and there was a buffet also. Again the place brewed its own beer, which came with the 30-Yuan price (yes, that is only $3.75 per person).

All in all, it was good Sunday. Good shopping bargains, good lunch bargain, and good food and company.

So, with my weekend filled up with Harbin Journeys, I prepared for my final week of this season with the Chinese National Team.

However, today, the Zamboni broke down before the afternoon practice. So, with nowhere to practice, we took a team walk to the newly opened amusement park next door (it opened for the season on April 1st). The rollercoaster was running, but the big wheel was not, nor was the waterslide, since it was only 40 degrees today. A couple of girls paid the very high 100-Yuan fee for the rollercoaster ride, while the others watched and screamed for them during the loop. One girl won a big stuffed monkey by shooting balloons with a real gun and real ammo with everyone looking on from very close proximity. We got everyone back with all of their limbs, so it was good day!

So those are my recent Harbin journeys… only a few more days in this hockey season before I head back to the U.S. to see what the plans may be for next season.