Ok, so the first post. Let’s see…. where to start? Right, my aim is to provide a point of reference for foriegners hoping to visit/ move to/ fly over/ avoid Harbin. I want to give you the reasons why and why not, the pros and cons, the good, the bad and the ugly of this seldom talked about backwater in China.
Why should you listen to me? Well, I’ve lived here for almost 3 years. I have lived with what Harbin has to offer and to live without what Harbin is lacking. This city has got a hold of me. I don’t know why. But for the sake of filling out a few inches I’m going to try to define what Harbin has to offer.
- Beer, Ha Pi beer is the best beer in China. Ask anyone, anyone who disagrees is wrong.
- Learn Chinese in Harbin, the dialect is the most standard. How do I know? The taxi drivers told me so.
- Rough, Harbin is the wild north east. People haven’t really caught on to the whole gentrification thing yet, most bars don’t even have a mirror in the toilets.
- Food, the place has loads of great restaurants and cheap, so cheap. Take 50RMB with you, eat your fill, stagger out with enough money in your pocket for a bottle of vodka in Blues bar (more on there later!).
- Sights, Ice lantern festival, temples, blah blah blah.
- Shopping, markets, department stores, enjoy haggling over a pair of 2RMB socks.
- Small foreign community. There are about 800 foriegners here, last thing I heard. Locals love nothing more than to welcome you with a loud “HHHHEEEEEELLLLO!”.
- Emmmm, taxis. A rollercoaster ride.
- Ehhhhhh, weather, cold in winter, hot in summer. Winter is for hot pot with as many friends as you can find. Summer is for beer gardens with as many friends as can stand up.
