Wishal: Winter Vacations

When people usually think of going anyplace which can provide them with some comfort from the cruel cold of winters, I decided to visit the famous north of China. After months of raving on and on about Harbin and watching its famous ice and snow sculptures on news, I finally did end up there.

First impression- Human mind and dedication can do wonders. With just ice, some cutting tools and a lot of imagination the city had transformed its every nook and corner into a sight of wonder. Beautiful sculptures with amazing light effects; the city looked astounding. Of course don’t ask about the cold, I usually couldn’t feel my hands and feet at all and people say that it is actually less cold this year. Well, Thank God for that !!!! I don’t know if it was my imagination or just my way of making me feel a bit warmer, but I thought the day time was actually colder than night.

Also another  thing I found most interesting was the amount of  Russian souvenir shops all over the city’s main tourist area- and pretty cheap by the way. I loved spending time in these shops, mainly to have a few minutes away from the freezing cold outside.

The craziest part was when I saw people swimming in freezing cold water there. If I had any Chinese communication skills I would have loved to ask them the reason.