Job Discussion Forums

colonel · Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 89 Location: Nanyang and Cha-Am

I would appreciate any 'first hand' views about living in Harbin.

I've read all the relevant information about climate etc. but would like to hear from someone who's 'at the sharp end' as it were.

I'm curious about pollution, Western facilities ( I've worked in the middle of nowhere in China so be quiet those tempted to comment) and a typical weekend in Harbin.

Many thanks in anticipation!

Anda · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2199 Location: Jiangsu Province

http://livinginharbin.blogspot.com/

http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Link_ID=A2646E3B-B80A-57DF-3BC80FD0EF534610&Parent_ID=4A229804-DA06-07E0-FD4CE6E2C792501E

http://www.study-in-china.org/school/heilongjiang/Hit/student.asp

psd4fan · Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Harbin China

I love it here!!! As long as I am in China I hope to be in Harbin. The weather is great if you like COLD and DRY which I do. The people are great, the restaurants are A-one ( most of them Very Happy

), and the Ice ans Snow Festival is not to be missed.

DistantRelative · Joined: 19 Oct 2004 Posts: 367 Location: Shaanxi/Xian

Hows the skiing?

Zhuhao,

Shawn

latefordinner · Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Posts: 973

Skiing is cool, but how's the hockey?

psd4fan · Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 9 Location: Harbin China

No skiing directly in town of course but I hear the place outside of town isn't too bad. I haven't had the chance to see any hockey yet but I do hope to watch the men's and women's Olympic teams practice.

AussieGuyInChina · Joined: 23 Nov 2006 Posts: 403

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

I am hopelessly ignorant about life at those temperatures. I've experienced -20 but that was in Berlin where everyone has central heating and double glazing, and it was only for a couple of days. Am I right to assume that in Harbin life isn't quite like that?

colonel · Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 89 Location: Nanyang and Cha-Am

Thanks a lot, -21 is way too cold for my bones!

Anda · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 2199 Location: Jiangsu Province

Gee -21 isn't much! As far as I know Harbin gets down to -40. Even South Korea gets down to -27 for one to two weeks a year.

canada_katie · Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 12

I remember when I was up there visiting, it was very slippery!!

I do not think that they use sand on sidewalks like they do in canada.
I could be wrong though and they had not got around to sanding the area I was visiting.

Also, when I was teaching, I was in South East China where they ate spicy food;
it seems like they eat sweet food in Northern China (Maybe because they need the extra calories because it is cold)?!?

KLL

HunanForeignGuy · Joined: 05 Jan 2006 Posts: 989 Location: Shanghai, PRC

Harbin is dreadfully cold in the winter, that is for sure..

But remember, most of the unis (not the language mills and the training centers) shut down for nearly two full months if not more during spring holiday and many teachers head south.

Pollution in Harbin in the winter is very noticeable -- the snow will actually be gray and sometimes it may be actually a light shade of black.

That being said, everything is extremely well-heated, if not over heated.

It's a very interesting city architecturally and by Chinese standards, an extremely recent city -- the Russians built it from scratch basically, starting around 1885 as it was one of the junctions for the Far Eastern Railroad.

If you can read Russian, you will find many great pictures of Harbin and much historical information at this site : www.russharbin.com. It is a site that has been maintained by the Russians who actually toughed it out during the really difficult years here and still live in Harbin, descendants and all.

Harbin is also the most "Christian" city in all of China, with the largest percentage of working, open and functioning churches but also replete with a working synagogue (maybe two now) and one mosque, all of which have been restored by the city. The largest and most beautiful cathedral in Harbin, St. Sophia, is open only as a museum, however.

If you are wish to learn Mandarin Chinese, then frankly it does not get any purer or better than in Harbin. There is no local Harbin dialect because the city is so recent. The "putong-hwa" is very, very, very standard, clear and technically correct. The Harbinites speak with a perfect "r-hwa" and once you have heard Harbin "putong-hwa" you will realize that all the other varieties, well.

Next, my experience was that the Harbinites were very direct, forthright, open, etc., etc. They don't mince words and they get to the point very quickly.

Someone asked about hockey here in a posting and while I do not know where the Chinese Olympic team practices in Harbin, I do know that all of the major universities have open-enrollment hockey teams that play for most of the year at the various university arenas. You may wish to start with Heilongjiang Institute of Technology, as their student hockey team is one of the better known.

Harbin food is great -- not hot, not drowned in oil, etc., etc. You will notice a strong Russian influence and there are so many different ethnic restaurants to choose from that you will not have a problem.

The only caveat is the weather and I cannot emphasize that enough. If you can handle, as one poster wrote, -40 C., then you will have no problem.

HFG

judgedredd · Joined: 16 Sep 2007 Posts: 41

Is Harbin expensive? Thats one city I am considering (one of many..)

joeyc · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 25

www.rusharbin.com

312 · Joined: 23 May 2007 Posts: 19

Hey, can anyone recommend a good winter camp to work at in Harbin? I'm in Qiqihar now. My contract here ends Jan 8. My plane for the USA leaves Feb 26.