2/4/2008

-It appears that whenever I write a post, I get suddenly cut off before I can really finish. Maybe I just type too slowly. Anyways, I’m now back in Beijing. It is almost hilarious how warm this place feels! A week ago I could barely stand to go outside. I had to bundle up in every way just to walk down the block to the market. But now! I happily stroll down the streets at night with no gloves or earmuffs, my coat unzipped even. No exaggeration, Beijing feels like springtime compared to Harbin.

-So yes, Harbin was cold. Ohhh so cold. My daily outfit included long underwear (top and bottom), warm pants, a T-shirt, a long-sleeved warmer shirt, another long-sleeved shirt, a fleece, and my heavy down coat. Of course I also had two pairs of socks, gloves, and earmuffs. I was still cold. The high is usually around 15-17 degrees, while the coldest part of the night is probably around -10. That’s right, below zero. A wee southern lad like me couldn’t even imagine such temperatures. Our first step out into the day was probably about the same as a cold day in the North Carolina winter would be…if you were naked.

-Our goals for day 2 were to see the St. Sophia church, then wander around town to the frozen river, which we would cross to find ice world! The church was very beautiful but rather small. Apparently it was one of the few Russian Orthodox churches that survived the liberation of Harbin by the glorious People’s Republic. Actually, I think the city became Chinese way before 1949, but I’m keeping that phrase there. Anyways, the church was no longer being used for religious services and was just set up as a museum inside. Still very pretty.

-One thing made me a bit sad. I had thought Beijing was polluted. Oh no no no no. Beijing at least has mostly transparent air. Harbin, however, has a thick smoky haze to it. The day seemed very foggy, but no that was just toxic gas. I could actually feel it in my throat this time. I guess that’s what the improved environmental efforts in Beijing are doing. They’re keeping it from looking like Harbin! Fortunately, the smoke did seem to clear out in the afternoon and we were able to even see blue skies.

-The town itself is pretty trashy. Part of it may be our less than cheery introduction to the city with the taxi drivers, but everything seemed rather dark and eerie. Buildings were all covered in some sort of black soot, and the streets were spotted with slabs of ice made from questionable liquids. We ended up walking through a pretty cool street market, though, with lots of trinkets and delicious-smelling foods. Despite the calls from my stomach, I refrained from buying any of the street eats. I’m sure I’ll end up eating some street food sooner or later, but I don’t really want to risk it away from Beijing. Before too long we found a tiny little soup shop with some scrumptious noodle/soup stuff! I’m not sure how much I’ve gone into detail over the food here, but one of my favorite things now is a meat broth with noodles, vegetables and pieces of meat (which are usually just to add flavor and have too much cartilage to actually eat). This was by far the best I’ve had so far in China.