Overview: This 7 days tour covers exciting winter activities like Harbin Ice Snow Festival skiing, winter swimming, Chagan Lake winter fishing, Siberian Tiger touch, ice castles and snow sculpture expo, Jilin Rime Ice, Manchu Wula Town and Puppet Manchurian Palace in Changchun.
Day 1 Harbin
Meals: D
Places to visit: Ice Lantern Show
After you arrived at Harbin Taiping International Airport your tour guide will be waiting for you holding a welcome board. Then you will be transfer to the hotel for a short rest. In the evening, you will visit the Ice Lantern Fair in Zhaolin Park. Ice Lantern Fair, also named the Ice Lantern Show, it is hold every year from 5th January to the end of February in Zhaolin Park. The park located in the downtown, it is a small and peaceful place. Still you can see pretty ice sculptures without many crowded. Especially at night when the ice sculptures are lit then which looks like a magical world.
Day 2 Harbin
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: St. Sofia Church, New Synagogue, Snow Sculpture Art Expo at Sun Island, Siberian Tiger Park, Ice and Snow World
After breakfast your tour guide will meet you and escort you to visit the Harbin St Sophia Cathedral church, with Byzantine style and meaning of 'God's wisdom' for name, look so beautiful as if it had been made by God's hands. The church's original shape and Latin cross footprint was preserved during reconstruction. It was first built in 1907 and rebuilt into brick and wood structure in 1912. It is the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East.
Then move on to the Sun Island, where the Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Expo is held every winter. You can see various awesome snow sculptures and do some optional activities (snow tubing, dog sledding etc). Proceed to the Siberian Tiger Park to enjoy a safari style trip to see the tigers and lions (feeding the animals is optional). Pay a visit to the New Synagogue, which is the largest Jewish synagogue in East Asia. It was the important venue for the nearby Jewish people to hold religious and educational activities.
Later, you will pay a evening visit to the Ice and Snow World. Located on the north bank of the Songhua River, the Ice and Snow Amusement World is a major attraction of Harbin Interactional Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival dunging the winter. There are full of awesome ice and snow sculptures created by artists from all around world. Kind note that please wear enough layers of proper clothes and warm shoes to keep you away form the freeze especially when you want to stay there longer to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Day 3 Harbin
Meals: B
Places to visit: Stalin Park, Winter Swimming Performance, Jihua Ski Resort
After breakfast, our guide will escort to visit Stalin Park and see the winter swimming performance. Then we will drive about 1.5 hours to Jihua Ski Resort where you can select to enjoy skiing and more activities are on your interests. (Ref. ski price: CNY180/ 2 hours; CNY240/4 hours). In the evening, we will drive back to Harbin for a relax.
Jihua Ski Resort, also called Jihua Changshou Mountain Ski Resort, sits in Binxi National Forest Park as the nearest SSSSS-level national ski resort to Harbin downtown (38km).This national ski resort is built in a natural basin and surrounded by mountains, the towering peaks snake around and enclose the resort forming a natural wind-sheltered heaven. The resort has 15 different ski slopes, which in total cover a distance of 30 km, cater for beginner, medium and advanced-level skiers. The resort has a ski school, which offers more than 100 professional skimeisters. The resort is the only training base for National Youth Skiing Team. The resort area gets heavy snowfall, with about 150 days of snow every year. It can receive 5,000 people at the same time. It is an ideal place for cross-country skiing.
Day 4 Harbin/Songyuan Chagan Lake
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Winter fishing in Chagan Lake, Miaoyin Temple, Chagan Lake Fishing and Hunting Culture Museum
A morning drive about 2 hours from Harbin to Songyuan to see the interesting Mongolian winter fishing in Chagan Lake. Then pay a visit to Miaoyin Temple (a Buddhist temple), and then move to a museum to learn some facts about the Mongolian people's fishing and hunting clture. This evening, you will stay overnight in a local homestay (facility in the room is basic, with toilet, bath room, heated system or air conditioner, with simple Chinese breakfast. No hotels in Chagan Lake. You can only stay in the local homestay or leave for the hotel in Changchun).
Chagan Lake
Chagan Lake, Mongolian as "Chagan Naoer", with a meaning of white holy lake, is located in Qianguo county, Songyuan, Jilin China. With an area of 307 square kilometers, it was once a fishing and hunting resort for emperors since the Liao & Jin Dynasty. The lake is always known for traditional winter fishing from then on. The traditional winter fishing method is listed in 2008 as China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Day 5 Songyuan/Changchuan
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Puppet Manchurian Palace, Eight Ministries of Manchukuo, Culture Square
Drive in the morning from Jilin to Changchun to see the Puppet Manchurian Palace and the Eight Ministries of Manchukuo. Later, visit the Culture Square, where you can take some pictures or buy some local products and tourist souvenirs at its nearby shops, you can taste some ginseng tea (free of charge) if you visit the ginseng shops. Stay in Changchun City.
Day 6 Changchun/Jilin
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Jilin Meteorite Museum, Jilin Rime Ice Island, Manchu Wula Town
Morning drive to view Jilin Rime Ice Island (depends on the weather, Songhua Lake is another option for rime ice sight) and Manchu Wula Town. In the afternoon, we will drive back to visit Jilin Meteorite Museum in Jilin city.
Day 7 Jilin/Changchun Departure
Meals: B
After breakfast, you will have a relax until the time to transfer to the airport/station for your next destination.
Service ends
Transportation cost covers all the domestic airfare of economy class with airport tax, train tickets between the cities as the itinerary specified.
Transfer between airports, railway station, hotels and scenic spots for sightseeing around the cities that are specified by the itinerary with private air conditioned vehicle with driver and English-speaking guide. Separate arrivals and departures will incur extra charges.
All entrance fees to the scenic spots listed in the itinerary. The final arrangement will be determined by private tour guides depends on the real-time local circumstances wheather are beyond the control of Access China Travel. We will adhere to the original itinerary as accurately as possible.
All normal meals as the itinerary specified: B = breakfast, L = Lunch, D = dinner in local restaurant. Breakfasts are served in hotel, breakfasts have Chinese or Western style for your option; Lunches are served in carefully selected quality local Chinese restaurants with best service, your lunches will be ordered by your guide catering to your preferences within normal standard. Dinners as the itinerary specified will be also served in local Chinese restaurants. The meal quotation is normalized. If you have any special request about meals, like vegetarian, famous rare dishes, Indian food or more, please inform us in advance. For the unspecified dinners, you will have dinner on your own. Feel free to ask your local guide for suggestions or recommendation.
Normal sightseeing activities as the itinerary listed will be escorted with English-speaking guide. The English-speaking guide and driver in each city are with you throughout the entire itinerary around that city. They do not fly with you from one city to another.
Hotel service criterion: two adults share on one standard twin/double-bed room; solo traveler who want to occupy one twin/double-bed room assigned is required for extra single supplement rate. A single room is available on prior request at an additional cost; if a recommended hotel unavailable, it will be replaced by one of the same class. All hotels as the itinerary listed serve daily western or Chinese breakfast. All rooms are air-conditioned with private facilities unless specified.
The tour cost includes the planning, handling, booking, operation and communication charges.