A Two-Day Harbin Itinerary

Spend as much of the day as you have available sightseeing and shopping in the old part of town. Start at St. Sophia's, an onion-domed wonder that was formerly a Russian Orthodox Church and is now a museum reflecting Harbin's history in photographs. Head to the pedestrian walkway at Zhongyang Dajie, where you will find a number of shops advertising "Russian goods". Among all the trinkets almost certainly made in China, the caviar and vodka are plentiful and can be had for good prices (but be prepared to haggle). Turn briefly off the walkway to stroll by the old synagogue and Jewish school located at 82 Tongjiang Road. Walk into Zhaolin Park, the original home of the lantern ice exhibition, and still filled with ice sculptures every year. Throughout this part of town, you'll enjoy looking at all the old, sometimes crumbling, Russian architecture and the additional sculptures that punctuate the streets.