Surviving Subzero

During the Spring Festival holiday, I traveled from the coldest part of China to the warmest, shedding my layers as I made my way south.I visited the following cities: Harbin, Kunming, Lijiang, Zhongdian, and the Xishuangbanna Region.

I started my travels in Heilongjiang (Black Dragon River) which, sharing a border with Russia, is China’s northernmost province.With subzero temperatures, Heilongjiang’s most famous attraction is the Ice Lantern Festival, found in the city of Harbin.I spent a week in Harbin with my friend Barbara skiing, ice skating and touring attractions like the Ice Lantern Festival and the Siberian Tiger Park.

Drinking pearl milk tea and eating roasted chestnuts at the Harbin Institute of Technology with
(from right to left) Barbara, her roommate Wei Wei and Wei Wei's boyfriend, Tom. 

To train for the Harbin cold while in Qingdao, I often did not turn on my heater.While in Harbin, I survived the cold by wearing two layers of wool thermals under a ski bib and a down jacket.To complete the snowman look, I wore earmuffs, a SARS-type face mask, a hat and a scarf.

So how cold is cold?

Forget trying to describe what cold feels like.After a certain point, the body is too numb to be able to register degrees of coldness.Let me describe what cold looks like:

- Nose hairs and eyelashes become icicles.

-Squishy fruit like persimmons and pears roll around like marbles in boxes and have to be thawed out in warm water before they can be eaten.

-Soda sold on the street is rock solid.

-Ungloved fingers lose all sensation. I found if I took too long composing a photo, my fingers became so numb that I could not press the trigger button.

-Ice cream is sold directly out of boxes, not freezers.Why would anyone want ice cream in this weather, you ask?The locals say that the central heating is so warm that they need to cool off once they get indoors.

-    Huge—no, gargantuan—ice and snow sculptures grace the whole city.Think sandcastles.Now, think snow and ice instead of sand.Next, think big—as big as a life-sized building with rooms and staircases.Finally, think of a city filled with these buildings all lit up.That’s the
Ice Lantern Festival:

  


For the record, temperatures ranged from –20°C to –30°C (-4°F to -22°F).

Also famous in Harbin are the Siberian Tigers, which are the largest of all tigers and are listed by the World Wide Fund for Nature as one of the world’s 10 most endangered animals.

I had expected to see the tigers in a fairly natural habitat, roaming freely through trees and caves.But instead of entering the wildlife preserve I had in mind, I felt like—as my minibus made its way through double security gates to get to each section of the park—I was visiting inmates in a prison.

For the most part, the tigers lounged around, either sleeping or preening.The one time they showed themselves to be the powerful predators I expected to see was at feeding time.Visitors can buy live animals, ranging from chickens Y40 (US $5) to cattle Y1,500 (US $187.50), to feed the tigers.  A truck with caged windows rolls out into the field, the driver throws out whatever the visitors bought and within seconds, the tigers pounce.