Harbin, Changchun & Changbaishan Ski 10D

Ten days that never retrace a kilometre: in through Harbin, overland to Changchun, on to Changbaishan, out from the mountain's own airport. Changchun is the surprise — Puyi's puppet court and the studio that made the People's Republic's first films are both there, and neither appears on anyone else's winter routing. The last three days are the ski half: the north slope's forest and hot springs, a rafting run on a river that never freezes, and a full free day on a resort laid out by the firm behind five Olympic venues.

Day by day

1. 1

   Day 1 — Arrive Harbin

   Met at the airport and transferred into the city · Zhaolin Park and its ice lanterns if the afternoon allows · Welcome dinner.

2. 2

   Day 2 — Old Harbin and the ice city

   The Daoli quarter on foot from Central Street · The 1906 Modern Hotel, the flood memorial and the frozen Songhua · St Sophia's domes · Ice and Snow World from the late afternoon, raw ice first and then the lights.

3. 3

   Day 3 — Snow sculpture and Chinese Baroque

   Sun Island's snow sculpture expo · Either Harbin Museum or the Siberian tiger park, depending on the group · The Daowai Baroque blocks in the afternoon.

4. 4

   Day 4 — Curling, then Changchun

   A morning on a competition curling sheet with a coach from the provincial setup — Harbin supplies much of China's national squad, and these are the venues they train in · Afternoon high-speed train to Changchun, about an hour.

5. 5

   Day 5 — Changchun

   The Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo, where Puyi kept a court for fourteen years on Japan's terms and the rooms are preserved as they stood · The Changchun Film Studio site museum in the afternoon — the first studio of the People's Republic, some nine hundred features and a thousand dubbed foreign titles.

6. 6

   Day 6 — Changchun to Changbaishan north slope

   Roughly five hours south-east by coach into the volcanic massif on the Korean border · Dinner and check-in at the north slope.

7. 7

   Day 7 — Changbaishan north slope

   A full day in the reserve — steep forest, hot springs, the underground forest and the birch valleys. The crater lake is the summit headline in summer; in winter the road up is frequently closed and the lake frozen, so the day is built around what is reliably open rather than around a view nobody can promise.

8. 8

   Day 8 — Magic Realm, then the west slope

   Morning on the Magic Realm river, fed by Changbaishan's hot springs and unfrozen year-round. At −20 °C it steams, and the steam freezes onto the banks — about forty minutes on the water, slow current, small drop, and the reason photographers come here at all · Two hours across to the west slope resort in the afternoon.

9. 9

   Day 9 — Free ski day, west slope

   A full day on the mountain with equipment included. Forty-three runs, about thirty kilometres of piste, seven lifts, one and a half to two metres of natural snowfall, laid out by the Canadian firm that has designed five Winter Olympic venues — ten kilometres from the airport you leave from tomorrow.

10. 10

    Day 10 — Depart Changbaishan

    Transfer to Changbaishan airport for your onward flight; direct services run to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Accommodation

We quote a hotel ladder rather than a fixed list, so the same itinerary can be sold at more than one price point.

On the ground

Tap any photo to enlarge.