Chinese New Year

Pardon the blur:  Fireworks exploding outside
my 3rd story apartment

Chinese New Year- the most important holiday in China.  This special occasion creates the biggest human migration in the world as everyone heads home to spend the festival with their families.  There are days upon days of non-stop fireworks, dumpling making and eating, and cleaning the house from top to bottom for a fresh start to the new year.  This is the year of the dragon which is a cultural favorite, but this year is extra special because it is a water dragon...one that comes around once every 60 years.  It is projected that the population will grow significantly this year as parents have strategically planned to have their babies born under the water dragon sign.

With a week off school I wanted to go somewhere new and exciting.  I had been warned not to travel within China because of said mass migration, but I waited too long to buy tickets elsewhere - China was my only choice.  Even though the hot beaches of Vietnam were still calling out to me, I booked my flight north to Harbin for their annual Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.

Harbin, China: Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival at dusk

Luckily, two of my co-workers joined me on the sub-arctic adventure so I wouldn't be braving the elements on my own.  It was about -20 degrees (probably nothing to my Canadian friends, but super extreme to this Texan!)  We sported layers of thermal clothing and face masks leaving only the skin around our eyes bare...a solid plan that kept us alive and relatively comfy through the two-day vaca.  The festival itself consisted mostly of walking around and admiring the enormous castles, though there were plenty of opportunities to ride slides made of ice (slash watch dozens of adults and children piling up at the bottom of the slides...equally, if not more, entertaining).  There were also photo ops with yaks and foxes as well as hot beverages to defrost yourself from the inside out.  

**Upon moving here, I've heard a few references made to the Chinese cold remedy of boiling Coke and ginger together and I finally got to try it in Harbin.   I shouldn't forget to mention that I'm mildly obsessed with ginger now and the supernatural effects it has on my sensitive stomach (in a totally positive way)...that being said, I am jumping on the bandwagon with my Chinese friends and fully supporting this "herbal remedy".  It's amazing.  Try it. **

The Harbin visit was a great once in a lifetime experience, however, the girls and I have vowed to book a tropical holiday months in advance for the next Chinese New Year celebration.  I guess I'll always be a sunshine and beaches girl!