9 Days China Winter Exploration Tour to Shanghai and Harbin

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Shanghai Arrival ( No meal )

   Upon your arrival at Shanghai airport / train station, the local driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name and transfer to downtown hotel for check-in. Free and easy on your arrangement for rest of the day.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Shanghai

2. Day 2: Shanghai Classic City Tour (B, L )
   Yuyuan Garden, Yuyuan Market, Shanghai Museum, Former French Concession, Nanjing Road, the Bund

   Your exploration begins with the famous Yuyuan Garden, which is a representative of classical Chinese gardens with elegant pavilions, old bridges, artistic rockeries, small ponds, etc. It was originally built by Pan Yunduan in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty for his parents to enjoy their old age in peace. The garden has gone through a lot in the over 400 years’ history. It was once deserted at the death of Pan Yunduan, restored by new owners, badly damaged during the Opium War, and reopened in 1961 after a lot of repairs.

   

   Nearby is the lively Yuyuan Market, wonder around here you can get everything from traditional Chinese crafts like chopsticks, fans, and pottery to local delicacies such as steamed buns, crab shell cake, and pork chop with rice cakes. Don’t forget to haggle for a better price.

   After that, move on your visit to Shanghai Museum (closed on every Monday). The museum houses millions of collections and especially features bronze wares, porcelain works, paintings and calligraphy works.  Finish the exploration of history, stroll on People Square to have a glimpse of the daily life of the locals. The square now is most famous for its match-making corner where parents try to seek partners for their children.

   Next, come to the Former French Concession, the largest and most prosperous concession among all the four French concessions in old China. From 1849 to 1943, this area was ruled by France for almost a century. Here your tour guide will reveal a history of humiliation and you will see many old beautiful European style buildings which look very charming hidden in the shade of French parasol trees.

   Afterwords, move to the earliest shopping street in Shanghai-Nanjing Road. Your tour guide will point out the four time-honored department stores, Yong’an Company, Xianshi Company, Xinxin Company and Daxin Company, from which you can get a bit history of this commercial street. If you want to try some delicious food, the street definitely will not disappoint you.

   Last, enjoy your sightseeing in one of the landmarks of Shanghai - the Bund. You may not know that the area used to be a desolate tidal flat, but turned into British settlement and Shanghai’s financial center in the late Qing Dynasty. It is the perfect place to take great photos of amazing skyline. Make sure to bring your camera!

   Accommodation: Overnight in Shanghai

   

3. Day 3: Shanghai - Harbin by Flight ( B )
   Shanghai Disneyland Park

   Today you will visit the exciting Shanghai Disneyland Park, the happiest place in the world. Open in 2016, it is the first Disneyland theme park in mainland China. Numerous adults and children come here pursuing their beautiful dreams. You can take photos with the classic Disney characters, feast on fantastic food, and shop around for nice gifts. There are so many interesting experiences waiting for you, such as warm welcome on Mickey Avenue, soaring over the horizon, and roaring rapids. Prepare for a wild time!

   Upon arrival at the Disneyland Park, the guide and driver will drop you off at the exit gate for you to check in by using your passports. Then, you will explore and enjoy the entire park on your own.

   Friendly tips:

   * We will book the entrance tickets of Disneyland Park by using the copies of your passports in advance. When you arrive at the check-in gate, just scan your passports to get in.

   * No lunch was included for today. You can have lunch on your own in the Disneyland Park and pay in cash on your own.

   * The tour guide will NOT accompany with you to go inside the Disneyland Park, instead, he / she will be waiting for you at the exit gate when you finish your own visit in the entire park. If you do require the guide to be with you, you will pay an extra entrance fee for him/her.

   * The entrance fee of Disneyland Park is not the same in different seasons. We will let you know the actual cost according to the official price. You are suggested to avoid weekends since weekends’ price is more expensive and there would be  larger crowds.

   At around 5pm, please meet your guide and driver at the exit gate and drive to the airport to catch an evening flight to Harbin. When you arrive at at Harbin Taiping International Airport, there will be the local driver picking you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name, and drop you off at local hotel. Free and easy on your own for rest of the day.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Harbin

   

4. Day 4: Harbin City Tour ( B,L )
   Northeast Tiger Park, Sun Island, Central Street, Saint Sophia Church

   Today you will spend full day with the English speaking tour guide and driver to explore the best of Harbin city! The first site will be the Northeast Tiger Park, a northeast tiger breeding and research center with 700+ Siberian tigers live there, and there are over 100 Siberian tigers and lions are open to public. Thus, you will see tigers in different life stages and learn more about the current living situation of Siberian tigers in China.

   Later, move on to Sun Island. As an island in the Songhua river of Harbin city, it is located between the new and old city of Harbin and is divided into eastern district, central district and western district. With the rapid development of tourism, it has become a mufti-functional scenic area composed of ice and snow culture, folk culture and other natural resources, which is also a renowned summer resort and an ecological area along the Songhua river in China. In winter, you can enjoy the wonderful Sun Island Snow Sculpture there ( optional ).

   Friendly tips:

   1. People also can take cable car along the Songhua River to arrive at Sun Island Park. It is an optional choice to better enjoy the Songhua River view. If you would like to take it, please pay in cash at the spot ( approximate CNY100 /way).
   2. There is Sun Island Snow Sculpture exhibition in Sun Island every winter, the entrance fee is around CNY180-280 per person. If you’d like to visit it, please pay in cash on your own.

   After that, drive to Harbin city and enjoy the relaxing sightseeing in the famous Central Street, a bustling pedestrian street in Harbin city. Walking along the street, you will find many old buildings designed in various western styles in early 1900s. And of course you will be attracted by the lively vendors, restaurants, pubs as well as snacks.

   Later, continue your visit to Saint Sophia Church. It is a typical Byzantine architecture style Orthodox Church built in 1907 by Russian. Through the visit of this church, you will read the rich history of Harbin and even northeast part of China. Also, you can enjoy some relaxing walk in the Saint Sophia Church square to see how local people live, chat and exercise there.

   Optional Night Activity: If you would like to visit the Ice and Snow World, please pay the entrance fee on your own ( around CNY300-350 / pax ). Please feel free to ask your tour guide for assistance.

   Ice and Snow World: Relying on the advantages of Harbin’s ice and snow in winter, the large-scale ice and snow art boutique project was launched to show the ice and snow culture and charm of Harbin that is a renowned tourism city in northeast China. Nowadays, it is a must-visit place in Harbin in winter. There are various kinds of ice sculptures, exciting snow entertainment projects and interesting themed performances.You will stroll around to enjoy the world’s finest examples of ice art against the dazzling lights.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Harbin

   

5. Day 5: Harbin - Volga Manor ( B, L )
   Volga Manor

   After breakfast, drive around 1.5 hours to Volga Manor, a wonderland with Russian-themed culture, buildings and foods. Located around 50 kilometers from Harbin city, this amazing park covers over 600,000 square meters along the Ashi River, including restaurants, entertainments, rivers, bridges, wetlands and over 30 different Russian-style architectures, so that it can accommodate up to over thousand people for different activities. Today, you will fully enjoy the highlight spots of this manor.

   Saint Nicholas Church, also regarded as the architecture art gallery, is the landmark of Volga Manor. Took the old Saint Nicholas Church as a prototype, it was rebuilt in July of 2006 since the original church was damaged before the founding of People’s Republic of China. Now, you can admire the old Russian architectures here.

   Pushkin Salon. This unique building with red brick walls has typified the rich extremes of Russian architecture which can be traced back to the late 19^th century. There is a huge bronze statue of Pushkin standing in front of the door as if to welcome visitors from all over the world.

   Pavlov Castle. The original Pavlov Castle, as one of the most famous castles in ancient Russia, was designed by a famed Russian designer from 1795 to 1797, which was. Here will you see this reconstructed building almost the same as the original one. Inside the castle, you will find a lot of exhibitions about the Russian arts and paintings.

   Villa of Forest. Covering over 1,000 square meters, this villa was designed by a Russian designer which surrounded by trees, rivers and wetlands. Walking through the villa or stay one night there, you will find the true peace.

   Besides, there is also the authentic Russian music and dance show available in the manor, you can enjoy it if it is not a Monday ( the show closes on each Monday).

   After all the activities, you will check into hotel which inside the Volga Manor. If you are not exhausted, you can wonder around the manor in evening on your own to enjoy the special night view.

   Accommodation: Overnight in the Volga Manor

   

6. Day 6: Volga Manor -Yabuli Ski Resort ( B, L )
   Yabuli Ski Resort

   Today you will head to the exciting Yabuli Ski Resort where drives around 3.5 hours from the Volga Manor, thus, you can enjoy the snow and ice scenery on the way.

   Upon arrival at Yabuli Ski Resort, follow your guide to fill your stomach at a local restaurant, then your skiing begins! The tour guide will help you to get the main entrance tickets and rent the basic ski equipment for you to ski on your own.

   Friendly Tip: Only skiing in primary ski field was included in the current tour package, which including 3 hours skiing with equipment like skiing boots, snowboard and ski poles. If you would like to have more time for skiing, please pay in cash on your own.

   The resort enjoys a snow cover period of 170 days and skiing period 120 days, and the snow depth averages 30 cm – 50 cm at the foot of the mountain and reaches 1m on the mountain. Its best snow conditions make it a perfect place for both skiing racing and ski-touring. It boasts a total of 17 ski runs, from elementary, intermediate to advanced, as well as various cableways. No matter you are first time normal visitors or professional skiers, you will find the one suitable for you. There are also many entertainment activities such as snowmobiling, snow tubing, and horse-drawn sledge. You will have great fun in this heaven for skiing.

   Accommodation: Guesthouse in Yabuli

   

7. Day 7: Yabuli - Snow Town ( B, L )
   Snow Town

   In the morning, drive around 2.5 hours to the amazing Snow Town. The full name called “China Snow Town National Forest Park”, is located in Mudanjiang city, Heilongjiang province, China, which is about 280 kilometers away from Harbin. It covers an area of 17,916 hectares and is 1,100 meters above sea level. Because of the frequent intersection of cold air of lake Baikal and sea warm current of Sea of Japan, it forms the unique climate that snow period lasts for seven months (from October to May in next year) and the snow thickness can be up to 2 meters. Thus, with the heavy snowfall and high viscosity of the snow, it enjoys the great reputation as famous “China’s snow town”.

   In the evening, you can stroll down Xueyun Street to explore the bustling night market, enjoy relaxing walking, taste some local snack or join the local bonfire party... Just try it!

   Accommodation: Guesthouse in Snow Town

   Special note: The accommodation resources in Snow Town are very limited when it comes to the peak season in every winter. Thus, the usual hotel standard is local guesthouse with at least 2 pax sharing one room. If you are looking for better hotel instead of guesthouse, please inform us as early as you can because good hotels sell too fast in Snow Town, usually needs reserve a few months ahead.

   

8. Day 8: Snow Town - Harbin ( B, L )
   Snow Town

   This morning, you are free to enjoy the leisure time in Snow Town. You can use your camera to record this amazing place! There are some special photogenic sites in this town need pay in cash and which were NOT included in the current tour package ( optional ). Thus, if you would like to be there, feel free to ask your tour guide for assistance.

   Optional Early Morning Activity: If you are looking for something special in the early morning, you may hop on a shuttle bus and transfer to Yangcaoshan Mountain to appreciate the marvelous sunrise( on your own expense ).

   At around 1pm, meet your guide and driver to transfer back to Harbin city.

   Accommodation: Overnight in Harbin

   

9. Day 9: Harbin Departure ( B )

   Free and easy on your own until the pickup time for departure. Our driver will meet you at the hotel lobby and transfer to Harbin airport / train station to see you off.

   Accommodation: N/A