It had been at least seven years since the last time I had gone snowboarding, so I was very excited when Zoe and I headed North to Sun Mountain in Yabuli (which is commonly regarded the best ski mountain in China). Well, having kept my expectations somewhat in check, I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Sun Mountain is decent sized (albeit a fraction of the size of the larger resorts I used to enjoy in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, California and the likes) and the hard-packed snow was pretty dry and light. The Gondola whisks one quickly to the top (or the mid-mountain for beginners) and there were several slopes from which to choose. Best of all, despite the fact that we were there in peak season, we didn’t have to fight any crowds and almost never had to wait for the lift … I’m sure that this will change in years to come as skiing becomes more popular in China.
To get to Yabuli, we flew into Harbin (哈尔滨), capital of HeiLongJiang (黑龙江) Province, up in the Northeast of China. Being near the Russian (Siberian) border, we were able to enjoy Russian food (and vodka) one night. We were also thoroughly impressed by all of the ice sculptures, many of them with lights inside, that constructed everywhere throughout the city as well as in parks. China’s tenth largest city (about 10 million people), Harbin was considered China’s fashion capital in the early 20th century as new designs from Paris and Russia reached there first before arriving in Shanghai. Harbin is also a potential candidate for the 2020 Winter Olympics … I hope they get it!
