Sun Island is so famous that it was probably my only impression of Harbin when I was a child. Since it’s also located within the city and not far from where I was staying, I decided to go check it out. The entire Sun Island area is quite large, encompassing the famous Ice and Snow World, Moon Bay TV City, Heilongjiang Science and Technology Museum, and Harbin Polarland, among others. The Sun Island Scenic Area is just one part of this complex, and this scenic area is basically a… huge park…
Moreover, even by park standards, this one is rather boring. There’s practically nothing inside. With a 30 yuan admission fee, this is truly the most disappointing 5A-rated scenic spot I’ve ever seen (Changchun Sculpture Park seems to be a 5A attraction too, but I think it offers much more to do than this place). The trees aren’t particularly tall or majestic either; you’d never guess this scenic area was established back in 1964, and there isn’t much scenery to speak of… It appears to have undergone major renovations in 2003, adding things like a deer park, yet the whole park remains largely deserted. You walk a short distance and see a large sculpture?… And then, surprisingly, that’s about it… Furthermore, all other attractions worth seeing inside charge separate fees—and they’re not cheap either. An indoor ice sculpture exhibition hall costs 140 yuan per ticket, and even petting a deer requires an additional 10 yuan payment… The only consolation was that the weather turned out pretty nice…
After leaving this disappointing place, we decided to take the Songhua River Cableway across the river. Right next to the cableway entrance lies a Russian-style town, which charges 20 yuan at the gate. However, Ctrip offers combo tickets bundling both attractions together, saving roughly half the price. Inside, there are shops selling bread, restaurants, souvenir stores, belt vendors, and even paid photo ops with Russians??… I’m genuinely curious what kind of place must be so unexposed to foreigners that people would actually pay just to pose for pictures with them… As for charging admission merely to enter and shop—that’s certainly an interesting business model…
Next up is the cableway itself, which is actually quite enjoyable, especially on clear days when crowds are thin. The cableway spans 1,156 meters, connecting Sun Island with Stalin Park, and is only one block away from Central Street, making transportation extremely convenient. The cableway station resembles a castle~~ From this angle, you can see Sun Island.
View of the cableway from the Flood Control Monument
Overall, tourist attractions in Northeast China really haven’t kept pace with modern trends—they feel stuck in the last century. Of course, flat plains naturally lack dramatic landscapes; everywhere you look is level ground, so essentially all they can do is dig lakes, plant trees, and build parks. But one advantage of Northeast China is that once winter arrives, everything transforms into an entirely different scene. I’m somewhat looking forward to seeing the view from the cableway after the Songhua River freezes over~~~~
Photos in this post taken with SONY A5100 + 16-50 f3.5-5.6, post-processed in Lightroom.
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