Two Faces in One Big Hunk

Posted on February 18th, 2009 by admin, under Travel Destinations.

Given the vast land area and the equally huge population of China, it comes as no surprise that a myriad of cultures and scenes can be present within the country. Here are two prominent points of interest in China that represent two social extremes:

Harbin. This province is found in the northeast of the enormous country; a quite and relaxed place to visit when looking to see a more natural and laid-back China. Harbin province draws a lot of foreign and local visitors for its winter ice festival. It also houses a shelter for the endangered Siberian Tiger. At the Siberian Tiger Park, visitors could have a once in a lifetime close encounter with the endangered specie. Dhongyan Dajie is the central street, here, tourists and locals get to enjoy the native cuisine and the local Harbin snow lager.

Icehouse Bar. The Icehouse bar in the city of Beijing is a cool place to drown in jazz music after a day’s worth of business meetings and serious errands. This trendy bar is historically relevant; bearing the same name ever since its construction, the whole place used to be filled with ice for the exclusive use of the Imperial family during the Qing dynasty. Ice was collected from Dongzhimen and stored at the Icehouse all year round. The name and historical background may seem cold but it is now a sizzling hot jazz bar open to all, imperial family member or not.