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Harbin

Harbin(哈尔滨), the capital of Heilongjiang Province, is located in the middle reaches of the Songhua River in the south of the province. The whole city covers an area of 632 square miles, with a population of 2.54 million.

The city first came into being with the settlement in 1097 by the Nazhen nationality. At that time the place was a natural fishing area, situated right on the Songhua River. By the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368AD) the area was renamed Haerbin, literally meaning "where the fishing nets are dried".

Harbin Ice Festival is an annual event. Usually falling on January 5 and lasting for a month the festival exerts a strong draw on both local residents and visitors.

The city boasts its impressive and artistic ice and snow sculptures, carvings, and buildings in parks and on frozen rivers. World famous monuments like grand cathedrals, pyramids, Potala Palace and the Great Wall are all carved out of ice, in spectacularly giant sizes! Some of them, embedded with colored lights, are designed for nighttime observation. Ice sliding and skiing are popular activities in the occasion.

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