Harbin is a tourist city with special glamour in northern China. Lying to the north of Changbai Mountains and south of Small Xing'an Mountains, with Songhua River running across its middle part. There are 7 districts and 12 counties (cities) in Harbin. It is the biggest city among provincial capitals in China covering an area of 56,000 square kilometers and with a total population of 9.6 million (3.8 million in the city proper). As the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, it is the center of politics, economy, science & technology, culture and transportation in the northern part of northeast China. Harbin is often poetically called "the pearl under the neck of swan".
With a reputation of being a tourist city, Harbin is full of strong northern features. In the beginning of the 20th century when the Zhongdong Railway was built, Harbin was the first open city to accept modern civilization.
At that time, Harbin was one of the embarkation places for European culture, with consulates of 16 countries, over 30 foreign companies and large numbers of foreign immigrants (170,000 at the highest). The influx of European culture can be seen in the architectural style. Harbin then had the first skiing stadium, cinema and tourist train in China, which has become part of the main body of the city's culture, which is also represented by the pedestrian street in the Central Avenue, St. Sofia Church and Stalin Park where the Tower of Fighting Against Flood stands and the Sun Island where the European buildings muster. Harbin is therefore called "Oriental Moscow" and "Small Oriental Paris".
Rich in tourist resources, Harbin has various cultural forms such as the culture of Ice and Snow, the culture of European style, the culture of forest, the culture of Jinyuan and the folk-custom culture.
Tourist programs in Harbin are conspicuously different in winter and summer. Of the three generally recognized tourist resources, ice and snow, forest and ocean, Harbin is endowed with two, which makes it incomparable to the other tourist cities in China. The Culture of Ice and Snow is the most important tourist resource in Harbin. Every year, the ice lanterns, snow sculpture, scenery of ice and snow and the related entertainment programs attract millions of tourists from home and abroad. Built in 1996, Yabuli Skiing Resort gave a boost to the tourism of ice and snow, enriching the cultural implication of urban tourism of the city. The skiing sport has become a trend of consumption and a new way of recreation for both tourists and local residents. As to the forest culture, the traditional scenic spot Yuquan Hunting Ground, after several years' reform and rebuilding, has become the largest enclosed hunting spot in Asia. The primitive forests around Harbin are ideal for future forest tourism and hunting tourism.