Postcard from the Mean Streets of Harbin

We’re in Harbin, capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Our timing was less than ideal: the streets (and overpasses) of Harbin have suddenly become pretty dangerous. And outside of winter, there’s really not much to make this place worth a visit. Fortunately, though, we have a 1-year-old, and they have Siberian Tigers. And thankfully, unlike the road builders around here, it seems that the electrified tiger cage-builders didn’t cut too many corners. So we hope.

In Qiqiha’er, Ruffling Feathers

We arrived in Qiqiha’er, across the Xing’an mountains in Heilongjiang Province, on the overnight train from Manzhouli. Covering this distance on train and at night, we slept away across the dark Hulunbei’er Grasslands, which in daytime are supposed to be Inner Mongolia’s most impressive patch of empty space. But as our remaining travel time this summer winds down, we’ve got to cross all those miles somehow, and quickly.