Don't Ask Me To Cycle

❤

Hi there! I’m Heather, I’m 24 years old, and currently living in Harbin, China, teaching English to university students.

In my spare time, I like to mime helplessly at shop assistants, reminisce longingly about cheese, and study my Lonely Planet phrasebook. For, “If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.” Amen, Ludwig Wittgenstein.

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Disclaimer: I’m just saying what I see. I’m documenting the details of this weird and wonderful world as my mind processes them – my experiences, resources and pool of knowledge are limited by both circumstance and my own naivete. If you disagree with something I write, relax. Let’s put the kettle on and have a chat about it.

 

—Harbin / 哈尔滨 /  / Харбин—

Harbin, which was originally a Manchu word meaning “a place for drying fishing nets”, grew from a small rural settlement on the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in the northeast. The city first prospered as a region inhabited by an overwhelming majority of the Jewish immigrants. It is known for its bitterly cold winters and is often called the “Ice City.” Harbin is notable for its beautiful ice sculptures in winter and its Russian legacy, and it still plays an important part in Sino-Russian trade today. In the 1920s, the city was considered China’s fashion capital since new designs from Paris and Moscow reached there first before arriving in Shanghai. In 2010, Harbin was declared a UNESCO “City of Music”.

(totally lifted from Wikipedia)