Video trip report: Harbin
#1
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Video trip report: Harbin
Mrs. PTravel and I spent the beginning of January in China. Our visit included Harbin which hosts an annual Ice Festival. You can see the short (4-1/2 minute) video here:
www.travelersvideo.com/Harbin Ice Festival.wmv
or in much lower quality on YouTube, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3bmxc9vHcE
Temperatures were so low that our digital SLR froze and was inoperable. I had to take special precautions with our camcorder to ensure it wasn't damaged, and even then the LCD display wound up freezing (LCD = LIQUID crystal diode), which made framing and composing shots an interesting challenge, as the display was so dim during the day I could barely see it, and at night it gave strange "strobe" effects that, fortunately, don't appear on the video.
www.travelersvideo.com/Harbin Ice Festival.wmv
or in much lower quality on YouTube, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3bmxc9vHcE
Temperatures were so low that our digital SLR froze and was inoperable. I had to take special precautions with our camcorder to ensure it wasn't damaged, and even then the LCD display wound up freezing (LCD = LIQUID crystal diode), which made framing and composing shots an interesting challenge, as the display was so dim during the day I could barely see it, and at night it gave strange "strobe" effects that, fortunately, don't appear on the video.
Last edited by PTravel; Mar 5, 2007 at 2:28 pm
#4
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#6
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That looks fun,nice video.
Having been in Beijing a few times during the winter I can imagine how cold it was there especially in the wind.
Which airline and route did you take to get there from where you are based?
Having been in Beijing a few times during the winter I can imagine how cold it was there especially in the wind.
Which airline and route did you take to get there from where you are based?
#7
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Mrs. PTravel did pretty well -- her one stumble (which is in the video and, of course, timed to the music ) was when her boot caught on a piece of carpeting. I had a couple of close calls despite being extra careful because of the camera, though the worst for me was the luge in the beginning of the video. I was shooting with both hands and kept getting bounced up and down on the little sled. I came very close to being thrown out of it altogether and finished the slide on my side. It actually made for a better video because I was able to get shots of the two "catchers" at the bottom of the luge run. That luge was a lot scarier than it looked -- those are Mrs. PTravel's actual screams as she started down the run.
I should note that we were both dressed for the weather, both in terms of warmth and traction. Harbin was fun, but I wouldn't recommend it without very, very warm clothing and even then, as you saw in the video, we both kept our scarves over our faces to keep our cheeks from freezing solid.
#9
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We flew UA to Shanghai. From there, we were on China Eastern to Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) and then back to Shanghai. We flew on Air China to Harbin and then back. Huang Shan is really spectacular -- I hope to have a video of that to post soon.
#10
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Thanks for sharing that delightful video, PTravel. Amazing sculptures, even more so when they are illuminated at night. You did an excellent job capturing people's joy while being there, especially the children. By the way, did you venture out to eat often? Is the local cuisine heavily influenced by Russia? Some time ago I recall watching a culinary show on a Chinese channel and coming across a report about a Northern city with these influences. I did not get the name of the city but I suspect that it could be Harbin. Here's looking forward to more. ^
#11
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Thanks for sharing that delightful video, PTravel. Amazing sculptures, even more so when they are illuminated at night. You did an excellent job capturing people's joy while being there, especially the children. By the way, did you venture out to eat often? Is the local cuisine heavily influenced by Russia? Some time ago I recall watching a culinary show on a Chinese channel and coming across a report about a Northern city with these influences. I did not get the name of the city but I suspect that it could be Harbin. Here's looking forward to more. ^