The Amazing Race: Harbin Edition

Yesterday was a day of firsts: my first day off from classes (it might have only been 5 days, but that was a LONG 5 days :), the first CET group activity, and my first trip into the heart of Harbin. Although there were no classes, no tingxie, and no shengci on Saturday, the pressure was on! Our group was split up into teams for the datanbao, scavenger hunt. My group of 4 had 3 and half hours to complete as many of our 26 questions and tasks as possible. All we knew is that we were promised a reimbursement for a single cab receipt and that at the end of the hunt, we were supposed to meet at fanghong jinianta (none of us knew to what or where it referred).

We began by sorting through the questions to figure out which ones we could answer on or near the 哈工大 campus. Some of these included: "What are the names of the two women who work as 服务员 in our dorm?", "How much does it cost to play ping-pong at the HIT ping-pong center?", and "How much does it cost to print one colored page at Dorm 7?".

Question #1: Whose calligraphy is used for the characters on the main gate of HIT? Mao, of course!

We got off to a slow start, made more difficult by my awkward encounter in the campus supermarket. In an attempt to photograph a loaf of Russian bread (task #22), I broke a supermarket rule by taking a picture. An old lady working at the store ran over to me, screaming in rapid Chinese. She wailed, pointing at my camera and pointing at the bread. With her voice going to loud and so fast, I had no idea what was happening. My mind was racing and went into overdrive when she yanked my arm and dragged me to the manager. Duibuqi! Tingbudong! Tingbudong! The manager showed me the sign and I got off without more serious trouble. Whew...

After we finished the first few tasks on the campus, we hailed a cab and headed to the St. Sophia Church to complete number #3, "a picture of the whole team in front of St. Sophia's Church." Fifteen minutes later, we hopped out in a huge square with a cute Russian Church in front of us. Suddenly we had left China and gone to Russia! We saw signs in Russian, cafes with Russian facades, and even a huge mall called the Euro Plaza.

The St. Sophia Church in the Daoli district of Harbin.

I'm not sure what the sheep was doing in the St. Sophia square, but anyone whose hand is molded into a peace sign and face frozen in a smile is worth befriending.

After completing #3, we found our way onto Zhongyang Dajie, a cobblestone, pedestrian street in stores, restaurants, and Russian-style buildings. We bought Russian bread, took photos in front of Cafe Russia 1914 and USA Bucks, and then ambled down the road. As we made our way down the road, we realized that "the statue by the river at the north end of the the road" (#5) was the fanghong jinianta, our final destination.

The salesman poses in front of his loaves of Russian bread. Full disclosure: I did NOT ask him to pose. Apparently he thinks he is a model.

USA Bucks Coffee Shop and Bar (...???). It's famous for its bizarre, America-centric decor.

Cafe Russia 1914. I did not get the chance to eat there, but the hostesses I saw were all Chinese.

By around 4:30, we began to run into the other groups as we all ambled towards the river. We finally reached the Flood Control monument and met up with the groups, before trading stories (in Chinese) and nibbling the loaves of Russian bread.

The Flood Control Monument at the north end of Zhongyang Dajie.

The sun hangs over the Songhua river.

It turns out that our group did not win, but it did not really matter. I got to see the city outside of the 哈工大 campus. While it was fun (and exhausting) to see the city on this sort of whirlwind tour, it gave me only a glimpse of the places I want to go back and see. I know I'll go back next weekend to the center of the city, especially the Russian-styled areas, because I can't wait to see what is left to see.