tarboat's photos with the keyword: harbin

QJs 889 and 2143 get attention on the servicing point at Harbin shed.

1969 built QJ No.679 looks rather careworn and rusty as it shuffles alongside the semi-roundhouse at Harbin depot. The condition of this locomotive was unusual at this time when most main line locomotives were well maintained and fairly clean. Whilst many of the early build QJs had been withdrawn by 1992 this one seems to have soldiered on for another three years.

QJ 2582 hauls a long freight train northbound over the Songhua River at Harbin and towards the Mongolian Autonomous Region and the Russian border.

The Chinese have a habit of going over the top with their architecture. This Disneyesque structure is the Sun Island terminal for the cable car that runs across the the Songhua River from Harbin city. The snow festival is held in the parkland behind this building.

Cooling towers at the Harbin snow festival.

A couple of the exhibits at the Harbin snow festival. A huge amount of work has clearly gone into creating these enormous sculptures. This was much less commercialised than the ice festival a few kilometres away.

It's astonishing what you find in the streets of a Chinese city in winter. This was on one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Harbin.

The Chinese have a habit of going over the top with their architecture. This Disneyesque building is the Harbin City terminal for the cable car that runs across the the Songhua River to Sun island where the snow festival is held.

More winter entertainment for the masses on the Songhua River at Harbin. There were plenty of takers for the whipping top option when they had tired of hovercraft and sliding around on chairs.

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is an annual winter festival that takes place with a theme and now is the largest ice and snow festival in the world. The 2017 theme is apparently "Ice Snow Joy Ode, Meet in Harbin", whatever that means. The ice section was an interesting selection of illuminated ice structures and made for an entertaining evening. Subtle it isn't and the event had an air of the circus about it. People were sliding down bits on little plastic sleds that were available to purchase. There was also a wide range of stalls selling food and souvenirs alongside the reindeer sleigh rides. I am glad we went but am not hankering to return. The snow sculptures at Sun Island were just as interesting and a lot less commercialised.

The Songhua River at Harbin becomes a plaything for both locals and visitors when it freezes over each winter. With a background of one of the railway bridges a mother and son slide across the ice on a sled comprising a couple of chairs attached to runners. These can be rented for a small fee from a number of entrepreneurs to be found trading on the ice.

Harbin depot was very busy in 1992 with a steady stream of locomotives being serviced or moving onto the turntable. The large semi-roundhouse was filled with locomotives under maintenance. Today the site lies under a concrete road viaduct.

Action around the turntable in 1992 at Harbin depot, Chinese National Railways. This has all been swept away and now much of the site lies under a road viaduct.