Day 5 - Snow Town - Yabuli

That day was the coldest in our entire trip. After that day, the temperature for the rest of the trip was not a challenge at all .... 

Our breakfast was simple, but filling nonetheless. We were leaving right after breakfast ... 

So, in the end, we were in Snow Town for only a short while. Was it worth the long journey? I think not .... we went to the Ten Mile Ice & Snow Gallery 十里冰雪画廊. Now we enjoyed this place lots. 

We enjoyed strolling in the snowy trails and admiring the frozen landscape ... I took off my gloves to touch the snow and instantly regretted my actions .... cause I couldn't feel my fingers for a short while ... it was no joke as there was a big risk of getting frostbite! 

Another demo of hot water turning into powdery snow! I loved this! 

Next, we went to Datudingzi Shan. And there, it was really wet and cold .... 

First we took a an amphibious vehicle up the mountain .... In chinese they called it 雪龙号 ... 

Next, we had to queue up to take the snow mobile up to the peak. On that morning, the queue was long, and we waited in the open space ... it was windy and snowy and I could feel the wind penetrating my clothes .... brrr ... it was really cold .... 

In case we were scared that the driver would go too fast, we had to tell him that we were southern baby potatoes ... "南方小土豆" ... indicating people from the Southern part of China who is not accustomed to cold and not familiar with the culture and way of life in Northern China. Lol. 

Anyway, I rode the snow mobile by myself ... it was my first time. I had difficulty getting on the bike since the parka I wore was long .... then I didn't know where to hold! In the end I grabbed the back of my seat as the snow mobile zoomed towards the peak of the mountain .... 

It wasn't a long ride, luckily, as I felt that my hands freezing and going numb .... I wondered how long more I could hold on to the seat ... and then I arrived and got down ... 

We were to climb a long flight of stairs up to the peak .... and I was glad for this climb as it helped me to warm up ... I climbed slowly since my stamina was really poor and I was afraid I to fall .... 

But upon reaching the peak, we found that there was nothing to see ... lol .... perhaps it was really foggy on that morning .... 

Huh? What was there to see? 

We had to go down the mountain the same way .... so we carefully descended the steps, and joined the long queue for the snow mobile. Going down was better as I wrapped my hands around my driver's waist. It was a safer way! Then I hopped onto another 雪龙号 to bring me back down the mountain. 

I was glad to get into the bus to thaw .... 

I checked the temperature ... no wonder it was so cold .... I believe that was the coldest that I had ever experienced in all my travels. 

We had another late lunch that day .... at around 3.30 pm ..... and after lunch, we visited the Yabuli Railway Station ... 

It was snowing rather heavily and the wind was blowing furiously .... we jumped down the bus to snapped some photos and quickly ran back to the bus ... I think in my memory that was the coldest time ever! I looked through my photos and didn't find any ... I didn't take any? Lol ... I must have been so cold that I couldn't muster myself to take photos .... 

We stayed at Avaunce Yabuli Hotel that night ...  it was one of the hotels used for the Asian Winter Games 2025, and there were many flags of many different countries decorating the hotel lobby. But this was also the coldest hotel of the entire trip ... the corridor was cold and the room was big and cold, and the remote control of our tv was missing .... 

We called reception and he came to check .... he could not find it and had to bring us a replacement ... lol. We had dinner that night at the hotel itself .... 

Moutai to warm up .... the liquour is very strong but I love the smell .... 

A lot of us enjoyed this cold, sour appetiser ... 

Deep-fried wild vegetable balls .... 

Nobody wanted to eat this green radish .... but I enjoyed its crispy texture ... quite enjoyable with a meat sauce .... 

We had a long time to rest at this hotel ... 

Night time temperature ... brrr ... cold ... 

Day 3 : Shenyang - Jilin

I woke up and drew the curtains of my hotel room ... and was excited to see that the surroundings had become white! Shenyang was blanketed in snow!

I quickly did my morning ablutions, and put on clothes. My normal gear comprises: 

1) Thick thermal top and a fleece sweater

2) A pair of  Heattech warm pants

3) 2 layers of Heattech socks

4) A fleece neck warmer

5) Gloves 

All that plus a long parka is sufficient for minus temperatures up till -20 degrees. I find the neck warmer useful. I normally pulled it up to cover my nose and mouth because I did not want to breathe in the cold and dry air directly as it caused me a bit of discomfort and irritation. Just covering up my nose and mouth helped a lot. 

We were so excited to see the thick snow! 

 After breakfast, we went outside to take photos in the heavy snow storm, right in front of our hotel. 

But then, the heavy snow would make our travels inconvenient. Our first stop was the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was closed, and I could only take photos of it via a small opening at the gate. 

After that, we went to the Shenyang Imperial Palace or Mukden Palace, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Built in 1624-1636, it was the original palace of the Qing Dynasty's first 3 emperors before they moved to Beijing.

It was snowing heavily ... and we spent quite a long time here, enjoying the snow and taking photos ... I think we were all more fascinated with the snow than with the attractions .... lol ... We walked down the street to have lunch. Opposite the restaurant, there was a local market selling food stuff. We would love to try to street food sold here but too bad, we were full from lunch. 

After that, it was a long drive to Jilin City, the second largest city in Jilin province.

Normally, it would take about 4.5 hours by road. But because of the snow storm, a lot of expressways were closed and there were also speed limits on the ones that were opened. So, we drove for a long time. 

By the time we had dinner, it was at about 8.30 pm! 

Dinner

That night, we checked into Ramada Hotel Jilin Purple Garden ... it was nearly 10.00 pm when we settled in ... 

It was a long, long day, even though we did not see much ... However, because there were a group of use, we were really happy and cheerful throughout the journey. We had so much fun talking and laughing at the back of the bus ... lol ... 

Day 2 : Shenyang

There wasn't a direct flight to Northeast China from Malaysia. There needed to be a stop at a transit city. So we flew in to Shenzhen Baoan. We flew China Southern Airlines, CZ5080, which departed at 1.30 am. 

Breakfast at 3.30 am in the morning 

Arrival at around 6.00 am

Our next flight CZ6385 flew at 9.00 am ... We were flying to Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province. 

Lucky to be sitting on the front low as I could stretch my legs out ... 

There was braised pork and also a fish dish with rice ... pretty interesting ... 

As soon as I got out of the plane, I felt the chills. So I layered up my clothing. There were special changing rooms at the airport since the weather conditions here were pretty extreme .... and still, as I walked the short distance out from the airport to the bus, I felt the biting cold .... 

Our guide was 孔导, and we were a huge group, 23 of us, with elderly and young kids ... hence ... we would be a very slow group .... the slowest, according to the guide. Heh ... but that did not stop us from enjoying ourselves! 

Our first stop was a clothing store. I hadn't prepared for this trip at all ... I had down jackets but they were short and did not cover my butt. They also did not have enough fill power to withstand extreme cold temperatures. And so I bought myself a long down parka and a pair of snow boots, and heat packs for the boots. We also got a set of thermal underwear for free, a free gift from our travel agent.

We spent a long time here since almost everyone needed to gear up. By the time we were done, it was time for dinner .... 

I love that all meals came with 2 bottles of beer ... 

The 'emperor' welcomed us to dinner ... 

Guobaorou was served at almost every meal! It's a Northeastern China specialty, a dish eaten since the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century, purportedly for foreigners living there at the time ... 

After dinner, a group of us meandered downstairs ... there were a few little shops, so we browsed for quite a long time, waiting for the other members to finish eating. I was getting very restless already but we had no choice but to wait.

That night, we checked into Shenyang Rayfront International Hotel ... the hotel was not so great, a bit old style. Nonetheless, I was glad to have warmth in the room and a comfy bed to sleep in for the night.  

Entry 08.04.2026

05.04.2026

I went to Best Corner at Westfield for breakfast this morning .... I'm glad Ah Di's popiah was still yum ... 

RM4.50

Black coffee without sugar was RM2.95 per glass ... that's very pricey .... I should bring my own drink here next time! 

 Mom ordered the kolo mee with wanton ... 

Looks a bit eew to me ... I did have a bit of her noodles ... and I didn't like it ... 

06.04.2026

06.04.2026 (Monday) was an off day for me ... I brought Mom to Noodle Descendants at Jalan Padungan ... we went early so we did not have to wait too long. The noodles were still so satisfying, and so was the soup ... I'd been eating the noodles for 40 years! The quality is still maintained! 

After eating the noodles, we went around to shop for some snacks ... for ourselves and for my aunt ... 

Sin Poh Poh 

While waiting for my Kueh Chap takeaway, I noticed this vintage window ... so pretty .... 

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend S and N for lunch at The Spring. We went to Ling's Kopitiam ... 

Hainanese Chicken rice

The chicken rice was not yum at all .... I added all the sauces and yet, the taste was not up to par .... There were so many familiar faces at the Spring .... so everyone came out to play on off days ... lol .... 

Day 1 : Kch - Kul

Sometime around Feb 2025, I suggested to my friend that we go to Harbin at the end of the year. She took up my suggestion and helped organise the trip for us. In the end, 9 of us signed up.

Harbin was no joke, as temperatures were extreme and we had to be properly dressed up. First of all, I didn't want to catch pneumonia. And secondly, I didn't want to fall down and hurt myself all over again - I'd fallen down in Iceland in 2024 and broke my left arm. But I was seriously busy and did not really have time to prepare for it. My colleague LP who had been there the previous year shared with me her countless tips ... but by the time I was slightly more free, there wasn't time to buy all the winter gear online. Instead, I went to Uniqlo and bought a pair of Heattech Ultra, and 2 pairs of warm pants. I would have to buy the rest of the stuff in Harbin and pray that the weather would not be too terrible. 

On 21 Dec 2025, we gathered at the airport. Ours was an evening flight .... my friend N brought me to the lounge ... with her Enrich Gold card, she could bring one other person there. But the food was crappy. 

Soon, we boarded our flight to Kuala Lumpur ... 

And upon reaching there, we met up with our tour manager. We'd been in contact on Whatsapp forever! So it was great to meet her in person. It was still a long time before we could check in for our next flight. We would use China Southern airlines .... 

So we hanged out at KFC at KLIA ... and then to my surprise, I saw a familiar face. He had walked past but he turned back, surprise to see me. 

'Hello,' my friend SH greeted him. 

I was surprise. How come SH knew him, Cikgu I, a teacher at my former school. Only then did I find out that Cikgu I and SH were formerly also colleagues at another school. What a coincident, and what a small world. 

He was going to Istanbul with his family for the holidays. We chit chatted a little before saying our goodbyes. 

Check-in started at 10.30 pm, since our flight was scheduled to depart at 1.30 am. We did not take too long to check-in. Thereafter we boarded our flight at the Satellite tower. Lucky for us, the train was working ... otherwise taking the shuttle bus would be bothersome.