China News Service, Harbin, February 14th: Interview with Harbin tourism "night shift": Would rather freeze than let the ice and snow melt
China News Service reporter Wang Lin
"We would rather stay up a few more nights and endure the cold for a few more days than let the ice and snow melt." Recently, reporters visited three "night shifts" in popular tourist areas in Harbin across the night. In order to make this "Internet celebrity city" look its best, many people stay up at night. They are as reluctant as the tourists to see this winter's ice and snow season go.
Harbin Ice and Snow World: -30℃ snow making and paving roads
In the ice and snow world after 22 o'clock, "silence is better than sound". As the last group of tourists left, the music of Saxophone's famous song "Going Home" also stopped, and another little-known beauty quietly unfolded: the "loyal guards" of this ice and snow castle took up their duties, pulling the snow machine to the Wherever the snow "falls". The vast mist and rolling snow waves create a real "city in the north".
At the night snowmaking site of Harbin Ice and Snow World, the hats of the staff are covered with snowflakes. Photo by Yu Kun
Staff member Shi Daheng, whose hat was covered with snowflakes, said: "Because there are many footprints on the road, a new layer of snow must be laid every day to ensure that when visitors enter the park the next day, they will step on soft and smooth snow." Since the park opened, , the snow is already half a meter deep. In this 810,000-square-meter park, every step that tourists take has been walked countless times for them.
The snowmaking work works in two shifts. The night shift is from 22 o'clock to 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning the next day. The coldest part of the night is below -30°C. Shi Daheng said: "After more than two hours, my hands and feet will be numb from the cold, but We want to endure the cold for a few more days and Harbin’s tourism will become more popular. I have been working here for 16 years, and this year’s number of people is the largest. I feel very reluctant to see the ice sculptures civilized.”
Harbin Central Street: Cleaning work continues throughout the Spring Festival
At 0:00 midnight on Central Street, "the song has ended but the love has not ended yet". When the excitement ends and the shops close, the "urban beautician" waves his broom to the rhythm of "swish, swish, swish". Zhang Hailin removed the last pile of garbage. He said: "The more people there are, the greater the cleaning workload will be, but seeing the crowds and the excitement, we work hard."
Sanitation workers clean the streets on Central Street in Harbin at midnight. Photo by Yu Kun
His unit is the Central Street Squadron of the Environmental Sanitation and Cleaning Center of the Urban Management Bureau of Daoli District, Harbin City, and his evening shift is 8 or 9 hours long. He said that the most difficult days of the year were the three to nine days, and he could not describe the coldness. "I arrived home in the middle of the night. Everyone has finished the New Year's Eve dinner. I'll cook some dumplings to celebrate the New Year."
This long street is 126 years old this year. The 1,450-meter stone road seems to be a silhouette of Harbin: it is dazzling on the stage, and after the curtain call, it looks gentle and quiet, hardworking and tenacious. Traveling to Harbin is an encounter for tourists, but the city has been preparing for it for a long time.
Harbin Railway Station: Spend New Year’s Eve at the station
At 2:30 in the morning at Harbin Railway Station, "no one sleeps in the dead of night." As the central hub station of the predecessor of the China Eastern Railway, it has become a famous European-style railway station in China after several transformations. This winter, the number of passengers arriving in Harbin reached a record high, with a large number of passengers arriving at the "Harbin Branch of Hogwarts College" from "Harry Potter Platform Nine and Three-Quarters".
At 2:30 in the morning, Harbin Railway Station passenger transporter He Xin was interviewed by a reporter from China News Service on the platform. Photographed by Yu Kun
Passenger transporter He Xin is greeting passengers and maintaining order. He said: "The night shift is from 18:00 to 8:30 the next day. I have been working at Harbin Station for 8 or 9 years. I spent 6 or 7 Spring Festivals at the station. Yes, this New Year’s Eve is no exception.” He regretted not spending a good New Year with his family, but he hoped: “Visitors and friends can all arrive safely and spend a good New Year with their families.”
February 14th is the fifth day of the first lunar month in the Chinese lunar calendar, commonly known as "Po Wu" and "Yuan Nian", which means that the new year is over. As the weather warms up, the ice and snow sculptures begin to melt, and tourists begin their return journey. On social media platforms, netizens bid farewell to Harbin’s hot ice and snow season with reluctance: “Ice and snow are disappearing art, but the enthusiasm of Harbin will not disappear”, “See you next winter”, “See you in summer too”… (End)