Everyone who comes to Harbin goes to play in the Snow Valley! Super happy! Practical guide for eating, staying, and playing

The happiest time of my trip to Harbin was in the Snow Valley! I suggest that if you come to Harbin, you must go there for two days! If you want to see the most authentic simplicity of the Northeastern countryside and experience the joy of playing with snow, then you must choose Snow Valley! It's really less crowded, quiet, fun, and the value for money is super high! Compared to Snow Valley, Snow Town feels like a big tourist area, everything seems artificially set up, and the people you meet are either tourists or business owners, which really lacks a bit of authenticity! Snow Valley accommodation: The price is really more affordable than you can imagine! 💰66 for a night's stay in a room with a 2-meter kang (traditional heated bed) that can sleep three people, comes with a private bathroom, very powerful hot water, and the room is very warm. It also includes breakfast, and at night you get frozen pears, frozen persimmons, and candied haws! Plus, you can play with snow tubes and ice carts as much as you want! Can you imagine that? Food, drinks, and fun are all included, and I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't experienced it myself that there's a place for three people for 66 yuan that includes so much fun and food! This is worlds apart from the prices of homestays in Snow Town... Snow Valley transportation: It's a 5-hour drive from Harbin. Carpooling starts at 5:30 am near Central Street to pick up passengers, arriving at Snow Valley at around 11 am. You can book your Snow Valley accommodation first and then contact the owner to arrange carpooling, 💰100 per person. The return trip picks up at Snow Valley homestays at 12:30 pm, arriving back at Harbin Central Street around 5:30 pm. You can also carpool between Snow Valley and Snow Town, which takes a little over 2 hours one way, 💰100 per person. Snow Valley dining: Here, meals are generally ordered and eaten at the homestays, with options like stir-fry, hot pot, and iron pot stew. However, due to the location, there are no fresh vegetables in winter here, so the vegetables are usually stored in advance by the families and then processed, so you may find that the stir-fried dishes you order may be slightly different from what you eat elsewhere. The taste is indeed a bit less impressive than restaurants, but it's still acceptable. Snow Valley activities: Behind the village, there are ice carts, snow tubes, ice bikes, and even large slides like those in the Ice and Snow World, as well as skiing. You can take the snow tubes up the back mountain and slide down directly from the top, which is super thrilling and super fun! My friends and I had so much fun! Rime Ridge, 400 per person, includes round-trip transportation and mountain entertainment projects (snowmobiles, skiing, snow tubes, banana boats, etc.). The most beautiful part of Rime Ridge is to see the rime, but at this time, it's mostly not visible unless it has just snowed. You can only ride the snowmobile for one loop. Yangcao Mountain, this is the mountain between Snow Valley and Snow Town, and you can trek through it! Pure hiking takes about 5-7 hours (depending on physical strength and experience), and there are horse-drawn sleds and snowmobiles available for ascending. It costs 💰300 to go from the bottom to the top of the mountain, and 💰250 to go to a point 2.5 kilometers from the top. I think if you're not going to Rime Ridge for the rime, you might as well not spend that 400 yuan and instead go to Yangcao Mountain to experience the snowmobile and horse-drawn sled. Going down the mountain on a small sled, walking and sliding all the way down, is really super happy! You can trek from Snow Valley to Snow Town, watch the night scene, and then carpool back to Snow Valley. This way, you get to experience both Snow Valley and Snow Town, spend less, and also see the quiet appearance of the real Northeastern countryside after the snow!