Children's Park

Many's the time I passed by this Disneyesque monstrosity last summer, but it wasn't until today that I realized it's the entrance to the city's Children's Park! The park's a lovely green space in the middle of the city (just off Guogeli Avenue).

The pond and mini-marina at the upper end of the park.

The children of the proletariat, leading the park to a glorious Communist future!

...a glorious future where you can pay for entry to an ancient Egyptian haunted house. In a city park. In northeastern China.

The Children's Park also has its own Great Wall! (Admission to this part of the Park - which includes some play areas, a swing set, the Great Wall, and a rather lonely monkey in a topiary - is ¥10 or US$1.60.)

And of course, what children's park would be complete without rides and dinosaurs?

Majiagou Riverfront

The Majiagou Riverfront is a beautifully developed stretch of riverfront walkway where Guogeli Dajie crosses the Majiagou River, between Hegou Jie and Xinyonghe Jie. It's remarkably quiet given that it's right next to bustling Guogeli Dajie, and is a wonderful place to sit and rest, enjoy a coffee from one of the riverfront cafes, and read a book. (Unless one of the kiosks starts blaring C-pop from their speakers, which happened about 20 minutes into my visit today. Apparently there was just too much peace and quiet for the locals to handle!)

St. Alexis of Moscow Church

The former St. Alexis of Moscow Orthodox Church just off of Guogeli Dajie, now in use by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association in Harbin. Unfortunately at some point the church was divided into two floors with offices and multipurpose rooms, so there's really no point to trying to check out the inside.