Still looking for alternatives to Snow Town/Yichun? Get ready for a surprise!

Driving to Harbin, the main attraction in the city is the Ice and Snow World, while outside the city it's Snow Town. 🥹 Unfortunately, the Ice and Snow World was temporarily closed on February 6th, the second day after our arrival, likely in preparation for the Asian Winter Games opening ceremony. We wanted to go to Snow Town, but were hesitant to self-drive on icy roads and it was too late to book a local tour. Not to mention, Snow Town was in the news with soaring costs 💹. 🙈 So, we decided to head to Yichun, which is also about 300+ km from Harbin. It turned out to be the right choice ✔️, a journey filled with surprises and pristine natural beauty! ☃️ Dense snow-covered forests flashed past the car window, and the enchanting linhai snowfield gradually came into view. Imagine mushroom-shaped wooden houses 🏚️ buried in thick snow, a pure and original fairytale world, where you can take photos up close without any disturbance. ♻️ Wuyings National Forest Park and Xing'an National Forest Park near Yichun undoubtedly satisfy all desires for frolicking and rolling in knee-deep snow. At the Wuyings National Forest Park visitor center, we watched a group of children playing soccer ⚽️ in the snow next to the ice sculptures, experiencing the pure joy of a free and easy snow world. 😪 Since our car didn't have snow tires or anti-skid chains, we regretfully skipped the rime scenery at the Sunke Grand Platform for safety reasons. But this trip was still a super fun snow adventure 🎉. 🩸 Yichun is a beautiful small city with forests and snow. The local architecture, including the expressway toll stations and city bus stops, is also unique. While hotel prices in Harbin skyrocketed during peak season, Yichun offered great value for money. In the evening, we enjoyed affordable and steaming hot iron pot fish 🐠, followed by a candied hawthorn on a stick for a sweet treat. Back in the hotel, we were so warm we only needed to wear short sleeves, a stark contrast to the freezing temperatures outside. Yichun left us with wonderful memories 👩‍🌾. 📍Tips Wuyings National Forest Park is 70 km from Yichun, Xing'an National Forest Park is 6 km from Yichun, and the Sunke Grand Platform is 160 km from Yichun.