The correct way to visit Snow Town is to hike through the 15-kilometer forest and snowfield
🥾Most people go to Snow Town just to see the snow houses, walk along the snowy streets, and have a passionate disco in the snow at night.
But since you are going to the Northeast to enjoy the snow, of course you have to hike through the forest and snowfields to get a truly immersive experience.
In the temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero, we traveled from the Snow Valley through the Yangcao Mountain to the Snow Village.
Walking through the vast forest and snowfield,
This is the correct way to open Snow Town.
Hiking route:
Snow Valley-Entrance of Yangcao Mountain-Tea Shed-Top of Mountain-Snow Village
We set off after breakfast and arrived at Xuexiang before sunset in the afternoon to watch the sunset and have dinner. The whole journey was 15 kilometers and it took us almost 6 hours.
➡️Snow Valley-Yellowtail Grass Mountain Entrance: Snow Valley B&B can book a car to the entrance of Yangcao Mountain the next day. The Xueyuan Inn where we stayed is about 20 minutes drive away. If you live in the village at the entrance of Yangcao Mountain, you can reach it on foot.
➡️Entrance to Yangcao Mountain - Tea Shed: about 5 kilometers, basically no climbing flat road, you can take a horse-drawn sleigh at the entrance of Yangcao Mountain (100/person), people and horses take different routes in this section, I recommend hiking, the road is easy to walk and the scenery is beautiful.
➡️Tea shed-top of the mountain: about 5 kilometers, climbing all the way, the road is steep, you can choose to take a snowmobile (300/person for the whole journey), or you can walk 2.5 kilometers first and then take a snowmobile (150/person for half the journey). This section is quite physically demanding, and the forest is very dense, making it difficult to take photos. It is recommended to take a snowmobile directly to save energy and time.
➡️Top of the mountain - Snow Village: about 5 kilometers, all downhill, the slope is not steep, you can walk slowly, it is very comfortable. There was sunshine in the afternoon and the photos were great. You can also choose to take a snowmobile down the mountain from the top, but it is really not necessary.
🚗How to get there:
Yangcao Mountain is between Snow Valley and Snow Town. Book the Snow Valley B&B in advance and ask the owner to help book a bus from Harbin to Snow Valley. If you have no experience driving on snow, it is not recommended to drive by yourself. The road into the Snow Valley is quite slippery. We used a chartered driver for this trip, which is worry-free and safe.
🧣Equipment:
Tops: Jackets, down lining, fleece, wool base layers. Remember not to wear pure cotton base layers! ! !
Pants: wool base layer, thick fleece warm pants, fleece soft shell pants
Shoes and socks: ordinary socks, wool socks, waterproof outdoor shoes, foot warmers
Accessories: Lei Feng hat, thick cotton gloves, fleece gloves if you are afraid of cold, mask, snow cover, 11-tooth crampons, trekking pole, headlamp, backpack, snow goggles or sunglasses, emergency blanket, power bank
❗Tips:
1️⃣ You can drink tea and eat in the teahouse. Tea is 10/person and refills are available. If your phone has no internet, bring some cash.
2️⃣ Snowmobile tickets can be booked in advance by the B&B owner.
3️⃣ The plastic fart pad for fart landing can be purchased at the entrance of the snow village on the top of the mountain.
The ticket to Yangcao Mountain is 40/person, and you need to buy a ticket to Xuexiang at the top of the mountain for 120/person.
4️⃣ Remember! If you charter a car and plan to go to Yabuli later, ask the driver to park the car at the Yabuli direction parking lot in Xuexiang! Otherwise it will take most of the day to go around.