Today I rode the 29 bus. This route starts at the new bus depot by the train station (哈站). From there it follows the border of Daoli (道里区) and Daowai (道外区) North to the river. It then follows Youyi road (友谊路) along the river Southwest past Center Street (中央大街) and Stalin Park (斯大林公园) to Shanghai street (上海街), where it turns away from the river and makes a little detour through the Aijian (爱建) neighborhood before heading across the river to Sun Island (太阳岛).
After crossing Sun Island, it passes by the North campus of the Harbin University of Commerce (商业大学北校区) and goes as far North as the Harbin Conservatory of Music (哈尔滨音乐学院). It then travels a few more stops East through some modern villa neighborhoods to its final stop on Xuezi street (学子街) in front of a fairly new complex of high-rise apartments (哈尔滨恒大绿洲公寓).
This is one of if not the only double-decker bus in Harbin. Which makes it a fun ride even if you don’t really need to go anywhere. I sat on the second floor right up at the front, which gives an amazing view out the front window. The only problem is that it does trap heat pretty well, so in the summer it might not be the best spot to sit.
While I was riding, an old lady (大妈) complained to her husband about it being too hot, which is practically unheard of for old ladies in China. Being up on the second level does provide a very interesting perspective on traffic and driving in the city. At times it almost felt like I was flying.
I started my trip at the train station. It was cool to see all the buses lined up in the brand new depot lot there. Not many people got on at this stop, but it was also the middle of the day on a weekday, so I wouldn’t expect that many anyway. As we traveled through Daoli it was really cool to me to look out over the tops of all the other buses and traffic.
I forgot to bring anything to drink, and the heat on the second level quickly got me dry, but I decided to stick it out and just enjoy the sights without any refreshing beverage. There is some beautiful architecture in Daoli, and my seat above the rest of traffic gave me an unobstructed view. I also don’t go across the river very often, so every time I do I’m reminded how lovely it is.
Once you get across the river the ride becomes a bit more boring. The buildings in Jiangbei (江北) are for the most part just typical modern Chinese urban sprawl. The exceptions are the University buildings, which are quite grandiose and imposing. My favorite of these is the Conservatory of Music, which is a gorgeous building. It’s also always interesting to see the villa and row style housing that is almost non-existent south of the river.
At the end of the line I got off, grabbed a beer, and decided to do a bit of exploring on foot. I walked past the apartment complex and down an overgrown path on the side of the road. Except around the University campuses, many of the roads in Jiangbei have no sidewalks, and there is an odd juxtaposition of modern housing complexes and the wilderness in between them.
After walking for about 20 minutes or so, I came upon a Decathlon (迪卡侬). Of anything I’ve seen in China, this most reminded me of a typical American suburban shopping center store. It was very weird. After checking out the Decathlon, I began an uneventful journey back, stopping in Aijian for some pizza and then heading to Skybar for some more pizza.
