7 days · Moderate · Late December–February

Harbin's festival cold, then Beijing's clearer winter. For people who own real coats and do not mind early sunsets.

1. Harbin
2. High-speed rail · 5–6.5 hBeijing

1. Day 1

   Arrive and buy the missing layer

   Harbin · 哈尔滨

   Get to Central Avenue before dark if you can. Dumplings. Check that your boots are actually waterproof.

2. Day 2

   Ice, at night

   Harbin · 哈尔滨

   St. Sophia by day. Ice and Snow World after dark. A taxi back. Hot soup, not a long walk, afterward.

3. Day 3

   River, then the train south

   Harbin · 哈尔滨

   A short Songhua walk and the station. Beijing is five to six hours. You are trading one cold for a drier one.

4. Day 4

   Beijing in winter light

   Beijing · 北京

   Hutongs and a roasted-meat or dumpling lunch. The palace can wait until tomorrow when you are rested.

5. Day 5

   Palace

   Beijing · 北京

   Forbidden City on a booked ticket. The courtyards are better without summer haze. Duck at dinner.

6. Day 6

   Wall, if the wind allows

   Beijing · 北京

   Mutianyu is stark and beautiful in winter and brutally windy. Have a bailout museum day if the forecast is a gale.

7. Day 7

   Leave

   Beijing · 北京

   Capital or Daxing, with the usual long transfer. Winter timetables slip. Do not book the last possible connection.