Do you have a thermometer in your car? I was surprised that the buses in north east china all have this (displayed up front), as if trying to tell us how much colder it was getting :) My only experience of making that trip is in the summer.
What is weird thing about china, however, is that both Changchun and Harbin are huge cities with millions of people. How could so many people live where it is so cold...the entire huge songhua river is completely frozen over. Surreal.
For the first time in my life, yes. I just bought a new (to me) 2007 Jeep, which is why I was driving from BC to the Yukon - vehicles are much cheaper in the south.
> What is weird thing about china, however, is that both Changchun and Harbin are huge cities with millions of people. How could so many people live where it is so cold
I know what you mean, though when you live there, you live there. The Russian city of Murmansk [1] is in the Arctic Circle and has a population of 300k.
>the entire huge songhua river is completely frozen over. Surreal.
In Dawson City, Yukon they're driving across the Yukon River right now - it's part of the highway and the only access to town for the hundred or so people that live on the other side. The river doesn't freeze in Whitehorse because of the dam, though we can drive across any lake around here for the next 3-4 months no problem. Last year my 3 foot ice auger was not long enough to drill a hole for ice fishing :)
Every single new car has a thermometer built in and displays the current temperature outside on the dashboard. It's not that uncommon. I actually think it's a great safety feature for when you are driving to work in the morning and you are not sure if it's quite freezing yet or not - if your thermometer says it's less than 4C then I am more careful, but if it's above 4C then it should be fine to drive.
I've been out of the states for 10 years and haven't bought a car since '98. You don't normally see these on an intercity bus, but it was deemed important enough to have on the bus to harbin in winter, like a Chinese bullet train bragging about its current speed.
It was the most beautiful blue-sky sunny day and sunset. The full moon, Northern Lights and herd of Caribou helped too :)