Having lived and taught in Harbin for over 2.5 years perhaps I can give you some insight into Harbin. First the people of Harbin are generally very friendly and I have had only a few incidents of a troublesome nature. I do however personally know of one teacher who was beaten pretty soundly. He had managed to get in three fights in 6 months. This was probably his monthly average in any spot. If your going to go out and get pickled this is likely to happen anywhere.

One thing that appeals to some is four distinct seasons. If you like winter sports you can ski, or skate. It is quite cold so bring your long johns. It is not too hot in the summer, many Chinese come here to escape the heat. An evening on Center street amid the Russian buildings having a few pitchers with your friends is enjoyable by the river and the shoppings pretty good too.

There are plenty of disco's to go to but you need to use your head. I have never had any trouble in any of them although that is not something I do regularly. Here as in many places in China a night out with friends is often dinner out with lots of Harbin beer, (China's best). You can always enjoy a night of singing if that is your thing, at a kararoke place. There are several bars near HIT that are more like bars in the west. Which are frequented by the coeds from Harbin Institute of Science and Technology. You will not find anything like in Beijing's embassy district.

In response to another post in this thread, sure you have the coal in winter which does make the air heavy with smoke, but have you ever been to Shenzhen or Dongguan? Not pretty either. The food? Meat! Lots of barbeques, hotpot, always good in my opinion and cheap. So perhaps there is something for you. Picking girls up is possible of course but who's picking up who? My advise, find a nice girlfriend she will know where to go.