Siberia is a FAR better comparison than China. Among many other reasons, most of the prairies are similarly arid, and temperatures are definitely similar. Similar range of climates too (Siberia's got people a lot more spread out though).
Harbin is north of Vladivostok you know? But yah, Yakutsk is where you can’t turn your car off in the winter (well, they have auto start and stop now to keep the engine from freezing, no power outlets like in Fairbanks for block heaters) and often have to encase the whole car in a warming sock (which is exactly how you imagine it). Yakutsk is east of Siberia in the Saka republic though, the closest comparable city in Siberia is Norilsk (not as cold or populous as Yakutsk).
Yakutsk sounds similar to where I live now. Mind ... a lot of the Canadian prairies are "empty" (not really, lots of farms... but not a lot of cities that aren't close to the US border). Similar weather at least.
seanmcdirmid|1 month ago
teunispeters|25 days ago