| Page Views: 7,355 Last Visit to Harbin: January, 2005 | Harbin, Northernmost Chinese Metropolis by calcaf38 - last update: Sep 23, 2007 |
Harbin, the capital of the Heilongjiang province and of what was once Manchuria, is not a conventional travel destination. A huge city the size of Berlin, Singapore or Houston, Harbin is an industrial center. Your first impression might be disastrous: polluted air, infernal construction...
And yet, for Westerners, the appeal of Harbin rests in its history. Harbin is a modern city, founded in 1898 with the construction of the Chinese Eastern Raiway, an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In the early Twentieth Century, Harbin was a true international city. Following the Revolution, White Russians took refuge in Harbin and built the historic district in a traditional 1880 Russian style. Harbin was next occupied by the Japanese as the capital of their Manchukuo state. At the crossroad between two holocausts, Harbin was a haven for Jews, and a place of untold suffering for the Chinese during the Japanese occupation (see Off the Beaten Path tips). After WWII, Harbin was briefly under Soviet control before growing to be the tenth largest Chinese city.
More recently, Harbin was in the news when the Songhua river was polluted by a benzene leak, and the city was deprived of water for days.
Although Harbin winters are brutal (North of North Korea, North of Vladivostok), tourists flock to Harbin for the annual Ice Lantern Festival or Snow and Ice Festival. I was fortunate to visit Harbin during the festival, and I saw many sights right out of fairy tales, or out of dreams. |
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| Pros: | "History, Winter Festivals" | | Cons: | "Poor city transit, polar temperatures" | | In A Nutshell: | "A fun place to freeze your giblets" |
calcaf38's Harbin Travel Tips
 calcaf38's Harbin Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for calcaf38 about Harbin | | | | |
Bwana_Brown Mon Apr 13, 2009 19:46 UTC
Thanks for this little glimpse of winter life in Harbin! The underground tunnels and stores reminded me of Montreal. I had heard of those human experiments but did not know they took place in Harbin. | Cool-123 Thu Mar 12, 2009 04:24 UTC
I am planning my trip to Trans-Siberia in July and your tips are very useful, thanks!! | Nemorino Fri Oct 17, 2008 22:21 UTC
Hi Oliver, I rated your Harbin tips last year. Tonight I thought of you when a German TV station ran a documentary about a trip to Harbin by train. It was about a lovely young blond woman named Svetlana who went there to teach Russian at the university. | Matty.Asia Mon Oct 13, 2008 06:50 UTC
Many Chinese also don't know which way to go, I have a good sense of direction so I tell my Chinese friends which way when they're confused. It's all fun though. |
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