Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang, China’s most northernmost province. One of the largest cities in China, the present-day Harbin used to be a small village on the Songhua River called Pinkiang. It started to develop in the early 20th century when the China Eastern Railway was constructed and linked to the Russian Siberian railway. This led to a large influx of Russians. The beautiful Sophia Church, built by the Russians during this period, is still Harbin’s most well known landmark.
Harbin was controlled by the Japanese from 1932 until the end of the second world war. Today there are few signs remaining from this unhappy period around the city, although the expansion of the rail network throughout the northeast region of China certainly helped Harbin to develop further as a key transportation hub.
Apart from the transport of various key minerals and goods from Russia and other parts of Heilongjiang Province,Harbin is also home to some large and important industries in China. These include pharmaceuticals, aerospace and power. Harbin Institute of Technology is considered one of the best research facilities in China for these three sectors.
It is also home to the Snow and Ice Festival every winter, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city from January until March. A few hours from Harbin is the Yabuli Ski Area - the largest in China. In the summer, which is hot despite the northerly location of the city, there are various national parks to explore in the surrounding areas.
For students of Chinese language Harbin is an ideal place to study. The locals speak a very good standard version of “Putonghua” and they are very friendly. There are several universities in the city with sizeable foreign student populations, mostly from Russia, Korea and Japan. Click on these links to see introductions to Harbin University of Technology, Heilongjiang University and Harbin University of Science and Technology.
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