The ARAQ Network includes three universities
in the City of Harbin - Heilongjiang
University, Harbin University of
Science & Technology and Harbin
Institute of Technology. Harbin is also home to H.Y.C.C.
Head Office.
Harbin is a town few people in the west have heard of. It
lacks the history of Beijing or the glamour of Shanghai, but
it can no longer be dismissed as an irrelevent provincial
city. The urban population of Harbin is officially around
three million, in reality considerably larger. In Europe,
only Moscow and London can claim larger populations than Harbin,
and they will likely be usurped in the near future as the
urbanization of China continues relentlessly. Harbin is literally
developing at an exponential rate - ten years ago the urban
population was just one million.
The capital of Heilongjiang Province, the northernmost province
in China, Harbin developed rapidly during the early-mid 20th
century thanks to the construction of the Trans-Siberian Express
Railroad. Located on the Songhuajiang River, Harbin became
a major trading outpost for domestic trade and international
trade with Russia. This Russian influence can be seen in many
of the buildings and churches around the town, and there are
more Russian speakers in Harbin than English speakers in the
city.
As the century progressed new industries developed in Harbin,
and it has become well known in China for production of linen
and medicines.
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Today Harbin's main business
is power. Heilongjiang possesses huge amounts of oil
and coal. Additional supplies are imported from Russia
to fuel the Chinese economic boom. Harbin possesses
particular expertise in the construction of power stations,
and this bodes well for the future expansion of the
city. |
As you can imagine, Harbin is fairly lively these days. Take
a quick tour through Harbin and you will soon understand why
prices of construction materials on the world market are rising.
Enormous construction sites are operated 24 hours a day. The
city is mushrooming. Despite this, noise pollution and air
quality in Harbin remain at reasonable levels, possibly because
of its remote location in northern China. It is not yet a
truly international city, despite a sizeable Russian and Korean
presence. However it is a major centre for Chinese language
study as Harbiners speak a particularly clear, standard version
of Putonghua Mandarin. There are around 1,300 foreign students
studying at the three universities included in the ARAQ Network,
and numerous other schools dotted around the city as well.
You may not have heard of Harbin before, but in ten years
time the it is likely to become a major global force. Now
would be a good time to make yourself acquainted with this
vibrant city.
Have a specific question about a city or university?
E-mail us at enquiries@hyccchina.com.
We will reply within two working days. |
