Harbin哈尔滨

Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, grew up around the Chinese Eastern Railway built in 1898, and within decades had drawn Russian, Jewish and other expatriate communities — Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist traditions sitting alongside Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish architecture in the same city, making it one of the least 'traditionally Chinese' cities in the country. Most people first meet Harbin through the winter spectacle of Ice and Snow World. Central Street's European buildings, Saint Sophia Cathedral's green dome, and everyday life along the Songhua River are here all year round, just wearing a different face.

Culture

A Eurasian map of architecture and faith

• 71 European-style buildings line Central Street, 13 officially protected
• Saint Sophia Cathedral: a Byzantine green dome, now an architectural art museum
• Orthodox, Catholic, Jewish and Confucian/Buddhist/Taoist buildings coexist in one city
• Both the Jin and Qing dynasties trace their origins here

Food & Flavor

Century-old Russian-inflected flavours

• Modern Hotel ice cream: a Central Street institution since 1906, queued for in every season
• Red sausage, dark rye bread, kvass: Russian flavours that arrived with the railway and localised over a century
• Guobaorou (sweet-and-sour pork): said to be named after a Russian mispronunciation of a Daotai-mansion chef's dish
• Old Daowai heritage names: Zhang Bao Pu's rib buns, Lao Ding Feng pastries

Everyday Life

Brutally cold in winter, a different city the rest of the year

• Winter temperatures can hit -20 to -30°C, and it's dark by mid-afternoon — gear up properly
• Old Daowai keeps its street-level bustle alive, with the Northeast's characteristically warm, blunt hospitality
• Summer means riverside evenings by the Songhua and a beer festival in July — a completely different Harbin
• Ice and Snow World only runs for about two winter months and isn't there the rest of the year