Located on the banks of the Songhua River, Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province as well as the biggest city in Northeast China. Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning ‘a place for drying fishing nets.
Harbin Geographic coordinates: 125°42′-130°10′ east, 44°04′-46°40′ N , the total area is 53775 km², 7086 km² urban with population of 9.54 million, of them 4.64 million in the urban area of the city . Major nationalities are : Han, Korean, Manchu, Hui, Mongol, Daur, Russian and Uyghur .
The four seasons are distinct in Harbin. The winter is long and cold. The summer is short and hot. The spring and autumn belongs to the transitional seasons. They only last for a short time. The temperature changes quickly in these two seasons. Although the summer is short, it’s relatively cool. Harbin is a good summer resort.
History
Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). It was formerly called Pinkiang.
Historically separate from China, Manchuria became the seat of power when the Manchus invaded and took control of China, eventually becoming the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Russians played a big part of Harbin’s recent history. Until 1896, Harbin was a fishing village on the banks of the Songhua River. However, the Qing Dynasty conceded a rail concession to the Russians who built a railroad from Vladivostok to Harbin and on to Dalian. Despite the Russians losing control of the railway to the Japanese after the Russo-Japanese War ended in 1905, Russian influence could be seen until the end of the World War II. White Russians, fleeing the revolution in 1917 flocked to Harbin helping to create the largest Russian population outside the country. In 1932, the Japanese occupied Harbin under their domination of Manchuria (called Manchukuo under the Japanese) until 1945 when the Soviets took it. In 1946, Chiang Kai Shek and Stalin agreed to turn it over to the Chinese.
8 districts:
Daoli District ,Nangang District ,Xiangfang District ,Daowai District , Pingfang District ,Songbei District ,Hulan District and Acheng District .
3 county-level cities:
Shangzhii ,Shuangcheng and Wuchang .
Fangzheng , Bin , Yilan ,Bayan County ,Tonghe , Mulan and Yanshu .
The Harbin Ice and Snow Festival has been celebrated annually since 1985.
Festival officially starts January 5 each year and lasts one month.
Historical monuments as well as other themes re-created in ice and snow, colored lighting at night so the sculptures can be enjoyed both day and evening.
Fantastic fireworks display on opening night.
Giant ice slide in the shape of the Great Wall for kids and adults.
September 10th, 2011 at 1:57 am
Your post is very interesting to me and offers rich cultural heritages, Harbin is favored with beautiful natural scenery. Based on meandering Songhua River and subject to severe low temperatures in winter, Harbin boasts a unique ice and snow culture. So, Harbin is also called the ‘Ice City’. Each winter fantastic sculptures created from snow and ice.