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Harbin Ancient Times
Early history
Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). In 1115 CE, Jin Dynasty established their capital, Shangjing (上京 or Upper Capital) Huining Fu (会宁府), in today's Acheng District of Harbin. However, the region of Harbin was still largely rural until the 1800s. There were only over ten villages and about 30,000 people in Harbin region by the end of the 19th century.
Harbin local's 2200BC
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History
International City
A small village in 1898 grew into the modern city of Harbin. Polish engineer Adam Szydłowski drew plans for the city following the construction of the Trans-Manchurian Railway, or Chinese Eastern Railway, which the Russian Empire had financed. Russians know the rail as "Китайско-Восточная железная дорога", or КВЖД (Kitaysko-Vostochnaya zheleznaya doroga, KVZhD), and selected Harbin as the base of their administration over the CER and the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone.
Russians in Harbin, 1934
Blagoveshchensky Temple in Harbin, aRussian Orthodox church in Harbin, circa 1940, destroyed during the Cultural Revolution
Kitayskaya Street (Russian for "Chinese Street") (中國大街) in Harbin before 1945
The Chinese Eastern Railway extended the Trans-Siberian Railway: substantially reducing the distance from Chita to Vladivostok and also linking the new port city of Dalny (Dalian) and the Russian Naval Base Port Arthur. However, this expansion proved controversial, and one of the causes of the Boxer Rebellion; the rebels martyred thousands of ethnic Chinese Christians, including orthodox priest Metrophanes, Chi Sung and his family, before Western expeditionary forces helped crush the insurrection. During the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), Russia used Harbin as its base for military operations in Northeastern China.
Following Russia's defeat, its influence declined. Several thousand nationals from 33 countries, including the United States, Germany, and France moved to Harbin. Sixteen countries established consulates to serve their nationals, who established several hundred industrial, commercial and banking companies. Churches were rebuilt for Russian Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Lutheran/German Protestant, and Polish CatholicChristians. Chinese capitalists also established businesses, especially in brewing, food and textiles. Harbin became the economic hub of northeastern China and an international metropolis. In 1913 the Chinese Eastern Railway census showed its ethnic composition as: Russians – 34313, Chinese (that is, includingHans, Manchus etc.) – 23537, Jews – 5032, Poles – 2556, Japanese – 696, Germans – 564, Tatars – 234, Latvians – 218, Georgians – 183, Estonians – 172,Lithuanians – 142, Armenians – 124; there were also Karaims, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, and some Western Europeans. In total, 68549 citizens of 53 nationalities, speaking 45 languages.[ Research shows that only 11.5% of all residents were born in Harbin.
Blagoveshchensky Temple in Harbin, a Russian Orthodox church in Harbin, circa 1940, destroyed during the Cultural Revolution
After Russia's Great October Socialist Revolution in December 1918, more than 100,000 defeated Russian White Guards and refugees retreated to Harbin, which became a major center of White Russian émigrés and the largest Russian enclave outside the Soviet Union. The city had a Russian school system, as well as publishers of Russian language newspapers and journals. After 1919, Dr. Abraham Kaufman played a leading role in Harbin's large Russian Jewish community. The Republic of China discontinued diplomatic relations with Imperial Russia in 1920, so many Russians found themselves stateless. When the Chinese Eastern Railway and government in Beijing announced in 1924 that they agreed the railroad would only employ Russian or Chinese nationals, the emigrees were forced to announce their ethnic and political allegiance. Most accepted Soviet citizenship.