When it comes to Harbin, friends who have never been there may think that it must be a kingdom of ice and snow, and there are many Russian elements dotted in the capital city of this border province. Yes, Harbin is known as the "Little Paris of the East" and "Moscow of the East", which was once full of European-style buildings, which looked particularly beautiful in the snow in winter. But the most important thing is not these, this was one of the most prosperous cities in Northeast Asia, with developed commerce and trade, rich economy, new China almost set the capital here, let's see how cattle it was.
The growth of Harbin
In fact, Harbin has its glorious page in history, the Jin Dynasty once built a capital in Harbin's Acheng District, named Shangjing, but in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it was only a very ordinary area, even inferior to a county.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, because Tsarist Russia wanted to attack the poor and weak China, plundered our resources, and built a railway in northeast China, called the Middle East Railway.
The T-shaped railway, centered on Harbin, stretches from Manchuria to the west, Suifenhe to the east, and Dalian to the south. As a result, Harbin gradually became the center of trade and trade in Northeast Asia because of this railway.
In 1903, due to the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, more than 160,000 expatriates from 33 countries gathered here, and 19 countries had consulates in Harbin, the most famous of which were the Jews who came to Harbin, who regarded it as their second hometown, and even if they left Harbin, they often missed this place.
By 1918, due to the Russian Civil War, some fleeing Russian soldiers and civilians came to Harbin. It is precisely because of the arrival of these people, whether they are doing business, fleeing refugees, or some politicians, their arrival has prospered Harbin's economy, and from the beginning of the 20th century, after two or three decades of development, Harbin has gradually become the economic center of Northeast Asia.
European and American style
Harbin, where many overseas Chinese gathered, built many European-style buildings in those years, taking the church, the Byzantine-style Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Baroque architectural style of St. Alexiev Church, as well as the Gothic Orthodox Church, St. Ivir Church, etc. According to incomplete statistics, the number of Harbin churches was at most 70, showing a strong international cultural heritage.
There is also Harbin's most famous central street, which is also full of hundreds of years of European-style old buildings, this 1400-meter long street, built in 1900, brings together Renaissance, Baroque and other styles of architecture, a total of 71 buildings. It is precisely because of the arrival of merchants from various countries that this street has brought unprecedented prosperity to trade, so that these people have built a large number of civil engineering here and built such a very Western-style street.
There are many similar European-style buildings in Harbin, and although the city is now a modern metropolis, these European-style buildings should also be carefully protected to leave a rich spiritual heritage for future generations.
New China proposed to build its capital here
In 1949, when new China was about to be established, the selection of the capital was a big problem, Harbin was the station of the Northeast Bureau at that time, and it was close to the Soviet Union, and Harbin's economy was in the first place in the three eastern provinces, so Harbin was listed as the first place in the capital alternative city. Unfortunately, after later research, everyone felt that Beijing was the ancient capital and the geographical location was better, so Harbin was not selected.