When you stroll along Zhongyang Dajie in Haerbin, you'll start to ask yourself: is this Russia or China? To make sense of it, you'll need to go back in time. Inside this Russian Orthodox Church (now a museum), you'll learn about the history of Haerbin. Because it’s so close to Russia, the city has always found itself intertwined with the Russians. In the late 19th century, the Russians came en masse to work on a railway that would connect China and Russia. Then the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War brought even more fleeing Russians to Haerbin. At one point, Haerbin actually held the largest population of Russians outside Russia. All these help to explain why you’ll see the odd building with onion domes. And why the Matryoshka dolls and soviet-styled wristwatches are available everywhere. Today, the Russians are still coming in droves. Except this time, they're here to empty their wallets to fill up their shopping bags. |