Floral St. Sophia Square in Harbin is swarming with pigeons and tourists.
St. Sophia's Church in the center of the square, towering into the clouds, with its dark green, onion-head shaped top, mysterious and deep windows, ochre brick walls and heavy doors, triggered all sorts of associations with this church and this city. I wanted to know about the historical scenes that had passed away, which required interviews with those who had come through. As I wandered around the square, I heard tourists from Europe and the United States praise the Chinese government for protecting this special historical site so well. I can't help but feel a little bit more proud of myself - let the world see that China is making strides towards civilization and the rule of law!
One Sunday morning, I met with some of the old men. Their memories painted a vivid picture for me.
"White Russians" fled to the Northeast
In 1917, a blast from the Avror warship destroyed the Russian government and sent the former princes and nobles fleeing.
The ninety-year-old Mr. Wang Jun told me: when he was 12 years old, he and his father ran to Vladivostok (Vladivostok) to sell leather goods, and encountered the Russians "running back". They used gold bars and jewelry to hire Chinese workers to push carts and carry boxes. Every day, there were dozens or hundreds of people running to China from the main road and small roads day and night. Capitalist Nikolaev shut down his factory, packed up his gold and pearls, hired a nondescript carriage with two gold bars, and fled with his family in the night. The owner of the manor Andrei and his family mounted on their own steeds, scattered to escape. The ranks of the fugitives, there are a considerable part of the clergy, some although from a prestigious family, but because of the fall of the family, has been reduced to civilians, beggars and even prostitutes, thieves are also wrapped into the ranks of the exiles. Exiles or day and night, or day and night, with never shown physical strength and courage through the Siberian wild beasts of the forest, wading through the deserted wilderness, swamps, towards the heart of the place to be able to survive to escape.
Northeastern China was the preferred place of escape for most Russian exiles. Bordering the Russian Far East, the Russians entered the region in 1896 when the Tsarist government built the Middle East Railroad in the Northeast, and on July 6, 1898, the Russians began construction of a branch line of the Middle East Railroad, enlisting 100,000 Chinese roadbuilders to extend the line across the Far East, connecting Russia and China, from Harbin south to the Russian-chartered naval base of Lushunkou, in Dalian. --Lushunkou, Dalian. The development of the Middle East Railroad brought thousands of Russian engineers, merchants, and policemen into Northeast China. After Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, its sphere of influence retreated to the Harbin area of Heilongjiang. This historical reason made the Russians have a relatively deep understanding of Northeast China, especially Harbin. Therefore, the Russian exiles made Harbin their first choice of landing place. The Chinese called the Russian exiles "White Russians". Many of them fled in a hurry, empty-handed, and became destitute refugees. While others with gold, jewelry, precious goods, after landing, continue to do business and buy property, still living a rich man's life. White Russians fled the first two years of the Great Escape, the Russian residents of Harbin has reached 3-6 million people, after 1920, Harbin's streets and alleys can be seen everywhere in the Russians fled. According to the statistics of 1922, there were 120,000 gray-haired, blue-eyed, big-nosed Russians among Harbin's 480,000 people, accounting for a quarter of the city's population.
The Northeast warlord Zhang Zuolin failed to stop and repatriate the "White Russians".
Constructing a battered capital
In the first years of the 20th century, Harbin was a busy construction site. It was full of bricks and sandstone, and densely packed with scaffolding. Buildings rose up, the streets stretched out and continued, and the outskirts of the city's sails and smoke, the countryside market and thatched cottages in stark contrast to the countryside. Harbin, born with the 20th century, gave the Russians the space to live and create. They began to build. St. Sophia's Church, located in Daoli District, Harbin City, Durang Street, was built in March 1907, was involved in the construction of the Middle East Railway, the Fourth Siberian Siberian Infantry Division of the Tsarist Russia to build the accompanying churches. In the same year, an all-wooden church was rebuilt on the basis of the military church, financed by Sjakov, a Russian tea merchant. Four years later, a layer of brick walls was added to the exterior of the wooden walls, creating a brick and wood church. By 1923, St. Sophia's was rebuilt for the second time, which took nine years and was completed in November 1932. After the reconstruction of St. Sophia Church with solemn and solemn, grand and magnificent, elegant and elegant Byzantine style in front of people. The church is 53.35 meters high, with a floor area of 721 square meters, can accommodate 2,000 people, is the largest Orthodox church in the Far East of Asia.
The Russians have built more than ten churches with different names and sizes in several urban areas of Harbin, some of these churches flaunt the Byzantine architectural style, and some show the architectural characteristics of the Renaissance. At that time, every Sunday morning, sunset, the church suddenly rang the bells of prayer, so that the ancient Eastern countries of the famous city of Harbin in the north of Serbia is covered with a heavy European religious atmosphere. This is in the old China that believes in Buddhism and Taoism, is really a unique landscape.
Central Street in Daoli District is a European city style street. The 1,400-meter-long, 30-meter-wide, granite-paved street was one of the busiest in Harbin in the 1930s. The Mardiell Hotel, built here by a wealthy Russian Jewish merchant, is now recognized as a historical relic by the People's Government of Heilongjiang Province, as is the Central Avenue. Edgar Snow and Soong Ching Ling stayed here ......
Little Paris in the East
Harbin in the 1920s was a city full of tantalizing dreams with its confusing neon lights. Over 90 years engaged in a lifetime of cultural career of the scholar Mr. Zhang described the scene: that year, on both sides of the Central Avenue, commercial buildings, restaurants, neon windows flashing all night. The Russian advertisements dazzled and dazzled people. It showed that capitalist commerce, which had been banned in the old country, continued to survive here.
In the Alcazar, where Greek columns support booths and diners watch the singing and dancing on a revolving stage from the fountain, and in the Fantasia, where gypsy melodies play the songs of singers who live off the proceeds of the sale of their families' fortunes and don't know where they belong. In the "Fantasia" restaurant, gypsy tunes play on the sadness of singers who sell their money and don't know where to go, and in the nightclubs, where love songs are sung, Russian prostitutes are busy with their clients.
During the day, trams clanked through the streets, buses advertised "Old Bucks" cigarettes, and four-wheeled carriages with hooves "ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding, and Russian noblewomen came and went. On the streets in winter, horse-drawn sleighs were used by carriage drivers to solicit business; Russian children played "Rabda" (Russian baseball) in the open space, or crowded around the stalls of Chinese vendors, staring at hawthorn cakes and sugar gourds for a long time. Also strolling down Central Street are young Russian women pushing strollers, Bible-clutching priests with big beards, merchants looking for business and bored drunks.
The White Russians were enamored of the French mood. It did its best to idolize Paris and create a European cultural atmosphere. in 1922, the Russians in Harbin, imitating France, held their first beauty contest. And modeling shows were frequently held in the halls of the Mardi Gras Hotel. At that time, Russian entertainers often sold their art on Central Avenue in the snowy goose feather snow that fell from the sky. This form of performing, which involved spreading the art and receiving a small handout, can still be seen in Russia today. The most influential aspect was the culture of dress. Chinese merchants took off their robes, threw away their hats, put on suits, ties, shiny shoes and purses, and went into business with Russian merchants. In the winter, they did not forget to put on Russian tweed coats and lead their wives, who were wrapped in Russian silver fox scarves, to attend "parties" organized by the high society. Young and middle-aged women, on the other hand, were more likely to look favorably on and boldly embrace the "bragi" (Russian for skirt). This was quite a pioneering and avant-garde thing to do in China in the 1920s and 1930s.
"I love Russia, and I love China even more"
In an interview, Wu, a lifelong civil servant, told me that at the beginning of the 20th century, Harbin tended to be a cosmopolitan city. In addition to a large number of Russians, there were some Poles, Czechs and a few Russian Jews. They were able to get a foothold in Harbin and the cities of Northeast China, and thus escaped the horrific, genocidal slaughter of the Jewish people by German fascists during World War II.
In the decades of *** with each other, the Russian expatriates deepened their understanding of the Chinese people, and felt that the Chinese people are rich in sympathy and unique good nature. Many Russians began to accept Chinese culture in the process of ****ing with the Chinese. They mastered the difficult Chinese language, learned to cook Chinese meals and celebrate Chinese holidays. During the Chinese New Year, they visited and feasted their Chinese friends. Intermarriage between Russians and Chinese is not uncommon, and in the 1960s, for historical reasons, some Russians with Soviet passports returned to their homeland, while a considerable number of Russians moved to third countries.
In the course of the interview, an Australian-Russian Harbin Nikolai Shaik returned from Australia to the Mudanjiang area of Harbin to find his roots and friends. Shaik's grandfather came to China with a large number of Russians in a horse-drawn wagon during the construction of the Middle East Railway by the Tsarist Russian government in the late 19th century, and made his home in Harbin. Shayk's grandfather first worked as a beekeeper and honey collector in the far suburbs of Harbin, and his life became increasingly prosperous. Shayk, who was born in Harbin in 1939, remembers the idyllic life in those days in fluent Chinese: "The Russians and the Chinese people were friendly and trusted each other. Russians were not good at growing vegetables. If you didn't have money to buy potatoes, onions or tomatoes, you could take home the vegetables and fruits you needed just by saying "charge". And if a Chinese person wants to buy bread on credit from a Russian bakery, he can do it just by saying the word. "When Shayk's grandfather harvested honey, he always gave some good honey to his Chinese neighbors. The Chinese farmers, on the other hand, used to bring them vegetables and fruits harvested at different times of the year. This kind of friendly coexistence in the same environment makes it possible for the expression of feelings, customs, habits and aesthetic tastes of each ethnic group to be intermingled and selectively accepted and absorbed by the other.
Shaykh said: "In the past 15 years, I have returned to Harbin more than 20 times. In addition to having too deep feelings for this place, there is another reason to be fascinated by the Russian cultural relics in Harbin." Seeing the restored St. Sophia's Church glowing with color, he said excitedly, "It is important to let people all over the world know that China has made a very great contribution to the protection of the world's cultural heritage."
Early this spring, Harbin-born Russian Sasha came all the way from St. Petersburg to visit his aunt Ivanova, who has been separated for more than 30 years. Ivanova, who is now 86 years old, was exiled from Harbin with her parents at a young age. After graduating from Harbin Medical University, she worked in a medical store and retired in 1978. Some years ago, her husband died, children are settled abroad, but she insisted on staying in Harbin, she said: "I am more suitable for living here." For more than 20 years, the manager and director of the store have been personally delivering her pension to her door every month. On New Year's holidays, store colleagues and old retired sisters come to visit her as if on horseback.
Sasha listened to her aunt and excitedly told her Chinese friends, "It's just as we expected because I know Chinese people are good, Harbin people are good, and I'm also from Harbin. China, my mom. Russia, my mom. I love Russia and I love China more!" There are countless similar stories in the memories of the old generation of Harbin people and the Russians in the past.
November 11, 1997, Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited Harbin, accompanied by Tian Fengshan, governor of Heilongjiang Province, paid a visit to the monument to the liberation of the Northeast by Soviet troops, visited the Central Street. In the Songhua River flood memorial tower square, Tian Fengshan pointed to the memorial tower on the group sculpture told Yeltsin said: "1959 millions of officers to fight against floods, save the northern city of Harbin. At that time, there were still more than 100,000 Russians living abroad in Harbin, who also participated in the flood fight. There are statues of Russians on the group sculpture of this memorial tower." President Boris Yeltsin listened to the introduction, excitedly said, "Let us *** together to honor our compatriots!" Said, with Governor Tian Fengshan together to the towering in the Songhua River Harbin military and civilian flood memorial tower y to the three bows.
Bells and doves
After finishing my interview with the Russian exiles who entered Harbin, I returned to St. Sophia's Church Square on a festive afternoon. The square staff told me that a huge "Harbin Architecture and Art Square" was being expanded. What an apt name! It broadly encompasses the church, Central Avenue, and the historical development, architectural sites, and humanistic landscapes that reflect Harbin's history in the early 1900's and beyond, and truly showcases them to the people. Our government has made these historical monuments as the national cultural relics, because these relics have experienced the complex and changing history of the 20th century, reflecting the unique psychological qualities, ideology, religious beliefs and living customs of the Russian nation formed over a long period of time. Our government's timely and strict protection of them in accordance with the law not only fulfills the historian's dream of truth-seeking and pragmatic, but also eloquently tells the world that the great China has made great strides towards the rule of law and civilization.
The sun is setting. At the invitation of a friend, I took the elevator to the top of a building adjacent to St. Sophia Square and looked out over the city. The Gothic and Byzantine-style pavilions that line the building are reminiscent of the beginning of the 20th century, when Western culture began to arrive in large numbers. New ideas and old traditions in the city collide fiercely, impact, and that year Harbin is exactly the acceptance of Western culture imported into China via Russia station. This is the historical significance of the famous northern city of Harbin and its important position in the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures.
The bells of St. Sophia's Church are ringing. The melodious, melodious sound of the bells flew out of the castle and dispersed across the vast expanse of heaven and earth. I saw a flock of pigeons swept across the sky echoing the sound of the bells, releasing people's moods ......