Whenever church bells toll, Russians residents used to stop working and pray while the Chinese checked the time of their watches. It was not until later when the local government constructed a square for the church that the bells stopped tolling. Now the St. Sophia Church is the representation of Harbin's exoticism.
Russian complex.

More than 100 years ago, thousands of Russians including engineers, soldiers and their families, merchants, farmers, craftsmen, revolutionaries, sportsmen, and exiled aristocrats passed through the Euro-Asian Continent from the riverside of the Volga and stopped their steps in Harbin on the Songhua River. Along with migrants from Poland and some Jews, the Russians fused their own culture and customs with the city life of Harbin. Even today, many Russian symbols such as architecture, education, arts, literature, food, clothes, and language make Harbin a city full of Russian sentiments.

In the memories of some of Harbin's old residents, they can always find similarities in the daily life between Harbin people and Moscow people described in Russian movies and literatures. The signboards of the shops along the streets, ladies with fur coats, stockings and boots, the city's dusk in the falling snowflakes, the tolling church bells, and the groups of pigeons all reflect Harbin's Russian complex.

In Harbin, people aged 40 or above have clear memories of the influences of the Russian culture. Many people can sing Russian folk songs such as "Three Carriages" and "the Night in Moscow" in both Chinese and Russian. People in Harbin favor listening to symphonies and many have been listening to the works of Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Mozart, and Chopin since childhood. Thus Harbin is called the most percipient city in art of the East.

Formerly you could also see influences of the Russian culture on the city's streets, which were named after some Russian celebrities, such as Horvath Street (now called Red Army Street) and Shevchenko Street (now called Hegu Street). These remind people of the strong historical connections between the Harbin and Russian cultures.

Harbin people also have very similar habits in food culture. They love eating bread and drinking beer. Harbin is the second largest beer-consuming city after Munich. In the annual Harbin International Beer Festival, tourists from many countries gather together to revel.

If you go to Harbin, be sure not to miss tasting the Harbin Red Sausage. Originally from Lithuania, the Harbin Red Sausage has a history for more than 100 years. It is best to eat the sausage when drinking beer.

In Harbin, there is a restaurant called Huamei that serves authentic Russian food. Established in 1925, Huamei is the best choice for people to taste Russian food.

The unique ice and snow resources, vast forests and lakes, featured Russian cultures, and straightforward folkways make up the whole picture of Harbin. Lying on the beautiful Songhua River, Harbin is waiting for people to taste and read it.

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