History
Early history
The statue of Emperor Taizu aizu of Jin on the square of Harbin Jin Dynasty Histy History Museum Human settlement in Harbin arbin area dates from at least 2200 BC during the lathe late Stone Age.Wanyan Aguda, the foun founder and first emperor of Jin dynasty from 11151115 to 1123, was born in the Jurchen Wanyanyan tribes who resided near the Ashi River in this rehis region.[15] In 1115 CE, Aguda established shed Jin's capital Shangjing (Upper Capital) Huininguining Fu in today's Acheng District of Harof Harbin.[16] After Aguda's death, the new emperoreror Wanyan Sheng ordered to build a newa new city on uniform plan. The planning and construonstruction emulated major Chinese cities cities, in particular Bianjing (Kaifeng), although the h the Jin capital was smaller than its Northernthern Song prototype.[17] Huining Fu served as the fi the first superior capital of the empire until the l the capital was moved to Yanjing (now Beijing) in 1) in 1153 by Wanyan Liang (the fourth urth emperor of Jin Dynasty).[18] Liang even went soent so far as to destroy all palaces in his form former capital in 1157.[18] Wanyan Liang's successcessor Wanyan Yong (Emperor Shizong) restored the city and established it as a secondary) restndary capital in 1173.[19] Ruins of the Shangjinangjing Huining Fu were discovered and excavated ated at about 2 km from present-day Acheng's ceg's central urban area.[16][20] The site of the old Jin caJin capital ruins is a national historic reserve, ane, and includes the Jin Dynasty History Museum. Th. The museum is
[20]open to public and renovated vated in the late 2005. Mounted statues of Aguda guda and his chief commander Wanyan Zonghannghan (also Nianhan) have been erected on the groe grounds of the museum.[21]Many of the artifaartifacts found there are on display in nearby HarbinHarbin. After the Mongol conquest of st of the Jin Empire, Huining Fu was abandoned. Bed. Building materials of Huining Fu's ruins ruin was later exploited by the Manchus in the 160e 1600s to build their new stronghold in AlchukaAlchuk. The region of Harbin remained largely rural rural until the 1800s, with only over ten villan villages and about 30,000 people in today's urban rban districts of the city by the end of the 19th cenh century.[22]
International city[edit]
A small village in 18 grew inrew into the modern city of Harbin.[23] Polish enginengineer Adam Szydłowski drew plans for theor the city following the construction of the Chinese nese Eastern Railway, which the Russian Eian Empire had financed.[9] The Russians selected Hcted Harbin as the base of their administration ovon over this railway and the Chinese Eastern RailwRailway Zone. 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 (Lüshun).
St. Nicolas Orthodox, a Russian Orthodox church in Harbin, circa 1940, demolished during the Cultural Revolution
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, andPolish Catholic Christians. Chinese capitalists also established businesses, especially in brewing, food and textiles. Harbin became the economic hub of northeastern China and an international metropolis.[22]
Rapid growth of the city challenged the public healthcare system. The worst-ever
recorded outbreak of pneumonic plague was spread to Harbin through Trans-Manchurian railway from the border trade port of Manzhouli.[24] The plague lasted from late autumn of 1910 to the spring of 1911 and killed 1,500 Harbin residents (mostly ethnic Chinese), or about five percent of its population at the time.[25] This turned out to be the beginning of the large pneumonic plague pandemic of Manchuria and Mongolia which ultimately
claimed 60,000 victims. In the winter of 1910, Dr. Wu Lien-teh (later the founder of Harbin Medical University) was given instructions from the Foreign Office, Peking, to travel to Harbin to investigate the plague. Dr. Wu asked for imperial sanction to cremate plague victims, as cremation of these infected victims turned out to be the turning point of the epidemic. The suppression of this plague pandemic changed medical progress in China. Bronze statues of Dr. Wu Lien-teh are built in Harbin Medical University to remember his contributions in promoting public health, preventive medicine and medical education.[26] After the plague epidemic Harbin's population continued to increased sharply, especially inside the Chinese Eastern Railway Zone. In 1913 the Chinese Eastern Railway census showed its ethnic composition as: Russians – 34313, Chinese (that is,
including Hans, Manchus etc.) – 23537, Jews – 5032, Poles – 2556, Japanese – 696, Germans – 5, 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.[27]Research shows that only 11.5 percent of all residents were born in
Harbin.[28] By 1917, Harbin's population exceeded 100,000, with over 40,000 of them were ethnic Russians.[29]
Harbin's Kitayskaya Street (Russian for \"Chinese Street\"), now Zhongyang Street (Chinese for \"Central Street\") before 1945
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.[29] The city had a Russian school system, as well as publishers of Russian
language newspapers and journals. Russian 'Harbintsy'[30] community numbered around 120,000 at its peak in the early 1920s.[31] In the early 1920s, according to Chinese scholars' recent studies, over 20,000 Jews lived in Harbin.[32] After 1919, Dr. Abraham Kaufman played a leading role in Harbin's large Russian Jewish
community.[33] The Republic of Chinadiscontinued 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. The Chinese warlordZhang Xueliang seized the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929. Soviet military force quickly put an end to the crisis and forced the Nationalist Chinese to accept restoration of joint Soviet-Chinese administration of the railway.[34]
