Photo Friday #29
Harbin, China. 14 February 2010 Daytime Temp: -12°C (Warm!)
China’s Dongbei, or northeast, has a long history of Russian “influence.” (Whether the locals wanted it or not.) This influence began with the construction of the China Eastern Railway, an extension of the famed Trans-Siberian Railway and can still be seen today in the city’s architecture, language bits and, my personal favorite, delicious Harbin sausage (among other foods.) The Russians and Japanese traded control over Harbin several times during the early 1900s. In 1907, after the Russo-Japanese War, Saint Sophia Cathedral was built as “part of a plan to reconsolidate the confidence of the army by building an imposing spiritual symbol.” Orthodox Wiki
Saint Sophia Cathedral
European Style Square
Just inside the front doors of the cathedral is a sight all too familiar to those who visit sacred places in China – a gift shop. The church interior has been rechristened as museum, but what is on display is much more akin to a photographic history of the city of Harbin. Very informative in its own right, but also very distracting.
Photographic History of Harbin
Just look up! Though damaged and fading, the vaults and arches are covered in lovely detail. Could use a bit more TLC, however.
Cathedral Interior
Window Detail
Spires of Saint Sophia
It is fortunate that the cathedral still stands today.
Although the cathedral’s sturdy structure withstood its intended destruction during the Cultural Revolution, its empty hull became a warehouse for a nearby state-run department store, its windows were bricked up and saplings grew from the roof. Prefabricated concrete high-rises boxed the church in on all four sides, coming within yards of its walls, making the cathedral inaccessible and invisible from the street. For decades it remained the invisible center of the city, surrounded by decorative material stalls, an auto body shop, a pen factory, and apartments for city government employees, until the Beijing government designated the cathedral a national cultural heritage site in 1996 as part of a nationwide campaign to protect historical sites.
From Yukiko Koga. “The Atmosphere of a Foreign Country”: Harbin’s Architectural Inheritance. In: Anne M. Cronin, Kevin Hetherington. Consuming the Entrepreneurial City: Image, Memory, Spectacle. Routledge, 2008. p.229.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
border areas are filled with clash and connection through time, I think. thanks for the perspective on this cathedral.
.-= Kerry Dexter´s last blog ..National Music Day Ireland =-.
Funny, our oldest son was asking this morning about taking a train to China. He seemed pretty intent on it, I’ll have to show him your pics.
What a beautiful cathedral — I almost thought it really was Russia, not China. I still haven’t been up to Harbin, but your photos make me increasingly intrigued with the sites in Da Dongbei!
.-= Jocelyn´s last blog ..Chapter 57: Customers Are Our Lovers =-.
Harbin is a very nice city. I really wanted to like it. Unfortunately, visiting over Spring Festival was not a good idea, as all of the restaurants we really wanted to try were closed and the atmosphere was a little dead. We also ran into a lot of grief with taxi drivers. All in all it was a bit of a disaster!
But then I look at the photos… I do want to give it another chance!
I am very surprised that a place like that would survive the cultural revolution, not to mention that architecture that reminds me of Russian would be in China. But then again, since the countries are right next to each other places like this are bound to be there. Really cool.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..5 World Heritage Sites You Have to Visit =-.