Harbin, China

... More

Manchurians first settled here 900 years ago and founded a small village called Arjin. Several centuries later the name was changed to Harbin. From the late 19th C onwards the village gradually grew into a town, aided by the building by the Russians of the first rail link, part of the Trans-Siberian Railway. As well as other foreigners, many Russians settled here in the early years of this century, especially in the wake of the October Revolution of 1917, and this is witnessed by the large number of Russian churches and houses to be seen in the town.

After 1946, following the amnesty granted by Stalin, many of these refugees returned to their homeland. Today Harbin is one of the major industrial centers of northern China. In 1998, the town suffered from the devastating flooding of the river Soghuajiang.