Welcome to... Saint Petersburg, Russia?  No, this is Harbin, China!  Winter visitors to this city can take a break from the three major ice and snow festivals to walk through Daoliqu, the Russian district that makes this Chinese city unique.  This is Saint Sophia, a Russian Orthodox church that today serves as a museum of Harbin’s past.  This photograph was taken at 5pm, a half hour after sunset; the nights are long in this northern city.

A look up at Saint Sophia’s rotunda.  I took daytime photographs of the church four years ago during my first visit to Harbin and of its interior during another visit two years ago, and I will let the pages where those photographs appear tell the history of Harbin’s Russian past.  For now, enjoy the view.

Nighttime in Saint Sophia.  One reason I enjoy coming here is to check out the tiny gift shop at the church entrance for new books about Harbin.  Sure enough, some interesting ones have been published since my last visit.  The best was a two-volume set written in both Chinese and English, published by the China Architecture and Building Press, with the somewhat Borat-sounding title “Glance Back The Old City’s Charm Of Harbin”.  A huge collection of maps and photographs from throughout the city’s 110-year history, it's an expensive set, but a visual treasure trove for anyone intersted in Harbin.

Old photographs of Harbin along the walls of Saint Sophia.  Another book I found this trip, written in Chinese only, contains every old photograph within Saint Sophia, whether on display on the walls or not; a previous book I bought had only a selection of the photographs.

Besides Saint Sophia, the main feature in the Russian district is Central Avenue (Zhongyang Dajie), still lined with many Russian-style buildings from Harbin’s past.  The street is now a pedestrians-only cobblestone path, much nicer than during my first visit when it was filled with traffic.  The rest of the photographs on this page were taken along this street.

On the north end of the street, right outside the Gloria Inn, where I always stay when I visit Harbin, is the Flood Control Monument.  Just beyond it in the darkness is Songhua Jiang, the city’s flood-controlled river.  During my last visit, the monument could not be seen clearly at night, because every single floodlight was misaligned.  It appears the issue has been resolved.

The memorial tower of the Flood Control Monument, correctly lit.  The haze was neither fog nor lingering pollution; it was smoke resulting from a huge string of firecrackers popping off near the monument shortly before I took these two photographs.

The south entrance to Central Avenue; Saint Sophia is just east of here.  With all the snow sculpture and ice sculpture competitions going on in Harbin, I decided to hold a competition of my own.  If you’ve seen my other China photographs, you’ve noticed an occasional series called “Great Signs of China” - one of which came from this very street.  Well, I decided to have a Great Sign of China competition right here, using signs appearing along this street.

The fourth place award goes to... Three Gun Knitwear.  What makes this sign a worthy competitor is that “knitwear” in this case means “underwear.”  That’s right - Three Gun Underwear.  For that very special guy in your life.  This is a well known brand in China, but that doesn’t prevent it from joining my collection of “Great Signs of China.”

Christmas decorations along the side of a Russian-style building.

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, a television encased in ice outdoors in sub-freezing temperatures appears in front of a fountain made of ice.  A much larger outdoor television screen - fountain not included - appears across the street just south of the Gloria Inn, and I’ve seen that one operating when temperatures were far, far below freezing, albeit with few people standing around to watch.

The third place award for my “Great Sign of China” competition goes to... Myriad Elephant City.  This is a big department store.  Really, really big.  If the translation is accurate, watch where you step - and don’t get trampled.

A Central Avenue street sign, with red lanterns in front of another department store in the background.  Originally built in 1899 and called China Avenue, this was one of the most prosperous streets in Harbin.  Though it became pedestrians-only in the past few years, its cobblestones were first laid in 1924.

USAbucks, a coffee bar.  Of course, the name’s striking similarity to Starbucks - even in Chinese - is sheer coincidence.  Of course.  Just ignore the round green signs on either end of the building.  Harbin and the rest of northeast China has no Starbucks, while in Beijing, Starbucks is everywhere.

Starbucks may not be ubiquitous in Harbin, but McDonald’s is; three can be found along Central Avenue.  Watch your head on the way out.

This unusual building constructed in 1922 housed something called the Wanguo Foreign Firm long ago; today, it’s home to the sales department of a provincial mechanical and electrical equipment company.

Likewise, this Baroque building from 1920 was once home to the Songpu Foreign Firm, and now houses the Educational Bookstore.  Walking along this street, it’s sometimes difficult to believe this is China.

Second place goes to... Crazyself-help.  No explanation needed as to why this karaoke bar’s name qualifies this as a “Great Sign of China.”  I didn’t dare go in.

European-style buildings along the west side of Central Avenue, an unusual sight in China (except of course for the Bund in Shanghai).  A century ago, this area served as Harbin’s city center.  Today, with Harbin a sprawl of nine million people, this remains centrally located along the river Songhua Jiang, but the city has grown southward away from the river.  New efforts are well underway to expand the city northward across the river, beyond Sun Island where the Snow Sculpture Art Fair and the Ice and Snow World festivals are held.

And the winner of my “Great Sign of China” contest... Ban Bi Baby Happy Castle.  The name is wonderful on its own, but what truly makes this a Great Sign of China is the window, which reveals this to be... a blood donation clinic.  Classic.

A vendor cart on the north end of Central Avenue near the Flood Control Monument, with the best outerwear you can buy for two dollars.

A variety of candied haws near the Flood Control Monument, and its friendly salespeople.  Harbin remains one of the most unusual cities in China and, with its festivals, the best one to see in winter.  If you’re thinking of visiting the festival too, be sure to check out my Harbin for visitors page, which has proven useful to a number of festival goers - including some that I met during this trip.