Harbin History, China

Harbin is one of the important cities for the People’s Republic of China considering the fact that it is 10th largest in terms of population and also the capital city for Province of Heilongjiang. Like most of the other cities in China, the city of Harbin is also a sub - provincial city which means that it comes under the government of the province but above the government of a county.

The history of Harbin started during the last few years of Stone Age. Archaeologists guess that the foundation for the city of Harbin was laid somewhere in the year of 2200 B.C. During those days the city of Harbin was known by the name of Pinkiang. The Stone Age died down and industrialization crept in and various settlements in and around Harbin continued to flourish. These settlements were the major reason which helped the city of Harbin to become what we see it to today.

Until the year 1898 the city of Harbin was just another small village. It was after this year that Harbin saw extreme development with many modern technology projects being implemented in the city. This development happened during the control of Russia over this city. The foundation for the Eastern Railway of China was laid during this year which was built with the major reason of connecting the Naval Base of Russia to the neighboring port city of Dalian.

Russia lost to Japan in the year 1905 and this was the time when almost every developed country flocked towards the city of Harbin. Huge numbers of industries were started in Harbin and banks from every country were opening their branches in the city of Harbin due to the unexpected foreign investment which was coming into the city.

Russia didn’t sit back and by the year 1918 it was again enjoying the control of Harbin. This city was the largest settlement of Russia outside the city of Russia and same is the reason why one will find the touches of Russian culture in the city of Harbin.

The control of Harbin once again moved in the hands of Japan in 1932. By 1945 again the city of Harbin was under the control of Soviet Army and later under the hands of China by 1946. By 1999 11 counties around Harbin were joined to give the city of Harbin the tag of a sub - provincial city.

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