Warm up to Russia in Harbin By Chen Fen, TODAY | Posted: 08 May 2008 1424 hrs
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Harbin is all ice and snow. It is a powerful image that speaks of just how successful the Chinese city has been in turning its bone-chilling winter from a minus point to a hot-sell for the tourist dollar. So much so that when you say you are visiting in the spring, the response is invariably — "Why? Isn't the Ice Festival over?"
That, perhaps, is exactly the reason for a trip to Harbin. When the snow and ice have melted away along with the festival crowds, you can at last see the city in some degree of warmth and comfort.
The gentle spring sunshine reveals a side of Harbin that does not often come to mind: A city that in the early 20th century was home to a thriving community of Russian emigres taking refuge from civil war in their homeland.
The Russians are no longer around but evidence of their sojourn abounds. Old European-style buildings lend a faintly occidental air to the cobbled pedestrian mall that is Zhong Yang Da Jie or Central Avenue. About halfway down the mall, just off the main street is a holdover from what some might consider a more gentle age.
The nearly hundred-year-old Russia Coffee and Food looks like a country cottage transplanted from a St Petersburg suburb. Step inside and you would think you are in the parlour of an Old Russian family, filled with quaint keepsakes. The kitchen of the cafe does its best to keep alive the illusion of Old Russia with a menu that reads like a babushka's home recipe collection.
If that is not enough of faux Russia, head to the nearby St Sofia Church, a masterpiece of Orthodox style complete with an onion dome. Church services are no longer held here. History is the new religion preached through old photographs and mementos from a halcyon past.
Photographs and relics of a less salubrious nature are on display at Unit 731, a 50 yuan ($10) taxi ride away in Pingfang, just outside the city. It was here that Japanese forces carried out biological and chemical warfare experiments on Chinese prisoners from the mid-1930s to the end of the Second World War. The unimaginable horror of those experiments that included vivisections of the victims is recounted in lurid detail through wax tableaux, written confessions and a videotape.
Many of the visitors were too young to have experienced those terrible times. But that did not stop one young man from spewing invectives against the Japanese after watching the documentary.
For many other young people in Harbin, Unit 731 is just a chapter in their history books made real through school excursions. The future is what energises them.
That future is in the technological development zone in Nangang District and the industrial landscape farther out of town. This burgeoning city in the industrial north-east is turning into a metropolis on the back of its enterprising youth. One of these young people is US-educated Jason Xue.
Urbane and well connected, Xue, 35, runs an information technology business with offices in Harbin, Beijing, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. He is one of the new breed of "road warriors" who divides his time between his native Harbin and the places where his business takes him. More than that, he is also a "returning entrepreneur".
"Harbin is where I have my roots. It has given me a lot and now I am trying to give back as much as I can," said Xue.
When the workday is over, Xue and other young people like to head to a little bar that would warm the heart of any cowboy. USABucks on Central Avenue is filled with American memorabilia amassed by the Harbin entrepreneur who owns it.
Despite its kitschy setup, USABucks has an endearing appeal that gives its patrons a sense of connection with the outside world. Evidence of the cross-cultural exchange that takes place is pinned on the wall for all to see. Among the euros, greenbacks and other legal tender is a note with the portrait of a Singaporean added to the mix one lovely evening in the spring. - TODAY/ra
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