Harbin Railway Station in the 1920s was the Middle East Railway Hub at that time. It was founded in 1898 and was renamed when the Central East Railway was opened to traffic in 1903. It is a representative of the Art Nouveau style in the historical buildings of the Central East Railway. The station building was designed by Russian construction engineer Kitvic. The main body of the station building is one floor, part two floors and a basement. The front of the building is divided into three entrances, one main and two main entrances, and the whole is an asymmetric structure.
In 1960 and 1989, Harbin Railway Station underwent two expansions and renovations. The latest renovation started in November 2015. In December 2018, the Harbin-Mujik High-speed Railway was opened, and the renovated Harbin Railway Station was put into use.
1920s Harbin Railway Station.
0 Since the end of the 19th century to World War II, many Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia have moved to cities such as Harbin, my country. At most, there were 25,000 Jews in Harbin, becoming the largest overseas Chinese center for Jews in East Asia. The picture shows the Central Street (intersection with West Eleventh Street), Harbin Jewish National Bank in the 1920s. Built in 1923, it has a Renaissance architectural style. Today the building was changed to a shopping mall.
1923, Harbin Jewish National Bank.
In 1903, Jews in Harbin founded the Jewish Association, which was later reorganized into the Harbin Jewish Religious Association and built two synagogues in Harbin. The Synagogue was built in 1909, and the New Synagogue was built on Jingwei Street in 1921, as an important place for Jews to hold religious ceremonies. Artillery Street is the largest settlement area.
The picture below shows the Harbin Jewish General Hall on Cannon Street (Tongjiang Street, Daoli District) in the 1920s, with a construction area of more than 2,000 square meters. After 1949, it was used as a guesthouse, hostel, etc. In 2013, it was transformed into an orchestral chamber concert hall.
1920s, Harbin Jewish General Assembly Hall.
The picture below is the Synagogue on Jingwei Street, Harbin in the 1920s. It was completed in 1921 and is now the Harbin Jewish History and Culture Exhibition Hall.
1920s, Harbin Jewish New Guild Hall.
1930s, Harbin China Street, today Central Street. It was founded in 1898 and was originally named "China Street", which means a street where Chinese people live. It has been renamed "Central Street" in 1928 and has been passed down to this day. In 1997, it was transformed into a Central Street Pedestrian Street, becoming the first commercial pedestrian street in mainland China.
1930s, street view of Harbin Central Street.
1920s, the Jewish Middle School on Harbin Artillery Street (now Tongjiang Street) was completed in 1918. The second floor pointed voucher windows, the window lattice is inlaid with David's shield hexagonal stars, and the circular arched porch, tower columns, domes, etc. all have Jewish architectural style. After 1949, it became the site of Harbin No. 41 Middle School and Harbin No. 2 Korean Middle School. Today is Harbin Grazunov Music and Art School.
1920s, Harbin Jewish Middle School.
Reference:
1. Cultural Tour Visit the two synagogues in Harbin, Sina Tourism, December 18, 2013 06:51, http://travel.sina.com.cn/china/2013-12-18/0651238073.shtml
2. Wikipedia, "Central Street" entry. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%A4%AE%E5%A4%A7%E8%A1%97
3. Gao Hong, Looking for the Secret - The Story Behind the Old Building in Harbin (002) Jewish Middle School, Talk about Harbin, https://www.imharbin.com/post/21135
Picture source:
"History of the Jewish Expatriate in Harbin", written by Liu Shuang, 2007.12.
