A Historical Tour of Harbin – Songhua River (Part 1)

For a long time, Harbin's uniquely styled buildings have formed a beautiful landscape, attracting many photography enthusiasts and tourists who come specifically for them. However, recently I came across a historical book about Harbin's Daoli District. Unlike previous architectural histories, this book introduces some particularly interesting things about Daoli District from a historical development perspective, such as the origin of street names. It allowed me to appreciate Harbin's special charm from another angle.

The best way to travel and understand a city is to learn about its history. A superficial sightseeing tour is like eating fast food – you cannot recall its flavor years later. Next, I will share interesting little stories from the book, so that everyone can better know the stories of Harbin, savor them slowly, and recall them gradually. When a few friends gather, you can eloquently tell them the ins and outs of these stories.

The author has a great metaphor: comparing the Songhua River to Harbin's mother river, then Daoli can be seen as the Songhua River's dressed-up daughter, Daowai as the made-up daughter, while Nangang and Xiangfang, being farther from the Songhua River, are like sons who go out to make their way in the world. On second thought, it's quite interesting.

In ancient times, the celestial river ancient water Song'ali Wula (the Manchu name for the Songhua River, meaning 'heavenly river') was still wild and untamed, flowing through Harbin. Because the terrain in the south was higher (present-day Nangang District), it flowed northward. After a long northward shift, a stretch of river beach wilderness gradually emerged, which was the earliest Daoli. As far back as the Paleolithic era 20,000 years ago, there were human activities in the Daoli area. Historical records show that the Sushen tribe, the Buyeo kingdom, and the Wuji people were all ancestors in the Songhua River basin who had early interactions with and were influenced by Central Plains culture. At the same time, 'Ancient Daoli' was also a place for falconry and horse grazing during the early rise of the Jin and Yuan dynasties.

During the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns, descendants of the Eight Banners returned to their homeland, began riding out to claim wilderness, established banner villages, and set up official networks along the Songhua River. Scattered thatched huts and farmlands began to appear in the Daoli area.

By the Guangxu period, on this land 'Ancient Daoli' on the south bank of the Songhua River, in the east, around Machangdian, several villages and streets such as Fujiadian and Sijiazi had emerged. In the west, Guxiang also saw brick kilns and village markets. Nangang also had market villages like Qinjiagang and Tianjiashaoguo.

At that time, in the Daoli area, apart from a few thatched houses on the high ground near the riverbank, the rest was still floodplain wilderness. As the Qing dynasty became corrupt and Western powers forcibly opened China's closed doors, Tsarist Russia in the north set its sights on China's northeastern lands.