Harbin: Museums Preserve City Memories, Century-Old Photos Reveal the History of the Chinese Eastern Railway

During my trip to Harbin, I visited the Heilongjiang Provincial Museum. The exhibition hall showcases a vast collection of precious black-and-white old photographs, depicting the period in the early 20th century when large numbers of Russians came to China to build the Chinese Eastern Railway.

On the map of our motherland, northeast China has its own self-contained railway network, centered around Harbin and Shenyang. The main lines—the Manzhouli-Harbin line, the Harbin-Suifenhe line, and the branch line from Harbin to Dalian—form a "T"-shaped framework. This is the Chinese Eastern Railway, built by Tsarist Russia on Chinese territory a hundred years ago.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the Chinese Eastern Railway was divided into two parts: the horizontal bar of the "T" was retained by Russia, while the vertical bar below was taken over by Japan and renamed the "South Manchuria Railway." By the time of the Mukden Incident in 1931, Japanese forces had occupied all of Northeast China, and the entire railway fell into Japanese hands, marking the beginning of Russia's retreat from this stage.

We must remember history. Only when our country is strong will we not be bullied by foreign powers! We should take history as a mirror, never forget the sacrifices of our predecessors, and cherish the peace of today.

Entering the Heilongjiang Provincial Museum, the main building facing you is a European Baroque-style structure, originally the site of the Russian Merchants' Shop, and is a nationally protected first-class heritage building. Located in Nangang District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, the museum was first built in 1906 and appears to have been renovated to look brand new.

The history of the Chinese Eastern Railway is not only a history of blood and tears for old China but also a history of suffering for Northeast China. At that time, Western powers, especially Russia and Japan, engaged in countless games and struggles over the Chinese Eastern Railway in Northeast China. Every shift in power was accompanied by the blood and tears of the Chinese people! I am particularly interested in this part of the Chinese Eastern Railway's history and wanted to gain a deeper understanding through the old photos preserved in the museum.

From the numerous black-and-white photos and various materials, one can learn how Western powers, especially Russia and Japan, vied and contended over the Chinese Eastern Railway in Northeast China. Every rise and fall came with the blood and tears of the Chinese people!

Railway tracks laid at the time

The Chinese Eastern Railway is the abbreviation for the China Eastern Railway. In the late 19th century, Tsarist Russia, aiming to develop its Far Eastern region, proposed to the Qing government that a railway be built through Northeast China. Russia's original intention was to use the Chinese Eastern Railway to occupy the Northeast. During the construction, a large number of workers and their families migrated to various railway stations, leading to the emergence of small towns, including Harbin, Changchun, Dalian, Manzhouli, Hailar, Zalantun, Mudanjiang, and others.

Group photo of senior Chinese Eastern Railway officials

Group photo of Chinese and Russian workers

From this, we can see that on one hand, the Chinese Eastern Railway bears witness to China's humiliating history of colonization in modern times; on the other hand, it greatly promoted the process of industrial civilization in Northeast China.

From these old black-and-white photos, the clothing of pedestrians and the streets and buildings look nothing like China—one would think it was a European city. But this is indeed Harbin.

These Russians left behind many European-style buildings along the Chinese Eastern Railway, including railway stations, churches, police stations, clubs, and more. Today, these structures are collectively known as the Chinese Eastern Railway Building Complex, protected as national tangible cultural heritage, and have become valuable assets for many small towns along the railway.

Architect Mikhail Bazhich designed the Harbin Flood Control Monument

Soviet Red Army Martyrs' Memorial Tower

In Harbin, the name Mikhail Andreevich Bazhich may be unfamiliar to residents. However, almost everyone knows the Soviet Red Army Martyrs' Memorial Tower near the Provincial Museum Square, the Northeast Anti-Japanese and Patriotic Self-Defense War Martyrs' Memorial Tower at the Eighth District Square, the Harbin Victory Flood Control Memorial Tower on the Songhua River, and the removed Soviet Red Army Memorial Tower at the original Harbin Railway Station Square. These profound and exquisitely designed masterpieces were all created by the famous Russian émigré architect Bazhich.

Architect Bazhich and Harbin

From the old black-and-white photos in the exhibition hall, I also learned about the life of a Russian architect who had an inseparable bond with Harbin: Mikhail Bazhich. In 1926, Bazhich was admitted to the Harbin Sino-Russian Industrial School (now Harbin Institute of Technology) to study architecture. Later, he worked as an architectural designer in Harbin, and many buildings that Harbin residents take pride in embody his hard work.

Mikhail Andreevich Bazhich was born in Vladivostok in 1909. His father was a soldier, and his mother was the daughter of a general. He also had a younger brother and a younger sister.

Mikhail's paintings and drafting tools from his school days.

Group photo of Mikhail with his mother, brother, and sister.

Mikhail made many contributions to Harbin. As a child, he excelled academically, frequently winning awards in architecture competitions, and also performed outstandingly in art, sports, poetry, and singing.

The handsome Mikhail once wanted to become an actor, but his family's financial hardship weighed heavily on him, even forcing him to suspend his studies and work part-time to support his family. In 1933, Mikhail graduated from university, married a year later, and had a son and a daughter: Olga and Andrei.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Bazhich served as an engineer at the Harbin Municipal Architectural Engineering Design Institute. This period marked the peak of his career, with a succession of fine designs, establishing him as an influential designer in Harbin's architectural design community.

Time flies. Although Mikhail Andreevich Bazhich is no longer in Harbin, many of his grand and solemn architectural designs still stand on the streets and alleys of Harbin. Society progresses, and history is passed down. As symbols of urban culture, the historical and cultural heritage represented by these buildings are non-renewable and irreplaceable precious resources. These architectural cultural relics, imbued with Moscow charm and carrying Harbin's history and culture, should be cherished and protected by every one of us.