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| Harbin Beer (哈尔滨啤酒)is available across China |
Earlier
this semester, I recruited at the CET program in Harbin, a city well regarded
for its standard Mandarin pronunciation.
Harbin is the center for higher education in Northeast China, and Harbin
Institute of Technology, which is where CET is based, is considered one of
China’s “ivy league” universities. CET
Harbin offers its students a full immersion environment complete with a
language pledge, one-on-one tutorial, and local roommates. A former student once joked that the reason
they attain such high Chinese proficiency is because it is too cold outside to
do anything but study. Harbin is also
China’s northernmost city and known worldwide for its annual ice festival each
winter. Due to its close proximity to
the northern border, Harbin has historically received a great deal of Russian
influence, and today this is most visible in its food and architecture.
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| St. Sophia Cathedral (圣索菲亚教堂) |
The main architectural
attraction in the city is St. Sophia Cathedral, one of the few remaining
Orthodox Christian churches in the city.
It houses the Harbin Museum of Architecture, which gives a fascinating
look at the city’s development and how the Russian population once lived.
Harbin’s
Jewish New Synagogue, which was completed in 1921, could hold more than 800
worshippers at once. It has since been
restored and today houses an impressive collection of Harbin Jewish History and
Culture.
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| Harbin Jewish New Synagogue （哈尔滨犹太新会堂） |
“Harbin is a city
in China where some 20,000 Jews lived for many decades. Most important, they encountered no
anti-Semitism among the Chinese, such as is prevalent in other lands, from the
Chinese people they encountered no anti-Jewish bitterness or violence. As one result, former Jewish residents of
Harbin call themselves ‘Harbintsi.’”
~ Israel Epstein
(1915-2005), one of the few
foreign-born Chinese citizens of non-Chinese origin to become a member of the
CCP
