Harbin — Echoes of the Forgotten

Your investigation begins at the Pingfang Peace Memorial, a site constructed in 1982 to commemorate the victims of Unit 731. This area, spanning 150,000 m², includes underground laboratory ruins discovered in 1984. It was here that over 3,000 Chinese, Korean, and Soviet prisoners were used as human guinea pigs in deadly experiments between 1936 and 1945. Open to the public since 1985, this museum documents the war crimes of the Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War, laying the groundwork for your exploration of the Unit 731 crime museum, an essential testament to Harbin's past.

Continue your immersion at the Museum of Evidence of War Crimes by Japanese Army Unit 731, established in 1985 on the actual site of the former Unit 731 in Pingfang District, Harbin. Led by Japanese military surgeon Shiro Ishii from 1936 to 1945, this complex initially covered 6 km² with over 150 buildings before its destruction in 1945. Exhibits include original artifacts like pathogen vials and photos of experiments on an estimated 250,000 victims, offering a stark perspective on this dark period in Hokkaido's history.

Your journey then takes you to Harbin Railway Station, built in 1903 by the Russians on the Sino-Russian (CER) line and rebuilt in 1906 after a fire. This main building, in Russian Byzantine style, covering 4,450 m², could accommodate 30,000 passengers daily. It was a crucial arrival point for Russian settlers fleeing the 1917 Revolution, which boosted Harbin's population to 200,000 by 1920. The station, renovated in 2010 for the city's 110th anniversary, symbolizes the lasting Russian influence on Harbin's architecture and demography, a UNESCO City of Urban Design 2016.

Exploring Zhaolin Park, created in 1902 under Russian influence as a public garden in Harbin's central Daoli district, you discover a different facet of local history. Spanning 9.8 hectares, it houses a statue of Lenin erected in 1955 and a music kiosk from 1906. This park was a site of historical gatherings during the Chinese Civil War (1946-1949). Renovated in 1997, it hosts local ice festivals every winter, showing Harbin's ability to transform its historical spaces into places of celebration and memory, linked to its Russian-Chinese historical heritage.

Your tour concludes in front of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin, built between 1907 and 1911 by the Russian Orthodox Church. The largest Orthodox church in China, with 721 m² of floor area and a central dome 53.35 meters high, it was closed in 1949 and used as a warehouse until 1997. Restored in 1997, it is now the Harbin Museum of Architecture and Art, illustrating Russian Orthodox architecture and the city's resilience. Your exploration of Harbin, a UNESCO City of Urban Design 2016, will have allowed you to retrace a complex past, from war crimes to cultural legacies, and understand how this Hokkaido city has preserved the echoes of the forgotten.