The sunrise in the east is a great light.
78 years ago, on April 28, 1946, Harbin became the earliest liberated major city in the country.
Looking back at the years of mountains and rivers, the Songhua River flows eastward, the river bridge narrates the vast past, and the old streets are filled with fireworks.
As the northernmost provincial capital city in China, Harbin, with a history of over a hundred years, has demonstrated glory and glory, experienced confusion and loss, and has always been surging with upward power, regardless of peaks and valleys.
Coming from history, developing in the integration of diversity, and advancing in the magnificent waves. Deeply implementing the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, as the Northeast Revitalization Strategy enters its third decade, Harbin, this heroic city, is drawing a new blueprint for high-quality development, striving hard and moving towards the future.
City of Heroes: The red aura is surging endlessly
At 241 Yiman Street, Harbin, a ivory white classical revival style building stands tall, which is the Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall built in 1948.
On the first floor of the museum, a set of shoes and pants soaked in blood attracted many visitors to stop and concentrate. On March 9, 1946, Li Zhaolin, a famous general of the Northeast Anti Japanese United Front, left his home wearing this outfit and was brutally killed by Nationalist spies.
If my blood could brighten people's eyes and awaken their consciousness, my death would also be worth it. "Li Zhaolin has long defined the value of life.
After fourteen years of hard work and struggle, a large number of soldiers from the Northeast Anti Japanese United Front, including Zhao Yiman, Yang Jingyu, Zhao Shangzhi, Li Zhaolin, and others, tenaciously resisted the trampling of the Japanese army's iron hooves and shed their blood on the black soil for the liberation of the people and national independence, "said Liu Qiangmin, director of the Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall.
Although history has gone far away, heroes have never left. In Harbin today, parks, schools, and streets named after heroes such as Zhaolin Park, Yiman Elementary School, and Shangzhi Street have become places for people to commemorate heroes.
Heilongjiang is an important region in Northeast China under the leadership of the CPC during the 14 year Anti Japanese War. The revolutionary culture and the spirit of the Anti Japanese Federation have laid the red tone of Harbin and become the source of belief that encourages people to move forward.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to support the country's industrialization construction, Harbin has always stood at the forefront and fought first. Under the leadership of the Party, it quickly rose to become an important industrial city.
In the 1950s, in order to cultivate talents urgently needed by the country, more than 800 young teachers and students responded to the national call and traveled north to Harbin Institute of Technology to establish new disciplines and majors, known as the "Eight Hundred Heroes" of Harbin Institute of Technology. "Revitalizing the country is the most important ambition, and what we want is to build a new China," recalled Shen Shizhao, an academician of the CAE Member and professor of Harbin Institute of Technology.
During the "Fifth Five Year Plan" period, Harbin accounted for 13 out of 156 key projects supported by the Soviet Union. A large number of enterprises such as Harbin Electric Carbon Factory, Harbin Electric Machinery Factory, Harbin Bearing Factory, etc. have risen from the ground. By the end of the "First Five Year Plan" in 1957, Harbin's total industrial output value ranked among the top cities in the country.
After the reform and opening up, with the emergence of problems such as heavy industrial structure, difficulties in enterprise operation, and weak economic growth, Harbin experienced the pain of transformation.
Under severe challenges, Harbin accelerates industrial transformation, kinetic energy transformation, and growth mode transformation with the perseverance of rolling stones up the mountain and climbing hills and overcoming obstacles; In recent years, it has actively served and integrated into the construction of a new development pattern, vigorously developing emerging industries such as digital economy, bioeconomy, ice and snow economy, and creative design, forging the "national treasure", and continuing to write the legend of the new era——
Harbin Electric Power Group has forged the "lung of nuclear power" high-temperature gas cooled reactor steam generator in over 2400 design drawings, achieving a world leading level; Northeast Light Alloy Co., Ltd. innovatively developed domestically produced large aircraft wing panels, breaking the foreign blockade first
The Songhua River is majestic and flows forward. Patriotism and dedication have long been like rivers, integrated into the bloodline of Harbin people, stirring up the never-ending urban spirit.
Charm City: The Integration and Bloom of Eastern and Western Cultures
Harbin, in Manchu, means "sun drying field". At the beginning of the 20th century, this was just an unknown small fishing village.
In 1898, the Middle East Railway was planned and constructed, and Harbin was identified as its hub and construction center. The once small fishing village gradually rose to become an international commercial port, where Eastern and Western cultures collided and blended, giving this land a unique charm.
The Chinese Baroque historical and cultural block located in Daowai District of Harbin City always attracts visitors' attention with the Baroque decoration of the street facing buildings, as if they were in a small European town. Further inside, a typical Chinese style quadrangle courtyard with doorways, overpasses, and courtyards greets you.
This type of residential and commercial building, with its front shop and back house, courtyard connected, and quadrangle courtyard style, blends Eastern and Western elements, integrating grandeur, simplicity, and elegance, "said Yang Weidong, the director of Harbin City History and Cultural Relics Museum.
Harbin is one of the earliest cities in China to introduce Western music. In 1908, the first symphony orchestra in China, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, was born here. In 2010, Harbin was named the "City of Music" by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
On the banks of the Songhua River, the Harbin Grand Theater seems to have broken through the ice from the wetland, with a variety of music and songs from tradition and the West, modern and classical, taking turns to perform here. The Harbin Music Museum, located in a corner of the theater, houses a collection of Chinese and Western musical instruments from ancient and modern times. Lyrics, composers, and singers shine brightly, telling the world-renowned history of this city. Architecture is frozen music, and Harbin Grand Theatre integrates humanities, art, and nature. This landscape has become one of the components of the city's soul.
If I were to add a few key words to the business card of Harbin, I would write: ice and snow, churches, pedestrian streets, beer, and Leba sausage, "wrote writer Chi Zijian in her essay" Ink Painting and Paintings of Harbin. In her eyes, Harbin has been a diverse, open, and inclusive city since its opening, and now it is full of vitality amidst the hustle and bustle of fireworks.
At the end of last year, "Ice City" went viral due to the popularity of ice and snow tourism, and was known as the "city awakened by traffic". Guided by market demand, "Erbin" updates its urban governance concept, moving tourists and serving citizens with enthusiasm and wisdom. During the Golden Week of the Spring Festival in the the Year of the Loong alone, Harbin has received a total of 10.093 million tourists, with a total tourism revenue of 16.42 billion yuan.
How can 'One Season of Fire' achieve 'Four Seasons of Red'? The Harbin Ice and Snow World Dream Ice and Snow Pavilion, which opened in early July, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the world's largest indoor ice and snow theme park. The temperature here remains between minus 8 degrees Celsius and minus 12 degrees Celsius, creating a dreamlike world with ice sculptures, snowflakes, and light and shadow. It has become a major wonder in Harbin this summer, attracting a large number of tourists.
'Anti seasonal ice and snow' is becoming a new calling card for Harbin, "said Wang Hongxin, director of the Harbin Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism. Harbin is deeply exploring its regional characteristics, innovating cultural and tourism products, and striving to create a practical place where" green mountains and clear waters are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver, and ice and snow are also as valuable as mountains of gold and silver ".
Open City: Connecting China and Foreign Countries towards the Future
Harbin is an important hub connecting Asia and Europe in China, and a frontier for opening up to the north.
Starting from the construction of the first railway track leading to the bustling commercial port in 1903, this "city pulled by trains" was born. Soybeans, wheat, miscellaneous grains, livestock products, etc. are exported from here to Japan and European countries.
During the period of Middle Eastern railway construction and urban development, Harbin was a large market where personnel, funds, and materials quickly gathered. At the peak of railway construction, 170000 Chinese workers were employed, "said Han Shiming, director of the local chronicles work department of the Harbin Municipal Party Committee's Historical and Historical Research Office.
Russian merchants who came and went once established the Qiulin Chamber of Commerce in Harbin, with an enema workshop attached, becoming the earliest processing plant for producing European style meat sausage products. To this day, red sausage and gevas are still the golden signboards of Qiulin Company and essential delicacies on the dining tables of Harbin people.
Innovation and openness have become distinct characteristics integrated into the bone marrow of this city.
Across the Songhua River, the once magnificent Middle East Railway Bridge has transformed into a popular viewing spot, while parallel to it is a modern double track electrified railway bridge. The China Europe freight train whizzes past here, transporting high-quality Chinese goods to Europe thousands of miles away.
The old bridge and the new bridge are a dialogue between modern industry and modern technology, a microcosm of history and the future. Time has passed, but what remains unchanged is the pace of openness and the pulse of progress, "said Yu Hongtao, member of the Standing Committee of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Harbin Municipal Party Committee.
China Russia Expo, Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair, World 5G Conference... With its geographical advantages and backed by China's super large market, Harbin hosts a series of international events. On the basis of consolidating the market in Northeast Asia, Harbin has deepened exchanges with countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", extending its radiation to Europe and other regions.
More and more young people are recognizing the new opportunities and potential hidden in this city, and are joining the new economy and new business models, unleashing their youth and vitality.
Continuing the urban context, in the past three years, Harbin has completed the digital information collection of nearly 600 historical and cultural buildings, and a large number of historical and cultural blocks have undergone renovation and renovation. The fireworks of a hundred years ago bring new vitality and leave a lasting impression, "said Yu Bing, who runs a curatorial bookstore in the Chinese Baroque historical and cultural district. Through innovative design, the cultural district has transformed into an internet celebrity check-in spot that combines cultural heritage and commercial potential, empowering the development of the old city.
Unlike the "natives" and the ice, Zheng Hao, born in 1985, was a "trailblazer" in the new era. In 2022, he returned to China from an overseas university and became a professor at the School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology. In just a few months, he applied for the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Outstanding Youth Science Fund project to conduct research on ice and snow road surfaces in cold regions.
On the north bank of the Songhua River, the Harbin area of the China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been established for five years, and the Shenzhen (Harbin) Industrial Park, which gathers many scientific and technological innovation enterprises, has emerged. By the first half of 2024, there will be a total of 663 registered enterprises in the park, and the agglomeration effect of digital economy and bioeconomy industries will be initially formed.
Standing at a higher starting point and aiming at a higher goal, Harbin is striding forward on the new journey of the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, continuing to write the splendid chapter, with the people's yearning and pursuit for a better life, playing the strong voice of the comprehensive revitalization of the Northeast in the new era, and integrating into the powerful symphony of Chinese path to modernization.