Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province. The city grew in the late 19th century with the influx of Russian engineers constructing the eastern leg of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The city's Russian architecture includes its green-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral, an Eastern Orthodox church now a local history museum. Across the river, Sun Island Park is famed for year-round ice sculptures.

The cobbled Zhongyang Dajie (Central Street) is a commercial pedestrian mall with restored, early-20th-century European and Russian buildings. Built in 1909, the restored Main Synagogue was an important place of worship for Harbin’s large Jewish community. Sidalin Gongyuan (Stalin Park) is a long public promenade on an embankment above the Songhua River. The Buddhist complex Jile Si (Temple of Bliss) features the Seven-Tiered Pagoda and a colossal gilded Buddha in the courtyard. Nearby stands the Qing dynasty-style Wen Miao (Confucian Temple).

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