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| Church of St. Sophia |
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The Russian influence in Harbin, including a continuing strong Russian
population here, is no better felt than a wander around the streets
that make up the Daoli district, in the northwest of the city. Among
the many Orthodox churches and Russian style facades in this region,
the St.Sophia Orthodox Church (Shengsuo feiya dajiaotang) is the most
impressive, and imposing, structure.
In 1903, with the completion of the Sino-Russia railway, connecting
Vladivostok to northeast China, the Russian No.4 Army Division arrived
in this region. After Russia's shameful failure against the Japanese
in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), a plan to reconsolidate the
confidence of the army by building a imposing spiritual symbol was
proposed. Thus the magnificent St.Sofia Church was born, completed
in 1907. Large scale expansion and renovation then started in 1923,
and after a nine years' intensive job, the biggest Orthodox church
in the far east was finally completed and stood much as it does
today.
The 53m tall church is a perfect example of Byzantine architecture:
the main structure of the church is laid out as a Latin Cross with
the main hall topped with a huge green tipped roof. Under the bright
sun, the church, together with the square around it, reminds the
Chinese, bizarrely, of the Red Square in Moscow. Although there
are still several hundred Orthodox believers in Harbin, the religious
activities are usually conducted in other smaller churches. St.Sofia
Church is nowadays used as the Municipal Architecture and Art Museum
with exhibitions of the architectural history of the city, a photographic
survey with captions all in Chinese. |
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