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The file photo shows the inside of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin. [Photo/Chinaplusnews] |
310 km away from the city lays Harbin, capital of the province, which is notable for its ice sculpture festival in winter and national music festival in summer.
If travelers happen to miss both, there is the third choice -- European-style architecture and food. The must-go first stop has to be Saint Sophia Cathedral, a former Russian Orthodox church built in 1907.
As a perfect example of Neo-Byzantine architecture, its main structure is laid out like a cross with the main hall topped with a huge green-tipped dome. Under the bright sun, the church and the square resemble Moscow's Red Square.
Harbin has a 100,000-square-km "Russian village" for nostalgic tourists who have a crush on the exotic land, where they can appreciate 27 villas and residential buildings of Russian manners popular during the last century.
