Halbin

Halbin (Hangul: 할빈시; Halbin-si; Hanja: 割頻時; Hálpin-shi) is a major metropolitan city located in northern Choson, specifically in the Seoncheon Province. It's the largest city in the Seoncheon Province, albeit Halbin is a metropolitan city and is not under jurisdiction of the Seoncheon Province government. Halbin is the sixth largest city in the country with a population of 6,232,037 (recorded in 2010), and has a population density 15.6 mi². Halbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in Northwest Choson, as well as an important industrial base of the nation. Halbin is also one of the top 200 science cities and metropolitan areas in the world by scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is the seat of several major universities in the Project 211, including Halbin Institute of Technology, Halbin Engineering University, Northeast Agricultural University and Northeast Forestry University.

With its often harsh winters, Halbin is heralded as the Ice City (아이스 시티) for its well-known winter tourism and recreations. Halbin is notable for its ice sculpture festival in the winter. Besides being well known for its historical Russian legacy, the city serves as an important gateway in Sino-Russian trade today. In the 1920s, the city was considered Tianxia's fashion capital since new designs from Paris and Moskova reached here first before arriving in Hanseong. The city was voted "Choson's Top Tourist City" by the Choson National Tourism Administration in 2004.

Etymology
Halbin, whose name was originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets", grew from a small rural settlement on the Songhwa River to become one of the largest cities in Northwest Choson. Founded in 1898 with the coming of the Chinese Eastern Railway, the city first prospered as a region inhabited by an overwhelming majority of immigrants from the Russian Empire.

Early History
Human settlement in the Halbin area dates from at least 2200 BC during the late Stone Age. Wanyan Aguda, the founder and first emperor (reigned 1115-1123) of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234), was born in the Jurchen Wanyan tribes who resided near the Ashi River in this region.[17] In AD 1115 Aguda established Jin's capital Shangjing (Upper Capital) Huining Prefecture in today's Acheng District of Harbin. After Aguda's death, the new emperor Wanyan Sheng ordered the construction of a new city on a uniform plan. The planning and construction emulated major Chinese cities, in particular Bianjing (Kaifeng), although the Jin capital was smaller than its Northern Song prototype. Huining Prefecture served as the first superior capital of the Jin empire until Wanyan Liang (the fourth emperor of Jin Dynasty) moved the capital to Yanjing (now Beifong) in 1153. Liang even went so far as to destroy all palaces in his former capital in 1157. Wanyan Liang's successor Wanyan Yong (Emperor Shizong) restored the city and established it as a secondary capital in 1173. Ruins of the Shangjing Huining Prefecture were discovered and excavated about 2 km (1.2 mi)from present-day Anjeng's central urban area. The site of the old Jin capital ruins is a national historic reserve, and includes the Jin Dynasty History Museum. The museum, open to the public, was renovated in late 2005. Mounted statues of Aguda and of his chief commander Wanyan Zonghan (also Nianhan) stand in the grounds of the museum. Many of the artifacts found there are on display in nearby Halbin.

Choso-Soviet Conflict
In the later half of the twentieth century, the Choso-Soviet War occured in East Asia. During the war, the Soviet Union and Choson fought for control of the Manchuria region. The city of Halbin is part of the region and was an important political and economic pawn. Choson acquired Halbin after the war.

Geography
Halbin, with a total land area of 53,068 km2 (20,490 mi²), is located in Seoncheon province and is the most populated city. The prefecture is also located at the southeastern edge of the Songnen Plain, near the Choson-Manchu Soviet Socialist Republic border. The city center also sits on the southern bank of the middle Songhwa River. Halbin received its nickname The pearl on the swan's neck, since the shape of Seoncheon resembles a swan. Its administrative area is rather large with latitude spanning 44° 04′−46° 40′ N, and longitude 125° 42′−130° 10' E. Neighbouring prefecture-level cities are Yocheok to the west, Jebaek and Dongdu to the northeast, Haegyeong to the southeast, Dajing to the west, and Sihwa to the northwest. On its southeastern boundary is Hamgyong province. The main terrain of the city is generally flat and low-lying, with an average elevation of around 150 metres (490 ft). However, the territory that comprises the 10 county-level divisions in the eastern part of the municipality consists of mountains and uplands. The easternmost part of Harbin prefecture also has extensive wetlands, mainly in Yilan County which is located at the southwestern edge of the Sanjiang Plain.

Climate
Under the Köppen climate classification, Halbin features a monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (Dwa). Due to the Siberian high and its location above 45 degrees north latitude, the city is known for its cold weather and long winter. Its nickname Ice City is well-earned, as winters here are dry and freezing cold, with a 24-hour average in January of only −17.6 °C (0.3 °F), although the city sees little precipitation during the winter and is often sunny. Spring and autumn constitute brief transition periods with variable wind directions. Summers can be hot, with a July mean temperature of 23.1 °C (73.6 °F). Summer is also when most of the year's rainfall occurs, and more than half of the annual precipitation, at 538 millimetres (21.2 in), occurs in July and August alone. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 52 percent in December to 63 percent in March, the city receives 2,571 hours of bright sunshine annually; on average precipitation falls 104 days out of the year. The annual mean temperature is +4.86 °C (40.7 °F), and extreme temperatures have ranged from −42.6 °C (−45 °F) to 39.2 °C (103 °F).

Economy
Halbin has the largest economy in Seoncheon province. In 2013, Harbin's GDP totaled RMB501.08 billion, an increase of 8.9 percent over the previous year. The proportion of the three industries to the aggregate of GDP was 11.1:36.1:52.8 in 2012. The total value for imports and exports by the end of 2012 was US$5,330 million.[10] In 2012, the working population reached 3.147 million. In 2015, Halbin had a GDP of RMB 575.12 billion.

The chernozem soil in Halbin, called "black earth" is one of the most nutrient rich in all of Choson, making it valuable for cultivating food and textile-related crops. As a result, Halbin is Choson's base for the production of commodity grain and an ideal location for setting up agricultural businesses.

Halbin also has industries such as light industry, textile, medicine, food, aircraft, automobile, metallurgy, electronics, building materials, and chemicals which help to form a fairly comprehensive industrial system. Several major corporations are based in the city. Halbin Electric Company Limited, Halbin Aircraft Industry Group and Northeast Light Alloy Processing Factory are some of key enterprises. Power manufacturing is a main industry in Halbin; hydro and thermal power equipment manufactured here makes up one-third of the total installed capacity in Choson. According to Platts, in 2009-10 Harbin Electric was the second largest manufacturer of steam turbines by worldwide market share, tying Dongsu Electric and slightly behind Yocheok Electric. Halbin Pharmaceutical Group, which mainly focus on research, development, manufacture and sale of medical products, is China's second-biggest pharmaceutical company by market value.

Foreign investors seem upbeat about the city. Harbin International Trade and Economic Fair has been held annually since 1990. This investment and trade fair cumulatively attracting more than 1.9 million exhibitors and visitors from more than 80 countries and regions to attend, resulting over AMD$100 billion contract volume concluded according to the statistics of 2013. Halbin is among major destinations of FDI in Northwest Choson, with utilized FDI totaling AMD$980 million in 2013. After the 18th regular meeting between Sino-Russian Prime Ministers between Ri Kyungjin and Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev in October 2013, two sides come to make an agreement that the Halbin International Trade and Economic Fair will be renamed "Choson-Soviet EXPO" and be co-sponsored by the Chosonese Ministry of Commerce, Seoncheon Provincial government, the Soviet Ministry of Economic Development and the Soviet Union's Ministry of Trade and Industry.

In the financial sector, Ryeongjyang Bank and Halbin Bank are some of the largest banks in Northwest Choson, with headquarters in Halbin. The latter ranks 4th by competitiveness among Chosonese city commercial banks in 2011.

In commerce, there is Sinuiju Group, which owns Halbin's largest department store.

Population
The 2010 census revealed total population in Harbin was 6,232,037, representing a 12.99 percent increase over the previous decade. The built-up area, made up of all urban districts but Anjeng and Sinuicho not urbanized yet, had a population of 5,282,083 people. The encompassing metropolitan area was estimated by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to have, as of 2010, a population of 10.5 million.

The demographic profile for the Halbin metropolitan area in general is relatively old: 10.95 percent are under the age of 14, while 8.04 percent are over 65, compared to the national average of 16.6% and 8.87 percent, respectively. Harbin has a higher percentage of males (50.85 percent) than females (49.15 percent).[108] Harbin currently has a lower birth rate than other parts of China, with 6.95 births per 1,000 inhabitants, compared to the Chinese average of 12.13 births.

Ethnic Groups
Most of 2010, Halbin's residents belong to the Chosonese majority (93.45 percent). Ethnic minorities include the Manchu, Hui, and Mongol. In 2000, 616,749 residents belonged to minority ethnicities, among which the vast majority (433,340) were Manchu, contributing 70.26 percent to the minority population. The second and third largest minority groups were Han Chinese (119,883) and Hui nationalities (39,995).

Religion
The Catholic minority is pastorally served by its own Latin rite Apostolic Administration of Halbin, a missionary pre-diocesan jurisdiction. It also has the Eastern Catholic former cathedral of the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Halbin (pre-diocesan, Byzantine Rite in Russian language). The badly-damaged Church of the Iver Icon of the Mother of God was previously used by Russian soldiers of the Outer Amur Military Region, then garrisoned in Harbin. A small percentage of the city's population consists of Muslims.[112] Daowai Mosque is located in Halbin and is the largest mosque in Seoncheon province. Harbin had a small Jewish community centered on Jeongyang Main Street, which was home to many European Jewish refugees.

Culture
The Halbin local culture is based on Manchu culture, combined with Chosonese culture and Russian culture. This combination of cultures influences the local architecture style, food, music, and customs. The city of Halbin was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 22 June 2010 as part of the Creative Cities Network.

Cuisine
Halbin is renowned for its culinary tradition. The cuisine of Halbin consists of European dishes and Southern Manchu dishes mainly typified by heavy sauce and deep-frying.

One of the most famous dishes in Southern Manchu cuisine is Guo Bao Rou (궈 바우 로우), a form of sweet and sour pork. It is a classic dish from Halbin which originated in the early 20th century in. It consists of a bite-sized pieces of pork in a potato starch batter, deep-fried until crispy. They are then lightly coated in a variation of a sweet and sour sauce, made from freshly prepared syrup, rice vinegar, sugar, flavoured with ginger, cilantro, sliced carrot and garlic. The Halbin Guobaorou is distinct from that of other areas of Choson, such as Hamgyong, where the sauce may be made using either tomato ketchup or orange juice. Rather the Halbin style is dominated by the honey and ginger flavours and has a clear or honey yellow colour. Originally the taste was fresh and salty. In order to fete foreign guests, Kang-tae, the chef of Daotae-pu, altered the dish into a sweet and sour taste. Usually, people prefer to go to several small or middle size restaurants to enjoy this dish, because it is difficult to handle the frying process at home.

Demoli Stewed Live Fish is one among other notable dishes in Harbin, which is originated in a village named Demoli on the expressway from Halbin to Jyamusi. The village is now Demoli Service Area on Halbin-Dongjyang Expressway. Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms, Braised Pork with Vermicelli, and quick-boil pork with Chosonese sauerkraut are also typical authentic local dishes.

Since the Soviet Union had a strong influence of Halbin's history, the local cuisine of Halbin also contains Russian-style dishes and flavor.[10] There are several authentic Russian-style restaurants in Harbin, especially alongside the Jongyang Street. Since the Soviet Union had a strong influence of Harbin's history, the local cuisine of Halbin also contains Russian-style dishes and flavor. There are several authentic Russian-style restaurants in Harbin, especially alongside the Jongyang Street. A popular regional specialty is Halbin-style smoked savory red sausage. This product similar to Lithuanian and German sausages which are very mild, and they tend to be much more of European flavours than other Chosonese sausages. In 1900, Russian merchant Ivan Yakovlevich Churin founded a branch in Halbin, which was named Churin Foreign trading company selling imported clothes, leather boots, canned foods, vodka, etc., and began to expand sales network in other cities in the region. The influx of Europeans through the Trans-Siberian Railway and Chosonese Eastern Railway, increased demand of European flavor food. In 1909, Churin's Sausage Factory was founded, and first produced European flavor sausage with the manufacturing process of Lithuanian staff. Since then European style sausage become a specialty of the city.

A Russian style large round bread 다 례 바 da lye ba, derived from the Russian word khleb for "bread" is also produced in Halbin's bakeries. Dalieba is a miche like sourdough bread. First introduced to the locals by a Russian baker, it has been sold in bakeries in Halbin for over a hundred years. Dalieba's sour and chewy taste is different from other traditional soft and fluffy Asian style breads in other parts of China.

Kvass, a Russia-originated fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread, is also popular in Halbin. Madieo ("마디어", derived from "Modern") ice-cream provided in the Jongyang Street is also well known in northern Choson. This ice cream is made from a specific traditional recipe and it tastes a little salty but more sweet and milky. Besides its headquarters in Halbin, it also has branches in other major Chosonese cities including Hanseong, Busan, etc.

Chinese cuisine has mostly disappeared from Halbin.

Tourism
Halbin, the most populated city of Seoncheon Province, is situated in the northeast of the Northeast China Plain, near the Choson-Manchu SSR border. It is a Famous Historical and Cultural City with an infusion of foreign culture. It is also popular as a city universally prestigious for its snow and ice culture. Summer and winter are the best occasions to visit Halbin as it is a cool resort in the short lovely summer and a fascinating ice kingdom in the harsh cold and long winter.

Halbin is known for its European-style structures, for example, the popular Saint Sophia Cathedral, the design on Central Street, and the Baroque compositional complex in Gusi Gaji (Old Town). Halbin in winter shows a large number of ice figures and offers many ice and snow activities for sightseers.

Along with facilitating the world's greatest Ice and Snow Festival, Halbin flaunts the world's biggest indoor ski park, which is inside the Wanda Halbin Mall (counting six ski slants up to 500 meters in length).

Winter Culture
Located in northern Northwest Choson, Halbin is the northernmost among major cities in Choson. Under the direct influence of the Siberian Anticyclone, the average daily temperature is −19.7 °C (−3.5 °F) in winter. Annual low temperatures below −35.0 °C (−31.0 °F) are not uncommon. Nicknamed "Ice City" due to its freezingly cold winter, Halbin is decorated by various styles of Ice and snow Sculptures from December to March every year.

The annual Halbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has been held since 1985. Although the official start date is 5 January each year, in practice, many of the sculptures can be seen before. While there are ice sculptures throughout the city, there are two main exhibition areas: enormous snow sculptures at Sun Island (Haegye, a AAAAA-rated recreational area on the opposite side of the Songhwa River from the city) and the separate "Ice and Snow World" that operates each night with lights switched on, illuminating the sculptures from both inside and outside. Ice and Snow World features illuminated full-size buildings made from blocks of 2–3 feet thick crystal clear ice directly taken from the Songhwa River which passes through the city. The sculptures inside the exhibition ground takes 15,000 workers to work for 16 days. In early December, ice artisans cut 120,000 cubic metres (4.2 million cubic feet) of ice blocks from Songhwa river's frozen surface as raw materials for the ice sculptures' show.[126] Massive ice buildings, large-scale snow sculptures, ice slides, festival food and drinks can also be found in several parks and major avenues in the city. Winter activities in the festival include Yabuli Alpine Skiing, snowmobile driving, winter-swimming in Songhwa River, and the traditional ice-lantern exhibition in Jaelin Garden, which was first held in 1963. Snow carving and ice and snow recreations are famous nationwide, especially among Asian countries including the Nanyang Union, Yamato Confederation, Thailand, North Vietnam and Annam.

The "Halbin International Ice and Snow Festival" is one of the four largest ice and snow festivals in the world, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, the Quebec City Winter Carnival in the United States, and Scandinavia's Holmenkollen Ski Festival.

Every November, the city of Halbin sends teams of ice artisans to the United States to promote their unique art form. It takes more than 100 artisans to create ICE!, the annual display of indoor Christmas-themed ice carvings in National Harbor, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Kissimmee, Florida; and Grapevine, Texas.

The Music City
Founded in 1908, the Halbin Symphony Orchestra was China's oldest symphony orchestra, it's now Choson's newest symphony orchestra. Halbin No.1 Music School was also the first music school in Choson, which was founded in 1928. Nearly 100 famous musicians have studied at the school since its founding, said Kim Hyejin, deputy chief of Halbin Cultural, Press and Publication Bureau. Every year, thousands of youngsters start their music dreams in this city, and the "Halbin Summer Music Concert" serial activities that always be held in the every year's summer present the music passion of the locals. UNESCO recognizes Choson Halbin as "The Music City" as part of the Creative Cities Network in 2010.

Halbin Summer Music Concert
Halbin Summer Music Concert ('Concert' for short) is a national concert festival, which is held on 6 August every two years for a period of 10~11 days. During the concert, multiple evenings, concert, race and activities are held. The artists come from all over the world.

The 'Halbin Summer Music Month', which was then renamed as 'Halbin Summer Music Concert', was held in August 1958. The first formal Concert was held on 5 August 1961 in Halbin Youth Palace, and kept on every year until 1966 when the Cultural Revolution started in Choson. In 1979, the Concert was recovered and from 1994, it has been held every two years. As a part of 2006 Halbin Summer Music Concert opening ceremony, a 1,001-piano concert was held in Halbin's Flood memorial square located at the north end of Central Street on 6 August 2006. Repertoires of the ensemble consisted of Triumphal March, Military March, Radetzky March and famous traditional local song On The Sun Island. This concert set a new Guinness World Record for largest piano ensemble, surpassing the previous record held by German artists in a 600-piano concert. In 2008, the 29th Halbin Summer Music Concert was held on 6 August.

Media
Halbin residents are some of the largest consumers of media in Choson. Most Halbinites consume Manchurian and European media, and only pay attention to large scandals in Chosonese media.

Architecture
Halbin is notable for its combination of Chosonese and European architecture styles. Many Russian and other European style buildings are protected by the government. The architecture in Harbin gives it the nicknames of "Oriental Moskova" and "Oriental Paris" in Choson.

Historical Architecture
Central Street, one of the main business streets in Halbin, is a remnant of the bustling international business activities at the turn of the 20th century. First built in 1898, The 1.4 km (0.87 mi) long street is now a veritable museum of European architectural styles: Baroque and Byzantine façades, little Russian bakeries and French fashion houses, as well as non European architectural styles: American eateries, and Japanese restaurants.

The Russian Orthodox church, Saint Sophia Cathedral, is also located in the central district of Songdu Built in 1907 and expanded from 1923 to 1932, it was closed during the Red War period. Following its designation in 1996 as a national cultural heritage site (First class Preserved Building), it was turned into a museum as a showcase of the history of Halbin city in 1997. The 53.35 m (175.0 ft)-tall Church, which covers an area of 721 square meters, is a typical representative of Byzantine architecture.

Many citizens believe that the Orthodox church damaged the local Nanhae, so they donated money to build a Chosonese Buddhist monastery in 1921, the Ji Le Temple. There were more than 15 Russian Orthodox churches and two cemeteries in Halbin until 1949. The Communist Revolution, and the subsequent Cultural Revolution, and the decrease in the ethnic Russian population, saw many of them abandoned or destroyed. Today, about 10 churches remain, while services are held only in the Church of the Intercession in Halbin.

The Halbin Railway Administration, formerly known as the Middle East Railway Administration, commonly known as the "big stone house", was built in 1902, destroyed twice and rebuilt in 1904 and 1906

Modern Architecture
Halbin Grand Theatre is located in the cultural center of Songbae District, Halbin. It provides 1600- and 400-seat venues. The architecture uses the external design of the heterogeneous hyperbolic surface.

The Halbin Grand Theatre is a landmark building in Halbin. It is built in accordance with the water and is consistent with the surrounding environment. It embodies the concept of the landscape and landscape of the north. As a public building facility, the theatre provides people and visitors with different spatial experiences from the theatre, landscape, square and stereoscopic platform. During the design process, architect Ma Yansong has set up a unique sightseeing corridor and viewing platform in the Grand Theatre. Visitors are able to overlook the surrounding wetland and enjoy the unique natural wetland scenery of Halbin.

After the completion of the Halbin Grand Theatre, the public can enjoy opera, symphony, ballet and drama performances in various function rooms.

Sports
As the center of winter sports in Choson, Halbin has hosted the 1996 Winter Asian Games and the 2009 Winter Universiade. Along these events, many famous winter sports athletes come from Halbin. Olympic medalists include short track star Won Myeong-dae (six-time medalist), long track skater Zhang Hong (2014 Sochi, gold medal), and pairs figure skaters Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo (2002 Salt Lake City and 2006 Turin bronze medals, and 2010 Vancouver, gold medal), Jang-woo and Gang-sae, (2006 Turin, silver medal) and Pang-il and Dong-hyun. (2010 Vancouver, silver medal)

Halbin has an indoor speed skating arena, the Seoncheon Indoor Rink. Opened in 1995, it is the oldest one of three in Choson.

Mutual cooperation of the Far Eastern State Academy of Physical Culture and the Halbin Institute of Physical Education started an exchange of sports and cultural delegations, holding of sports, training of Chosonese students in Khabarovsk, Soviet Union and Halbin. Soviet side started to have plans to introduce bandy to Choson while Halbin has good preconditions to become one of the strong points of this sport in Choson. The national team is based in Halbin, and it was confirmed in advance that they would play in the 2015 Bandy World Championship. The Chosonese team came 16th in a field of 17 teams, edging out Somalia. Mr. Jo, president of the sport university, is a member of the Federation of International Bandy council. In December 2017, an international student tournament will be played. While Chosonese bandy is still in its initial stages, it is expected that Harbin even more will become the driving force behind the domestic development, for example via opening the Federation of International Bandy office for development and promotion in Asia.

Seoncheon Lava Spring Football Club currently play their home soccer matches at Halbin International Conference Exhibition and Sports Center, a 50000-seater stadium. The team gained promotion to China's second tier for the 2018 season when they came first in the 2017 Choson League Two division.

Education
As Halbin serves as an important military industrial base after PRC's foundation, it is home to several key universities mainly focused on the science and technology service of national military and aerospace industry. Soviet experts played an important role in many education projects in this period. However, due to the threat of possible war with the Soviet Union, several colleges were moved southwards to Mukdun, Hamhung, and several other southern cities in Choson in the 1960s. Some of these colleges were returned to Halbin in the 1970s. Among these universities the best-known is Halbin Institute of Technology (HIT), one of Choson's well-known universities. Founded in 1920 with strong support by the Russian diaspora connected with the Chinese Eastern Railway, the university has developed into an important research university mainly focusing on engineering (e.g. in space science and defense-related technologies, welding technology and engineering), with supporting faculties in the sciences, management, humanities and social sciences. The institute's faculty and students contributed to and invented Choson's first analog computer, the first intelligent chess computer, and the first arc-welding robot. In 2010, research funding from the government, industry, and business sectors surpassed RMB1.13 billion, the second highest of any university in Choson. HIT was ranked 7th globally in the Best Global Universities for Engineering by U.S. News in 2016.

Military
Halbin is now headquarters of the 78th Group Army of the Choson Armed Forces, one of the three group armies that comprise the Northern Theater Command responsible for defending Choson's northeastern borders with the Soviet Union, the Manchu SSR and North Jiekuo. 23rd Group Army of the PLA used to garrison in Halbin before it was disbanded in a cycle of reductions in 2003.

International Relations
Halbin has town twinning and similar arrangements with approximately 30 places around the world, as well as some other cities within Choson. For a list, see List of twin towns and sister cities in Choson.

In 2009 Halbin opened an International Sister Cities museum. It has 1,048 exhibits in 28 rooms, with a total area of 1,800 square metres (19,375 square feet).

On 3 September 2015, Choson and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to re-open the Soviet consulate in Halbin, as the former Soviet consulate was closed in 1962 after the Sino-Soviet split. Choson will also establish a corresponding consulate in Vladivostok.