Travel Memoirs: The Ice City

Last week, I went to Harbin, China on a work trip for the very first time and enjoyed a bit of sightseeing in this city touted as "Oriental Moscow". And you can probably see why, from the many Orthodox churches speckled around the city, the ubiquitous Russian-inspired architecture and cobblestoned pavements. The juxtaposition of the romanesque Russian buildings and Confucius Chinese culture was charming.

Being so far up north, the weather was way cooler than the rest of the Northern Hemisphere at this juncture of time. One night, I was shivering in my hotel room with the weather outside at 6 degrees! One thing that struck me about Harbin is the cerulean, clear blue skies with not a single cloud in sight!

Blue skies unto infinity at St Sofia's Church. Looks like Moscow, huh?


The baroque interiors of St Sofia's Church


The Holy Bible in ancient Russian language


Another Orthodox church near Guogeli Dajie, the Russian quarters of Harbin


A Chinese man writing calligraphy using water on the pavement just outside the above Orthodox church