The big church Guide

According to Travel Guide to Harbin, St. Sophia Church in Harbin is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the Far East. It was built in 1907 by Russians and is the only one of several Orthodox churches in Harbin. Recently, the interior of the church was restored, but left in as much of its original state as possible. Inside the church is a museum that explains the history of the church and of Harbin. In 1996, the city government declared Saint Sophia Church a protected building. Half a year later, the Harbin City government repaired it and renamed it as Harbin Art Gallery. It is a respectable landmark for Harbiners and for travellers.

St. Sophia Church has a complex history. Shortly after the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), the Russian built the church of timber in March, 1907. Then, the Russian rebuilt it using masonry and timber four years later. The onset of a second reconstruction by Russian was marked on September 23rd, 1923. And a ceremony was held to celebrate laying the corner stone. It was completed on November 25th, 1932. Nine years later, it was hailed as a monumental work of art.

The church was built using Byzantine styles with a mixture of Chinese and Russian culture. Inside the church there are also famous murals painted by Russian artists as well as seven timepieces that sound seven different notes. The main part of the church is in the shape of a cross and on sunny days, the church reminds people of the Red Square in Moscow. By the 1990's, St. Sophia had undergone considerable decline. The church no longer was in use, and residential apartments and office buildings surrounded it. Magnificent Russian painted murals that adorned the church's arched walls were destroyed out of recognition. While in 1997, the Harbin government undertook to undo the decades of deterioration. But as the original Russian murals were lost completely, they were replaced by topically new murals depicting the architectural history of the Harbin community. And crosses that were removed in six places were replaced.
Here are some guide information about Sophia Church. The detail is following :
Address: No.88 of Toulongjie, Daoli District, Harbin
Admission Fee: 20RMB for p.p
Opening hours: 08:00 a.m-18:00 p.m
Contact Hotline: 86 451 84686904

• The big church
• Northeast Tiger Zoo
• The main street
• Sino-Russia border trade market
• The Sun Island
• Songhua River
• Yabuli International Ski Resort
• Erlongshan International Ski Resort
• Heilongjiang Provincial Museum
• Ice & Snow World