193 1 Harbin under the lens: Songhua River in summer and St. Ivell Church in winter.

Back to the special era of 193 1, a group of Japanese came to the northeast of China and Harbin and recorded the local customs from 193 1 to 1932. All the photos in this paper are selected from Harbin in the Asian Grand View, and the author re-colored four of them by hand, trying to restore the most authentic face of Harbin in that year.

/kloc-Harbin in the 1930s was the heart of northeast China, and it was second to none in politics, industry, economy and transportation. At the same time, Harbin is also a highly internationalized city in the Far East. No one expected that about half a century ago, Harbin was still a very remote and humble small village, where only a few fishermen lived.

Now standing on a roof in Harbin, it is estimated that it is difficult to see such a clear skyline. At that time, there were not many high-rise buildings blocking the skyline in Harbin. Standing on a roof in the center of the city, the whole city has a panoramic view. Looking closely, the figure of St. Ivell's church in the far end can be faintly seen in the picture.

Songhua River is an indispensable part of Harbin. In the long winter, there is hard ice on the river, and all kinds of vehicles will shuttle on the ice. When the time comes to the hot summer, here is another picture. Coming to Songhua River for summer vacation became the first choice of many citizens at that time. In the picture, a woman with a Russian face is rowing a boat on the Songhua River and walking leisurely. There are several factories in the distance, and the chimneys are smoking black smoke.

193 1 On a winter day, several Russian-faced vendors stood in the street, each with a basket filled with recently made bread. And the hand of an oriental man behind them is very similar to today's yellow rice bean buns. I don't know how different it tastes compared with now.

Russians living in Harbin at that time had the habit of going out to breathe fresh air, regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter. It can be seen everywhere in several parks in Harbin in the 1930s. Especially in spring and summer, especially in the afternoon to evening. Look at the face in the camera. The two people on the right are chatting enthusiastically, while the children are staring at the camera in front of them curiously.

Now more than 90 years have passed, and most of the people who appeared in the camera have passed away, while some buildings that appeared in the camera more than 90 years ago are still well preserved, leaving us with infinite reverie.