a sub-provincial city and the capital of the Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China. It lies on the southern bank of the Songhua River. Harbin is a thriving industrial city. It is also the political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications centre of Northeast China. Harbin is known as one of the major cities in China and Northeast Asia.
Harbin is a major city in Manchuria, originally a Russian city built by Csar Alexander III as a base for Russians building the Trans-Manchurian railroad. Harbin is renown for its ice-sculpture festival in winter.