Saint Sophia Cathedral, Harbin

One of the annoying things about travelling in group tours is that every stop is pre-planned with very little flexibility for change. Worst still, some stops are allocated with ridiculous short duration - sometimes just long enough for a toilet stop.

The stop for the visit to Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin is a case in point - a mere 10 minutes allowed. What do you expect to do for 10 minutes? At most a few photo shots from a distance and that's about it! There was simply no time for even a short peep inside the Cathedral less alone a stroll to look at its interior.

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St. Sophia Cathedral was first built in 1907 to cater for the many Russians who came to this region after the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 - 1905. It was built of timer initially. From late 1923 to late 1932, the Church building underwent major expansion and renovation. The renovated building had since been hailed as a monumental work of art and was the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East.

After the founding of the People Republic of Chins in 1949, treaties were signed between the Communist Chinese Government and Soviet Union that provided for the transfer of all Russian Churches to Chinese control. The Chinese Government ended all Christian missionary work and the Cathedral was closed between 1956-1961 during the Great Leap Forward and 1966-1976 during the Cultural Revolution.

Miraculously, the sturdy structure of the Cathedral withstood the destructive forces during the Cultural Revolution. Its hall was used as a warehouse for a state-run departmental store. The windows were bricked up and high concrete walls were erected around all four sides of the building making the Cathedral inaccessible and invisible from the street. For decades, it remained invisible to the public. It become even more concealed after auto shop, pen factory and apartments were built around the enclosure.

It finally made a come back after the Central Government of China designated the Cathedral a national cultural heritage site in 1996 as part of the campaign to protect historical sites. Following this designation, US$1.5 million was donated by local businesses, local enterprises and individuals from the surrounding area to facilitate restoration work. All surrounding buildings deemed obstructive were torn down. Its magnificent appearance was finally restored in 1997.

Since its restoration, the Cathedral has been turned into the Municipal Architecture and Art Museum.

At the site, I did have a thought - Would China be able to evolve into a country when the Cathedral is allowed to be used for its original intended purpose?