My hometown—Harbin(China)--Architecture（建筑）

（Translated by freelance Chinese translator li – English to Chinese translation or Chinese to English translation services- your agent in Harbin）

Called the Oriental St. Petersburg, Harbin is one of China's most beautiful cities. The city is well-known for its unique, Russian and European-influenced architecture.

Zhong Yang Street (Central Street, also known as Kitaiskaia St.), one of the main business streets in Harbin, is a perfect remnant of the bustling international business activities（国际商务活动） at the turn of the 20th century. The 1.4-km long street is a veritable museum of European architectural style: Baroque（巴洛克式） and Byzantine（拜占庭式）facades, little Russian bakeries(面包店), French fashion houses, American eateries（餐馆）, and Japanese restaurants.

The Russian Orthodox church（东正教）, St. Sophia Cathedral（索非亚大教堂）, is also located in this central district of Daoli（道里区）. St. Sophia took nine years to build and was completed in 1932. It has now been made into a museum as a showcase of the multi-cultural architecture of Harbin. Many citizens believe that the Orthodox church damaged the local feng shui（风水）, so they donated money to build a Chinese monastery in 1921, the Ji Le Temple（极乐寺）. There were more than 15 Russian Orthodox churches and two cemeteries in Harbin until 1949. Mao's Communist Revolution, and the subsequent Cultural Revolution（文化大革命）, saw many of them destroyed. Now, about 10 churches remain, while services are held only in one.