Harbin’s Orthodox Cathedral of St Sophia has been included in the
first edition of the 20th century Chinese architectural heritage list
along with 97 other sites.
The China Cultural Relic Association and the Architectural Society of China issued the list on 29 September, the Heilongjiang Daily reported.
Other landmarks include the Great Hall of the People, the Shanghai Park Hotel and the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge.
Experts say that the reason for this list is that these monuments
witnessed Chinese history in the 20th century, representing the
historical context of China’s social development and architecture in the
last century.
The Russian-style cathedral was made from timber in March 1907 as
part of a plan to reconsolidate the confidence of the Russian No.4 Army
Division by building an imposing spiritual symbol.
The 53.3-metre-high cathedral covers an area of 721 m2 and is the
perfect example of Neo-Byzantine architecture. Under the bright sun, the
church and the square look like Moscow’s Red Square.
In 1996, the building was listed as an national cultural heritage
site. A year later, the municipal government repaired and renovated the
cathedral and its surrounding environment to grant it landmark status.
About 13,000 Orthodox Christians live in China, mostly in
Heilongjiang, Harbin, Inner Mongolia (Labdarin) and Xinjiang (Kulj and
Urumqi).
In 2013 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill was received for the first
time by President Xi in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
In 2015, for the first time in 60 years, the People's Republic authorised the ordination of Chinese Orthodox priests.
In meeting with Kirill, Xi Jiping praised the role of “culture,
traditions and the moral factor in shaping the lives of people and
individuals."
Harbin cathedral is not only the religious symbol of the Orthodox
Church in China, but also has political importance as a symbol of
Sino-Russian relations.