China Attractions: St Sophia's Cathedral, Harbin

Urumqi | Xian | Yangshuo

St Sophia's Cathedral 圣索非亚大教堂

Harbin's premier attraction is the lovely St Sophia's Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox church in the Far East.

Built in 1907, the Byzantine, red-brick church is topped with green onion-domed spires. The church is home to the Harbin Architecture & Art Centre with historic photos of Harbin's days as an outpost of the Russian railway empire.

The Jingu Hotel and the Shangri-La Hotel Harbin are both convenient for St Sophia's and downtown Harbin.

Harbin Access

There are daily trains from Harbin to Beijing (10-18 hours) as well as Changchun, Daqing, Qiqihar, Shanghai (31 hours) and Shenyang as well as connections to Moscow.