The New International Encyclopædia/Harbin

HAR′BIN, or KHAR′BIN. A city of Manchuria situated on the right bank of the Sungari River at the point where the Manchurian Railway to Vladivostok bifurcates, a branch extending to Port Arthur and Peking. It is about 600 miles northeast of Port Arthur, and 350 miles northwest of Vladivostok (Map: Chinese Empire, G 2). It is a “fiat city” created by the Russian Government to serve as a railway administration centre and military depot. It consists of the old, or native, town, which was all that existed before the building of the railway, the harbor, or river, town, also called Prestin, and the administration town. The last two are almost exclusively Russian, and consist of new and substantial brick houses, among which a number of large and pretentious public buildings are in course of construction. There are already established a technical and a commercial school, a theatre, hospitals, and among financial institutions a branch of the Russo-Chinese Bank. By the end of 1903 considerable commerce and industry had sprung up. Besides the extensive railway shops there were eight flour mills in operation with modern machinery, several breweries, distilleries, meat packing establishments, and brick factories. Steamers leave daily for the Amur, and the railway traffic is extensive. The population has increased rapidly from 12,000 in 1900 to about 60,000 in 1903.