Harbin,
Heilongjiang PROVINCE,
China

Harbin is the capital of the modern province of Heilongjiang (literally Black Dragon River), People's Republic of China. That province is one of three in the region of Dongbei (literally East-North), formerly known as Manchuria. 

Harbin was originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets". Today the city is known for its magnificent winter ice and snow sculptures and is a thriving industrial center. It lies 642 air miles (1,033 km) north-northeast of Beijing, the Chinese capital, along the southern bank of the Songhua River (Sungari in Russian), a tributary of the Heilong River (Amur in Russian).  The Heilong is one of the three major rivers in China and marks part of China's northeastern border with Russia.

View Harbin via MapQuest at Latitude 45°73´N, Longitude 126°61´E (MapQuest Coordinates).
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Isak Grigori Clurman on coal pile at his lumberyard 
in front of Harbin’s Main Synagogue (1930s)

Background Information

• A Brief History of Jews in Harbin
• Sino-Israel Research and Study Center in Harbin  
• History of Jews in China & Story of Ossinovsky/Berdakin/Skidelsky Families by Archie Ossin
• "Singapore, Manila, and Harbin As Reference Points for Asian 'Port Jewish' Identity" by Dr. Jonathan Goldstein
• Bibliography

Pictures and Maps

• Modern Harbin
• Vintage Photos  
• 1938 Russian Map of Harbin

Personal Stories

• Ethel (Roza) Keilis Clurman -- Interview Transcript
• Charles (Ruvim) Isaac Clurman -- Interview Transcript
• Yaacov (Yana) Liberman -- Excerpts from My China: Jewish Life in the Orient 1900-1950
• Mara Moustafine -- My Family and Its City: Fifty Years in Harbin 1909-1959, Text with Photos and Charts
• Nora and Efim Krouk -- Narrative and Photos of Harbin, Shanghai and Tientsin
• Max Star -- Excerpts from In the Lion's Den 
• Robert Skidelsky -- "A Chinese Homecoming", Prospect Magazine, January 2006

Searchable Databases (Use the "Back" button on your browser to return here.)

• JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) for Harbin
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• Jews of China (Igud Yotzei Sin - Association of Former Residents of China)
  Includes a list in Russian of graves in Harbin Jewish Cemetery.
• The Sino-Judaic Institute supports the study and preservation of Jewish history in China and promotes cooperation between the Chinese and Jewish peoples.