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).
Then click your browser's "Back" button to return here.  Or click here for the map in a new browser window.

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 Harbin Photos Courtesy of the Sino-Israel Research and Study Center
• Harbin Photos from the Grodsky (Grant), Keilis and Clurman Families
• Harbin Photos from Katherine Bader Nigel
• Harbin Photos from the Bach Family
• Harbin Shops in 1929 from the Zonoff Family
• Jewish Middle School Students in the 1920s from the Sitsky Family
• Harbin Photos and Documents from the Joseph Glikman Family (Updated on 11 May 2012)
• 1938 Russian Map of Harbin
• Simeon Kaspé in 1933
• Jews of Harbin & Kaifeng -- Pictures and Sound
• Official Documents

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,
  Link to Mara's Web Site
• Max Star -- Excerpts from In the Lion's Den 
• Robert Skidelsky -- "A Chinese Homecoming", Prospect Magazine, January 2006
• Reuvim Traub -- His 1923 Letter from Harbin to his Father

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

• JewishGen Family Finder (JGFF) for Harbin -
  A database of ancestral towns and surnames currently being researched by Jewish genealogists worldwide.
      Would you like to connect with others researching Harbin? Click the button to search the JewishGen Family Finder database for Harbin.
      You will need to enter your JewishGen User ID and password or complete the free registration if you are not yet registered.
      The JGFF website will appear in a new widow. Close that window to return here when you are finished viewing the data.
• Jewish Communities of China (Igud Yotzei Sin - Association of Former Residents of China).
• List in Russian of graves in Harbin Jewish Cemetery (at Jewish Communities of China).
• Harbin Jewish Cemetery - English index of names and photos of many headstones.
• The Sino-Judaic Institute supports the study and preservation of Jewish history in China and promotes cooperation between the Chinese and Jewish peoples.