St. Sophia Church
The grand and unique St. Sophia Church is the largest Eastern Orthodox Church in China or even in the Far East.
Built in March of 1907, the church is located at the intersection of Zhaolin Street and Toulong Street in Daoli District. This stone-and-brick structure is of typical Byzantine style. It is 53.35 meters high and covers an area of 721 sq m, able to hold 2,000 people. The main structure is round with big onion-like dome on top and four smaller onion-like domes around. In the front, there is a hexagon bell tower, in which hangs one big bell and six small bells. The largest bell weighs 1.8 tons and the six bells produce different musical notes. The overall layout of the church is in the shape of a cross, but the horizontal bar extending east and west are not in same length. Under the blue sky, the dark green dome and the dark red walls look quite solemn.
It used to be the Theological School of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Harbin. The architect was a Russian. The church is now under first-class protection under the Harbin city government.
