The State Department has graciously funded two months of "intensive" Mandarin study for 80 Americans in China this summer. 40 of us were assigned to Harbin, 39 of whom survived Swine Flu (H1N1) screening and finally arrived on June 11. We are living in the foreign dormitories of Heilongjiang University in Harbin, China's tenth largest city. From Monday to Friday, we take four hours of classes in the morning, then spend the afternoons doing a variety of culturally-enriching activities. Side trips have been arranged for most of the weekends.
Saint Sophia's Cathedral is the most iconic site in Harbin, although it is no longer used as a church. Harbin became a haven for Russian refugees during the Russian Revolution, and this Orthodox church was built during the heyday of Russian influence. Today, many Russians still visit the city to its location in China's far north, but their architectural influence in the city has all but disappeared. I will write more about the history of Harbin in later postings. Most of the city looks far more mundane, as evidenced by the view from my window.
Harbin is aspiring to attract more foreign language students. Mandarin is the standard language across China. However, almost every region has a separate dialect, and almost every region speaks the standard language with different pronunciations. Residents of Harbin, however, are noted for speaking Mandarin with exemplary pronunciation. Therefore it is an appealing location for learning spoken Mandarin.
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