Last day in Harbin was a success, despite the fact that there were torrential downpours. Actually, the only unsuccessful bit was that I was trying to get a free lunch at one of the hotels I was visiting, but nobody offered me one. But it turned out ok cause I had a very nice lunch at the mall next to the Sofitel after I finished my site visits.
But the real success came this morning when I did a Jewish walking tour of Harbin. I knew that there was Jewish history in Harbin, I learned as much when I came here back in 2009. But back then we didn't explore too much of it. There really isn't much to explore, but I made a point of doing it this time. There's the so-called New Synagogue (which is actually almost 100 years old, but was the new synagogue to the local community back in the day) which is the best preserved Jewish building and which now houses the Jewish museum.
In a nutshell, Jews came here from Europe and Russia starting in 1899 to escape anti-semitism and pogroms, and ended up settling and building a community and having a huge impact on the development of Harbin. Apparently there were over 20,000 Jews here at the peak of the population. Now there are none, the last Harbin Jew passed away in the 80s, but for nearly 100 years there was a population. And back in the day, it was thriving. There were all kinds of companies owned and run by Jews, banks, community centers, hospitals, schools, shuls - everything. It's pretty awesome. The museum itself only gives you a basic introduction, and then shows you a lot of pictures of places and things that were even remotely related to Jews being in Harbin, but it's still interesting to see. And Harbin Jews and their ancestors eventually went on to run global companies, become members of governments, and even run countries. Pretty impressive. The New Synagogue is the only Jewish dedicated building, but there are a lot of old Jewish buildings with placards informing you what they are which have been repurposed into other offices or businesses, so I also took the time to walk around and see a bunch of them. The only missing piece was the Jewish cemetery, which is just outside the city. But I'm still pretty happy with what I managed to get done.
I'm also pretty happy that Beirut has released a new single. Apparently he had a rough few years, suffering from exhaustion, being hospitalized, getting divorced... not a good time. But he's recovered and he's back and he's in love and he's making new music. And the first song he's decided to share is No No No, the title track off of his upcoming album, due out in September. It's a bit of a progression for him soundwise, taking the instrumental arrangements of his earlier music and pairing it with the electronic leanings of some of his later work, and it goes together really well. Doesn't hurt that it sounds a bit like Scenic World, one of my favorite Beirut tracks. This is a great start, and I can't wait for more.
But the real success came this morning when I did a Jewish walking tour of Harbin. I knew that there was Jewish history in Harbin, I learned as much when I came here back in 2009. But back then we didn't explore too much of it. There really isn't much to explore, but I made a point of doing it this time. There's the so-called New Synagogue (which is actually almost 100 years old, but was the new synagogue to the local community back in the day) which is the best preserved Jewish building and which now houses the Jewish museum.
In a nutshell, Jews came here from Europe and Russia starting in 1899 to escape anti-semitism and pogroms, and ended up settling and building a community and having a huge impact on the development of Harbin. Apparently there were over 20,000 Jews here at the peak of the population. Now there are none, the last Harbin Jew passed away in the 80s, but for nearly 100 years there was a population. And back in the day, it was thriving. There were all kinds of companies owned and run by Jews, banks, community centers, hospitals, schools, shuls - everything. It's pretty awesome. The museum itself only gives you a basic introduction, and then shows you a lot of pictures of places and things that were even remotely related to Jews being in Harbin, but it's still interesting to see. And Harbin Jews and their ancestors eventually went on to run global companies, become members of governments, and even run countries. Pretty impressive. The New Synagogue is the only Jewish dedicated building, but there are a lot of old Jewish buildings with placards informing you what they are which have been repurposed into other offices or businesses, so I also took the time to walk around and see a bunch of them. The only missing piece was the Jewish cemetery, which is just outside the city. But I'm still pretty happy with what I managed to get done.
I'm also pretty happy that Beirut has released a new single. Apparently he had a rough few years, suffering from exhaustion, being hospitalized, getting divorced... not a good time. But he's recovered and he's back and he's in love and he's making new music. And the first song he's decided to share is No No No, the title track off of his upcoming album, due out in September. It's a bit of a progression for him soundwise, taking the instrumental arrangements of his earlier music and pairing it with the electronic leanings of some of his later work, and it goes together really well. Doesn't hurt that it sounds a bit like Scenic World, one of my favorite Beirut tracks. This is a great start, and I can't wait for more.
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