One of the key economic, scientific and cultural centers in Northeast China, the city of Harbin also nicknamed 'the pearl on the swan's neck', first came into being following a large of immigration from the Russian Empire aimed to assist with the building of the Chinese Eastern Railway. With the surrounding area abundant in reserves of gold, diamond and timber forming a reliable base for new industries to be developed, the city became a hub for commerce, but also for religion and culture. Following the high levels of prosecution of ethnic groups in Eastern Europe and Czarist Russia, the city became a place of refuge, a safe haven where Jewish and Russian refugees were able to establish thriving communities.

 

The railway station has been designed to serve as the main catalyst behind an urban redevelopment project that re-establishes the connectivity between the North and South districts of the city of
Harbin. Inspired by the concept of sound as a key drive in the formal generation of the train-station building and urban layout of the site area, the project aims to add a new layer of programmatic complexity by introducing a new commercial and residential grid, connected by a distinctive green promenade.