A Horse-Drawn Carriage Road Forged 120 Years Ago, Now Asia's Largest and Longest Pedestrian Street

Visitors from outside cities probably haven't been to Central Street in Harbin. Now, this street has become a symbol of Harbin's city image, whether you're passing by or coming specifically, as Harbin people say, not coming to Central Street means not having come to Harbin.

This is Harbin in December, arriving by train in the afternoon and checking into a hotel on the banks of the Songhua River. It's just a short walk through several alleys and you'll arrive at Harbin Central Street.

In December, Harbin is truly freezing, with outdoor temperatures dropping to -20 degrees Celsius or so, which is bone-chilling for visitors from southern regions. To go out, you have to wrap yourself up tightly, only showing your eyes.

However, don't worry about life in Harbin. Northeast winters are just the outside being cold, and the inside will make you unbearable hot. That's why you check into a hotel on the riverbank, and the indoor temperature shows a few degrees above zero, which is hard to imagine.

Harbin's mornings are bright, not until 8 am, and there are few people outside. When you set off to walk on the pedestrian street at 10 am, you find that more and more people are coming. Judging from their clothing and shopping, most of the visitors are from outside cities.

I always thought Central Street was very long and very long. Walking along the street, I discovered that it wasn't that long. This street starts at the Songhua River Flood Prevention Tower and ends at New Yang Square, with a total length of 1256 meters and a width of about 36 meters. Walking and walking, you seem to have hardly gotten tired when you reached the end.

In winter, most people come to Harbin to see ice sculptures and the Ice and Snow World. However, there are various artistic ice sculptures everywhere on Central Street, which can be experienced without paying a ticket.

Walking on the street, you can see European-style castle buildings everywhere. It is said that 71 European-style and European-style buildings have been built in this area, including four major architectural styles that have had the greatest influence in Western architectural history,

However, some buildings in the area are now old and worn, with stone pavement ground to a shining luster. This is because it has been a hundred-year-old street,

In 1898, a large number of foreign workers flooded into Harbin, leading to large-scale railway construction and urban development. The original location of Central Street was a desolate, low-lying river channel along the Songhua River, and a muddy road was dug by horse-drawn carts carrying railway equipment. This is the prototype of Central Street. In 1925, it was renamed 'Central Street',

For over a hundred years, more and more Russian shops opened on this old street, with more and more European-style buildings. Eventually, it became the longest pedestrian street in Asia,

In May 1924, the stone pavement of Central Street was laid. The stone blocks were cast from granite and were 18 cm long and 10 cm wide. Their shape and size were like Russian little loaves of bread, which are very artistic and rare in the history of international architecture. They are popular with both domestic and international tourists,

Don't underestimate these stone blocks, they have characteristics of abrasion resistance, brightness, and colorfastness. They can last for 300 years. It is said that the price of a block was one silver dollar at that time, which was the monthly food cost for a poor person. Several hundred meters of Chinese street are paved with this, which is a 'gold' paved road,

Now, the uniquely European-style Central Street has fewer Russians and more Chinese tourists. People come to this street every day in droves. I always thought this street was only for foreign tourists to come, but Harbin people say that local citizens also often go shopping on this street,

When it comes to the most popular shops on the street, it's definitely the shop selling Harbin Ice Cream. Although it's freezing in winter, it doesn't stop foreign tourists from queuing up for 5 yuan to buy a stick and taste it,

I don't know how many sales Harbin Ice Cream makes a year, but China's first ice cream is none other than it,

Harbin people say that this street has the most visitors per day at its peak, with over 20,000 visitors. Especially at night, the pedestrian street is dazzling and crowded, which makes peopleChina's first street is not a lie,

A hundred-year-old Harbin old street, combining romance, fashion, elegance and nobility, is also the Harbin people's pride,