Programme: Summer Excursion to Harbin & Khabarovsk
Partner Institution: Harbin Institute of Technology
Period: June 7 - 16, 2019
This is my first time to reach the northeast of China, Harbin. In the history lessons of secondary school, I learned that since the 1930s, Japan has invaded China's northeast and established the Puppet Manchuria. After visiting the 731th Army Crimes Exhibition Hall of the Japanese Invaders and the Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall, I was extremely sad. According to the guides' explanations and seeing the exhibitions in person, I realized that Japanese soldiers launched the bacteriological warfare and conducted a lot of inhuman behaviour in China at that time. I appreciate those local soldiers a lot because they were eager to protect their homes. Personally, I hope there is no longer wars since they usually bring disasters to humans and I believe people have learnt a lot from history and will avoid making the same mistakes, launching the war.
In addition, travelling to Khabarovsk is also an unforgettable experience for me, to a large extent. I spent nearly 14 hours on train. The sleeping environment is very crowded, and I can't even stretch my body when I sleep at the top. Khabarovsk is a big city in the Far East of Russia, and the city planning is very good. During the summer time, we can avoid the cold weather and visit a number of attractions. What I remember is the delicious food in Russia, fish in particular. During the university visit, from the teachers' explanations, I learned that they have frequent academic exchanges with China, and they have a large number of exchange students from China as well. But what I believe is that we need to learn their language first before having in depth communications.
By and large, this trip allows me to communicate with the teachers and students in the Harbin Institute of Technology, to make new friends, to understand the modern history of China, and to reach a Russian city where people seldom pay a visit to.