Harbin is one of those cities that I can appreciate. The architecture of the city resembles nothing like the rest of China. The Neapolitan/European architecture adorns the landscape of the city. The government buildings in the city center are beautiful.

There is also very diverse history in Harbin. The city has switched hands from Chinese, to Russia, to Japan, back to China. This has lend to some interesting ideologies and architecture throughout the city.

The only downside is that lack of maintenance of the buildings. They are truly beautiful, but to be honest, a lot of Chinese people do not care about about the upkeep. They dwell in a place until it falls apart and then move.

Hopefully, with coming generations, they will rebuild and these old buildings and keep the architectural code. It would be horrible if they knock down these buildings for the same new copy/paste buildings it would be really sad.