Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Harbin
Official name	哈尔滨市
Native name	哈尔滨
Nickname	Ice City, Oriental Paris, Oriental Moscow
Settlement type	Sub-provincial city
Image seal	哈尔滨市徽.jpg
Map caption	Harbin (red) in Heilongjiang province (orange) and China
Dot x	|dot_y
Pushpin map	Heilongjiang
Pushpin label position
Pushpin map caption	Location in Heilongjiang
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	People's Republic of China
Subdivision type1	Province
Subdivision name1	Heilongjiang
Subdivision type3	County-level divisions
Subdivision name3	19
Leader title	Secretary Municipal Committee of the CPC
Leader name	Gai Ruyin 盖如垠 (since August , 2009)
Leader title1	Mayor
Leader name1	Zhang Xiaolian 张效廉 (since February, 2007)
Established title2
Established title3
Unit pref
Area footnotes
Area total km2	53068
Area land km2
Area urban km2	2089
Area metro km2	4275
Population total	10,635,971
Population density km2	auto
Population metro	5,282,083
Population density metro km2	auto
Population urban	4,517,549
Population density urban km2	auto
Population blank1 title
Population blank1
Timezone	China Standard Time
Utc offset	+8
Coordinates region	CN-23
Coordinates display	inline,title
Elevation footnotes
Elevation m	150
Elevation ft	488
Postal code type	Postal code
Postal code	150000
Area code	451
Blank name	License plate prefixes
Blank info	黑A
Blank1 name	GDP (2008)
Blank1 info	CNY 286.82 billion
Blank2 name	- per capita
Blank2 info	CNY 29,012
Website	www.harbin.gov.cn
Footnotes	}}

Harbin (; ); Manchu language: 15px, ''Harbin''; Russian: Харби́н / Charbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River. With a population of 9.87 million, it is the tenth largest city in China, serving as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in the Northeast.

Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets". It is known for its bitterly cold winters and is often called the "Ice City". Harbin is well known for its beautiful ice sculptures in winter and plays an important part in Sino-Russian trade. In the 1920s, the city was considered China's fashion capital as new designs from Paris and Moscow reached there first before arriving in Shanghai.

History

Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC (late Stone Age). It was formerly called Pokai.

The modern city of Harbin originated in 1898 from a small village. The city was established by a Polish engineer Adam Szydłowski following the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (KVZhD) financed by the Russian Empire. Chinese Eastern Railway is an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, shortcutting substantially the distance to Vladivostok and creating a link to the port city of Dalny (Dalian) and the Russian Naval Base Port Arthur.

Following the Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5), Russia's influence declined, and several thousand nationals from 33 countries including the United States, Germany, and France moved to Harbin. Sixteen countries established consulates and set up several hundred industrial, commercial and banking companies in Harbin. The Chinese also established their own businesses in brewing, food and the textile industry. Harbin had established its status as the center of northeastern China and as an international metropolis.

National census carried out in 1913 by the Chinese Eastern Railway revealed the following ethnic breakdown of the city's population: Russians - 34313, Chinese (中國人, that is Hans, Manchus etc.) - 23537, Jews - 5032, Poles - 2556, Japanese - 696, Germans - 564, Tatars - 234, Latvians - 218, Georgians - 183, Estonians - 172, Lithuanians - 142, Armenians - 124; there were also Karaims, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, and some Western Europeans. In total, 68549 citizens of 53 nationalities, speaking 45 languages.

In December 1918, during the Russian Civil War, defeated Russian White Guards and refugees retreated to the city: it then became a major centre of White Russian émigrés. The city became the largest Russian enclave outside Russia. The Jewish community was formed by Russian Jews and included a group of German Jews, who fled Nazi Germany in the late 1930s. Under the pro bono efforts by Japanese government officials, they later emigrated to several cities in western Japan, notably Kobe, to ensure their safety and prosperity and established the largest synagogue in Japan. The Russians established the Russian school system and published Russian language newspapers and journals.

With the establishment of Manchukuo, Japanese troops occupied Harbin on 4 February 1932. The city became main base of operations of the infamous Unit 731 which was responsible for some of the most grisly war atrocities in human history. In 1935 the Soviet Union sold the railway (KVZhD) to the Japanese, which resulted in the first exodus of Russian emigres from Manchuria and Harbin in particular. The bulk of the departing Russians went back to the Soviet Union, while a substantial number moved south to Shanghai or emigrated to the United States and Australia.

The Soviet Army took the city on 20 August 1945 and Harbin never came under the control of the Kuomintang, whose troops stopped 60 km short of the city. The city's administration was transferred by the departing Soviet Army to the Chinese People's Liberation Army in April 1946.

During the short occupation of Harbin by the Soviet Army (August 1945 to April 1946), thousands of Russian emigres who fled communism after the revolution, were forcibly moved to the Soviet Union. The rest of the European community (Russians, Germans, Poles, Greeks etc.) emigrated during the years 1950-54 to Australia, Brazil and the USA, or were repatriated to their home countries. By 1988 the original Russian community numbered just thirty, all of them elderly.

During the Cultural Revolution many foreign and Christian things were uprooted, such as the St. Nicholas church which was destroyed by Red Guards in 1966.

The eight Harbin counties originally formed part of Songhuajiang Prefecture (), and became incorporated into Harbin on 11 August 1999, making Harbin a sub-provincial city.

Harbin once housed one of the largest Jewish communities in the Far East. It reached its peak in the mid 1920s when 20,000 European Jews lived in the city. Among them were the parents of Ehud Olmert, the former Prime Minister of Israel. In 2004 Ehud Olmert came to Harbin with an Israeli trade delegation to visit the grave of his grandfather.

A benzene plant situated upstream in the city of Jilin along the Songhua River exploded on 13 November 2005. Benzene levels reached more than 100 times normal levels, which led authorities in Harbin to shut off the water supply, and some residents left the city while others rushed to buy bottled water. After a few days the water supply was restored. The Harbin government originally declared to the public that the water supply was temporarily off while the supply system was checked. They also denied reports of a chemical leak, claiming that it was "just a rumour."

The municipality had 10,635,971 inhabitants at the 2010 census and its built up area covers now 7 districts of Harbin municipality : all urban districts plus Hulan county who is merging with Songbei districts. The built up area is now home to 5,282,083 inhabitants spread out on .

Administrative divisions

The sub-provincial city of Harbin has direct jurisdiction over 8 districts (区 ''qu''), 3 county-level cities (市 ''shi'') and 7 Counties (县 ''xian''). On August 15, 2006, Dongli District (动力区) merged with Xiangfang District (香坊区).

! Map	! #	! Name	! Hanzi	! Hanyu Pinyin	! Population (2010-11-01)	! Area (km²)	! Density (/km²)
1	Daoli District	道里区	Dàolǐ Qū	923762	479	1,929
2		南岗区	Nángǎng Qū	1343857	183	7,343
3	Daowai District	道外区	Dàowài Qū	906421	257	3,527
4	Xiangfang District	香坊区	Xiāngfáng Qū	916408	340	2,695
5	Pingfang District	平房区	Píngfáng Qū	190253	94	2,024
6	Songbei District	松北区	Sōngběi Qū	236848	736	322
7	Hulan District	呼兰区	Hūlán Qū	764534	2,186	350
8	Acheng District	阿城区	Àchéng Qū	596856	2,770	215
9	Shuangcheng	双城市	Shuāngchéng Shì	825634	3,112	265
10	Shangzhi	尚志市	Shàngzhì Shì	585386	8,895	66
11		五常市	Wǔcháng Shì	881224	7,512	117
12		依兰县	Yīlán Xiàn	388319	4,672	83
13	Fangzheng County	方正县	Fāngzhèng Xiàn	203853	2,993	68
14		宾县	Bīn Xiàn	551271	3,846	143
15	Bayan County	巴彦县	Bāyàn Xiàn	590555	3,138	188
16	Mulan County	木兰县	Mùlán Xiàn	277685	3,602	77
17	Tonghe County	通河县	Tōnghé Xiàn	210650	5,755	37
18	Yanshou County	延寿县	Yánshòu Xiàn	242455	3,226	75

Geography

Harbin is located in southern Heilongjiang, on the southeastern edge of the Songnen Plain (松嫩平原). The city centre also sits on the southern bank of the middle Songhua River. As the prefecture is rather large, its latitude ranges from 44° 04′ - 46° 40′ N, and the longitude 125° 42′ - 130° 10' E. Neighbouring prefectures are Yichun to the north, Jiamusi and Qitaihe to the northeast, Mudanjiang to the southeast, Daqing to the west, and Suihua to the northwest. In the southwest is Jilin Province. The terrain of the city is generally flat, with an average elevation of around .

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Harbin features a monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (''Dwa'') with hot, humid summers and very cold winters. Its "Ice City" nickname is well-earned, as its winters are dry and bitterly cold, with a 24-hour average in January of only . Yet the city sees little precipitation during the winter and is often sunny. Summers can be hot, with a July mean temperature of . Summer is also when most of the year's rainfall occurs. Spring and autumn constitute brief transition periods with variable wind directions. Extreme temperatures have ranged from to .

Economy

While Dalian is considered the region’s shipping center and Shenyang its financial hub, Harbin is striving hard towards becoming the key trade and shopping center of the region. The city is located in one of the fastest growing regions in the world and can boast a number of advantages such as an abundance of natural resources, good transport system and plenty of human resources.

In 2008, Harbin's GDP reached RMB286.82 billion, an increase of 13.2 percent over the previous year. Tertiary industry output remained the largest component of GDP reaching RMB140.04 billion, an increase of 13.9 percent from the previous year. The total value for imports and exports by the end of 2008 was US$3.64 billion.

The soil in Harbin, called “black earth” is one of the most nutrient rich in all of China, making it valuable for cultivating food and textile-related crops. As a result, Harbin is China’s base for the production of commodity grain and an ideal location for setting up agricultural businesses. Harbin also has industries such as light industry, textile, medicine, foodstuff, automobile, metallurgy, electronics, building materials, and chemicals which help to form a fairly comprehensive industrial system. Harbin Power Equipment Group Company and Northeast Light Alloy Processing Factory are two key enterprises. Harbin is also known as the capital of “power manufacturing”; hydro and thermal power equipment manufactured here makes up one-third of the total installed capacity in China.

Foreign investors seem upbeat about the city. The Harbin Trade and Economic fair, has been held for 17 years annually, cumulatively attracting more than 1.3 million exhibitors and visitors and resulting in contracts of over US$90 billion. Japanese, Russian and Eastern European nations are increasingly looking to North China and Harbin for investment. Foreign direct investment remains low, but is growing as a result of government efforts, with utilized FDI totaling US$570 million, up 28.1 percent, in 2008.

Harbin is also home to Harbin Institute of Technology, one of China’s better known universities. Founded in 1920, the university has developed into an important research university focusing on engineering, with supporting faculties in the sciences, management, humanities and social sciences. The institute's faculty and students contributed to and invented China's first analog computer, the first intelligent chess computer, and the first arc-welding robot. Last year, research funding from the government, industry, and business sectors surpassed RMB1.13 billion, the second highest of any university in China.

Economic Development Zones and Ports

Harbin Development Zone

*Harbin Economic and Technological Development Zone

*Harbin High and New Technological Development Zone

Harbin High-tech Zone was set up in 1988 and was approved by the State Council as a national development zone in 1991. It has a total area of 34 sqkm in the centralized parks, subdivided into Nangang, Haping Road and Yingbin Road Centralized Parks. The Nangang Centralized Park is designated for the incubation of high-tech projects and research and development base of enterprises as well as tertiary industries such as finance, insurance, services, catering, tourism, culture, recreation and entertainment, where the headquarters of large famous companies and their branches in Harbin are located; the Haping Road Centralized Park is a comprehensive industrial basis for the investment projects of automobile and automobile parts manufacturing, medicines, foodstuffs, electronics, textile; the Yingbin Road Centralized Park is mainly for high-tech incubation projects, high-tech industrial development.

Harbin Port

Daqing High-tech Industrial Development Zone

Infrastructure

Harbin is one of the largest railway hubs in Northeast China. Five major railways (Jingha, Binsui, Binzhou, Binbei and Labin) meet here. Currently 138 trains terminate in or pass through Harbin daily, with trains available to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Jinan and many other major cities in China.

The Harbin Taiping International Airport is the second largest international airport in Northeast China. There are flights to/from more than 30 large and medium-sized cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.

There are more than 1,900 rivers in Heilongjiang, including the Songhua River, Heilongjiang River and Wusulijiang River, creating a convenient system of waterway transportation. Harbin harbor is one of eight inland ports in China and the largest of its type in Northeast China. Available from mid-April until the beginning of November, passenger ships sail from Harbin up the Songhua River to Qiqihar, or downstream to Jiamusi, Tongjiang, and Khabarovsk in Russia.

Architecture

As the major refugee center for the East European Jewish, the architecture style of Harbin shows a unique combination of oriental and European architecture styles. The city is well known for its unique, Russian and other European-influenced architecture.

Zhong Yang Street (Central Street, also known, using the Russian word for Chinese, as Kitaiskaya Street), one of the main business streets in Harbin, is a perfect remnant of the bustling international business activities at the turn of the 20th century. The 1.4-km long street is a veritable museum of European architectural styles: Baroque and Byzantine façades, little Russian bakeries and French fashion houses, as well as non European architectural styles: American eateries, and Japanese restaurants.

The Russian Orthodox church, Saint Sophia Cathedral, is also located in this central district of Daoli. St. Sophia took nine years to build and was completed in 1932. It has now been made into a museum as a showcase of the diverse architecture of Harbin.

Many citizens believe that the Orthodox church damaged the local feng shui, so they donated money to build a Chinese monastery in 1921, the Ji Le Temple. There were more than 15 Russian Orthodox churches and two cemeteries in Harbin until 1949. Mao's Communist Revolution, and the subsequent Cultural Revolution, saw many of them destroyed. Now, about 10 churches remain, while services are held only in the Church of the Intercession in Harbin.

Culture

The Harbin local culture is based on Han culture, combined with Manchu culture and Russian culture. This combination of cultures influences the local architecture style, food, music, and customs. The city of Harbin was appointed a UNESCO City of Music on 22 June 2010 as part of the Creative Cities Network.

Russian influence

Harbin today is still very much influenced by its Russian past. A city once under Russian rule, it is now a center of trade with that country.

The influence of Russia came with the construction of the China Far East Railway, an extension of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and Harbin, known formerly as a fishing village, began to prosper as the largest commercial center of North Eastern Asia.

Tsarist Russia encouraged Russian settlement in their important Trans-Siberian-Railway outpost by waiving the then 25-year long military service obligation. For Jews who settled there, the restrictions applying in Russia were also waived.

The local cuisine in Harbin is also Russian-influenced. Harbin's bakeries are famous for their bread (lie-ba in local dialect, derived from the Russian word ''khleb'' for "bread"). Harbin's sausages (qiu-lin hong-chang) are another notable product, in that they tend to be of a much more European flavour than other Chinese sausages.

There were many Jews came to Harbin during World War II, some of whom died in Harbin and were buried there. There is at least one cemetery with some tombstones bearing the Star of David. It is on a little hill (or cliff) overlooking a busy railway in Nan Gang district.

Winter culture

Harbin is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, −16.8 degrees Celsius in winter.

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival has been held since 1985. Although the official start date is January 5 each year, in practice, many of the sculptures can be seen before. While there are ice sculptures throughout the city, there are two main exhibition areas: Enormous snow sculptures at Sun Island (a recreational area on the opposite side of the Songhua River from the city) and the separate "Ice and Snow World" that operates each night. Ice and Snow World features illuminated full size buildings made from blocks of 2–3 feet thick crystal clear ice directly taken from Songhua River which passes through the city. Winter activities in the festival include Yabuli Alpine Skiing, winter-swimming in Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden. Snow carving and ice and snow recreations are world famous.

The "Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival" is one of the four largest ice and snow festivals in the world, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.

Every November, the city of Harbin sends teams of ice artisans to the United States to promote their unique art form. It takes more than 100 artisans to create ICE!, the annual display of indoor Christmas-themed ice carvings in National Harbor, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Kissimmee, Florida; and Grapevine, Texas.

Winter sports

The third Winter Asian Games took place in Harbin in 1996. The city of Harbin bid for hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Alpine skiing events would have taken place in the Yabuli ski resort. In the frame of this campaign to assert its role on the world scene, Harbin was the host city of the 2009 Winter Universiade. Harbin planned to spend US$ 1.5 billion in construction and renovation of its sport infrastructure for this Universiade. Harbin also bid for the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, but was passed over so still has its sights on the Olympics, perhaps in 2022.

Harbin has produced many world-class winter sports champions, including short track star and six-time Olympic medalist Wang Meng, 2006 pairs figure skating silver medalists Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao and 2010 Vancouver Olympics figure skating gold medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo.

Harbin Summer Music Concert

Harbin Summer Music Concert ('Concert' for short) is a national concert festival, which is held on August 6 every two years for a period of 10~11 days. During the concert, multiple evenings, concert, race and activities are held. The artists come from all over the world. The 'Harbin Summer Music Month', which was then renamed as 'Harbin Summer Music Concert', was held in August 1958. The first formal Concert was held on August 5, 1961 in Harbin Youth Palace, and kept on every year until 1966 when the Cultural Revolution started in China. In 1979, the Concert was recovered and from 1994, it has been held every two years. In 2008, the 29th Harbin Summer Music Concert was held on August 6.

Media

The Heilongjiang Television and Harbin Economy Radio both serve as the media outlets of this region.

Transportation

Railway

Harbin Railway-Bureau is the first one in Chinese History, of which the railway density is the highest in China. Harbin Railway Station is one of the three modernized railway-networks.

Highway

Harbin has an advanced system of highways. Food and other products are shipped on these roads. The highways in Harbin have a big impact on the way of life, despite the fact that most are tolled.

There are seven important highways which pass through or terminate in Harbin, including the Beijing-Harbin, the Heihe-Dalian, the Harbin–Tong River, Changchun-Harbin, and the Manzhouli–Suifen River highways.

China National Highway 221

Airport

Harbin Taiping International Airport serves Harbin and is an important transportation hub for northeastern China. It is the largest northernmost airport of China and its terminal building (along with Shenyang-Taoxian Airport) is currently one of the largest in northeastern China. The technical level of flight district is 4E, which allows all kinds of large and medium civil aircraft. There are flights to over thirty cities including Beijing, Tianjing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Dalian, Xi'an and Hong Kong. In addition there are also scheduled flights between Harbin and Hong Kong, Russia and South Korea.

Subway

Construction of Harbin Subway started on 5 December 2006. The total investment for the first phase is RMB5.89 billion. Twenty stations will be set on this 17.73 km long line starting from Harbin East Railway Station to the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in the west of the city. A subway depot, a command center and two transformer substations will be built along the line. Most of the subway's route follow the air defence evacuation tunnel left from the "7381" Project which started in 1973 and ended in 1979. The "7381" Project was launched intended to protect Harbin from former Soviet Union's possible invasion or nuclear attack.

Picture Reference: "7381" Project, a Civil Defense System in Harbin

Ports and Waterways

There are more than 1,900 rivers in Heilongjiang, including the Songhua River, Heilongjiang River and Wusulijiang River, creating a convenient system of waterway transportation.

Harbin harbor is one of eight inland ports in China and the largest of its type in Northeast China. Available from mid-April until the beginning of November, passenger ships sail from Harbin up the Songhua River to Qiqihar or downstream to Jiamusi, Tongjiang and Khabarovsk (Russia).

Colleges and universities

Northeast Forestry University

Harbin Institute of Technology

Harbin Engineering University (former Harbin Shipbuilding Engineering Institute)

Heilongjiang University

Harbin Jewish Research Center

Harbin Medical University

Harbin Normal University

Harbin University of Science and Technology

Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine

Heilongjiang Institute of Technology

Heilongjiang East College

Northeast Agricultural University

Harbin Advance Technical College

Harbin University of Commerce

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Harbin is twinned with:

Domestic

Chengdu, Sichuan

Dalian, Liaoning

Guangzhou, Guangdong

Hangzhou, Zhejiang

Wenzhou, Zhejiang

Xiamen, Fujian

Xining, Qinghai

Nanjing, Jiangsu

International

Niigata, Japan, since 1979 Aarhus, Denmark, since 1984 Edmonton, Canada, since 1985 Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, since 1991 Minneapolis, United States, since 1992 Anchorage, United States Ekhuruleni, South Africa Warsaw, Poland, since 1993 Daugavpils, Latvia Khabarovsk, Russia Ploieşti, Romania Asahikawa, Japan Bucheon, South Korea Salvador, Brazil Giv'atayim, Israel Griffith, New South Wales, Australia Krasnodar, Russia Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, since 2007 Rovaniemi, Finland Magdeburg, Germany, since 2008 Krasnoyarsk, Russia, since 2008 Wiener Neustadt, Austria Yakutsk, Russia, since 2008 Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom (2009) Fairfax County, Virginia, United States (2010)

See also

Harbin Ferris Wheel

List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

List of current and former capitals of subnational entities of China

References

Thomas Lahusen. ''Harbin and Manchuria: Place, Space, and Identity''. November 15, 2001. ISBN 0-8223-6475-1.

Further reading

Meyer, Mike, "Manchuria Under Ice", ''Departures Magazine'', Nov/Dec 2006, 292–297.

Nikos Kavvadias, a popular Greek poet born in Harbin by Greek parents from Kefalonia, Greece

Jan, Michel, "Cruelle est la terre des frontières", Payot, Paris, 2006 (in French).

External links

Harbin Government website

Category:Provincial capitals in China

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Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Freeway
Background	solo_singer
Producer	Eric Pletcher
Birth name	Leslie Edward Pridgen
Born	August 06, 1978
Origin	North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Rapper
Genre	Hip hop
Years active	2000–present
Label	Roc-A-Fella Records (2000 - 2009)Rhymesayers Entertainment (2009 - present)Cash Money Records(2009-2010)G-Unit Philly(2010-present)
Associated acts	State Property, Beanie Sigel, Ice City, Jay-Z, Jake One, Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Nate Dogg
Website	}}

Leslie Edward Pridgen (born on August 6, 1978), better known by his stage name Freeway, is an American rapper. Best known for his tenure on Roc-A-Fella Records and his affiliation with Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, he is recognized by his high-pitched delivery (akin to that of Ghostface Killah) and for the long beard he keeps due to his Muslim faith. His moniker is derived from the name of the infamous drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross. He was a member of the rap group Ice City, is a member of the rap group State Property and recently signed to Cash Money Records but only lasted one and a half years with the label. The record labels Freeway is now with are Rhymesayers Entertainment and G-Unit Philly.

Early career

Born Leslie Pridgen, Freeway began his career by participating in freestyle battles in his high school and met fellow Philadelphia native Beanie Sigel while rapping on stage at a hometown nightclub. Not long after being signed to Roc-A-Fella Records, Sigel put in a word for Freeway, who made his first appearance on ''The Dynasty: Roc La Familia'', on the track "1-900-Hustler" with Beanie, Jay-Z, and Memphis Bleek. After the appearance, Jay-Z signed him to a deal; he was featured on "Think it's a Game," also alongside Jay-Z, on Beanie's second album ''The Reason''. In 2001, he underwent a notorious freestyle battle with then-unsigned rapper Cassidy, hosted by Swizz Beatz and lost with a unanimous judges decision.

Philadelphia Freeway (2003)

On February 25, 2003, Freeway released his debut album, ''Philadelphia Freeway''. The album was produced primarily by Roc-A-Fella-affiliated beatsmiths Just Blaze, Bink!, and Kanye West and featured a large number of Roc-A-Fella rappers. Many of them also hailed from Philadelphia, and were soon compiled into the group State Property led by Freeway and Beanie Sigel. The album had two singles, the biggest hits of Freeway's career thus far: "What We Do," Featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel, for which a video was released showcasing most of the Roc's roster at the time, and "Flipside", featuring State Property member Peedi Crakk; both records were produced by Just Blaze. The album also reached gold sales of over 500,000 units.

State Property Problems, Ice City & 2nd Album (2004-2006)

After Jay-Z's "retirement" album and the uncertainty over what direction the label was headed, Beanie Sigel was convicted and jailed on a charge of attempted murder. Relations between Beanie Sigel and State Property soured after the incarceration of Sigel, and State Property essentially broke up, with Sigel stating he was unsure he would work with them again. Over the next few years, members of the group—most notably Freeway and Sigel themselves—slowly began collaborating once again, though members such as Oschino and Peedi Crakk fell out of the loop. During this time, with his crew and label in turmoil, Freeway had a spiritual crisis that almost caused him to leave the rap game altogether for his Muslim faith. With uncertainty in the air, Freeway put together another Philadelphia-based crew called Ice City, named after their neighborhood North Philly. While active, the group consisted of Face Money, Bars and Hydro, with Freeway playing a major mentoring role. Their debut album, ''Welcome to the Hood'', was released under Sure Shot Recordings, but received little attention.

Free At Last & Career After Roc-A-Fella (2007-2008)

thumb|right|200px|Freeway performing in Wilmington, Delaware in July 2008. In response to his crisis of faith, Freeway went on hiatus for a few years, making his Hajj, a journey to the holy city of Mecca, required by every Muslim at least once in his or her lifetime if they are able. Upon his return, Freeway recorded his second album ''Free at Last'', which was released on November 20, 2007. Jay-Z and 50 Cent were both set to co-executive produce the album; while both were featured, the project ended up solely a Roc-A-Fella release, with 50 giving up his co-executive producer's role. The first single was "Roc-A-Fella Billionaires", featuring Jay-Z, which leaked to the internet; the second single, and first official single, was "Lights Get Low" featuring Rick Ross and Dre of the production team Cool & Dre. As the album featured no production from either Kanye West or Just Blaze, who together produced the lion's share of his debut, Freeway lashed out at them in his lyrics, generating rumors that he and his former producers had unresolved differences. After the album's release, Freeway went on record to clarify his comments, saying he had no real animosity towards them and that he had only been speaking his mind. The album eventually sold over 100,000. In 2008, Freeway initiated what he called the Month of Madness, releasing a song a day for the month of December. The songs, featuring input from Phoe Notes, Erick Sermon, Don Cannon, Cardiak, Jake One, Oddisee and others, were later compiled into a mixtape. 2009 brought an announcement that he would be working on his third album amidst his regrets over hearing Jay-Z had stepped down as Def Jam president. Shortly, the rapper announced his release from Def Jam and that his next album would be entitled ''The Stimulus Package'', produced by Jake One and released by Rhymesayers Entertainment. ''The Stimulus Package'' will be released February 16, 2010.

Philadelphia Freeway 2, Signing Rhymesayers Entertainment & Cash Money(2009)

A project entitled ''Philadelphia Freeway 2'' hit stores in 2009. The first single, "Finally Free," was released on iTunes on April 14, 2009. ''Philadelphia Freeway 2'' was released under the independent label Real Talk Ent. on May 19, 2009. On March 19, 2009 while performing at the Rhymesayers Entertainment Label Showcase at SXSW, Freeway officially announced his signing with Rhymesayers and collaboration on his new album with veteran producer Jake One. Freeway released his mixtape "The Beat Made Me Do It" on November 13, 2009 which featured production by Jake One with assistance by Don Cannon to officially announce his 2010 Rhymesayers debut album "The Stimulus Package". On December 1, 2009 Rhymesayers and Freeway leaked the first official track and video, "Know What I Mean" off of "The Stimulus Package". In June 2009, Freeway confirmed a deal with Cash Money Records, and the start of his own label, Free Money. Since this time he has put out a few Mixtape tracks speaking of the new deal, including "Touchdown" & "All Night Long". Freeway, speaking on his new label deal and relationship with Jay-Z.

"I been fucking with Cash Money," he said in an interview. "You know, me and Wayne did a joint for the last album, but we couldn't get the shit cleared in time and all that. We just throwing around some ideas. And I'm launching a label, Free Money, so what better home for it...My man Ceelo, he worked with Baby, so he really basically connected us like that. But, right now everything is still in preliminary...It's still Roc-A-Fella for life. That's something that's not going to leave me...Everything still preliminary. Jay give me his blessing with whatever I want to do. Jay want to see niggas making moves."

Diamond In the Ruff (2010-present)

On a video with KarmaloopTV Freeway announced a new clothing line in the works entitled "Freestyle". In adittion to the new clothing line Free also announced an upcoming album called "Diamond In the Rough" which will feature a single produced by Jake One called "Beautiful Music" other producers on the album are Just Blaze, Freeway explained in the interview that the album should have come after Philadelphia Freeway. Freeway's according to interview that "Diamond In the Rough" will be in Stores 30 November and features production from Just Blaze, and collaborations with Rick Ross and Black Thought. For the moment, two song are available : "Beautiful Music" and "Escalators" produced by Jake One. Also in 2010 freeway signed a deal with G-Unit Records's extent label G-Unit Philly run by rapper Tony Yayo.

Freeway recorded an EP with Statik Selektah which was completed in 24 hours. It was called the Statik-Free EP and was released on iTunes January 11, 2011.

Discography

;Studio albums

2003: ''Philadelphia Freeway''

2007: ''Free At Last''

TBA: ''Diamond In the Ruff''

;Independent albums

2009: ''Philadelphia Freeway 2''

;Collaboration albums

2002: ''State Property OST'' (with State Property)

2003: ''The Chain Gang Vol. 2'' (with State Property)

2010: ''The Stimulus Package'' (with Jake One)

2010: ''The Roc Boys'' (with Beanie Sigel)

;EP albums

2011: ''Statik-Free EP'' (with Statik Selektah)

;Compilation albums

2009: This Is My Life

2009: Streetz Is Mine

References

External links

HipHopGame Interview

Uncensored Freeway Radio Interview 2010

Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists Category:African American rappers Category:American Muslims Category:African American Muslims Category:Living people Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:State Property members Category:1978 births

da:Freeway (rapper) de:Freeway (Rapper) es:Freeway fr:Freeway (rappeur) ko:프리웨이 (래퍼) it:Freeway (rapper) nl:Freeway (rapper) pl:Freeway pt:Freeway (rapper) ru:Freeway (рэпер)

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival
Location	Harbin, China
Years active	since 1963
Dates	February
Genre	winter festivals
Website	www.isharbin.com }}

The annual Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Chinese: 哈尔滨国际冰雪节， pinyin: Hā'ěrbīn Guójì Bīngxuě Jié) has been held since 1963. It had been interrupted for a number of years during the Cultural Revolution until it was resumed in 1985.

Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province of People's Republic of China, is one of the sources of ice and snow culture in the world. Geographically, it is located in Northeast China under the direct influence of the cold winter wind from Siberia. The average temperature in summer is 21.2 degrees Celsius, -16.8 degrees Celsius in winter. It can be as cold as -38.1 degrees Celsius in winter.

Officially, the festival starts January 5th and lasts one month. However the exhibits often open earlier and stay longer, weather permitting. Ice sculpture decoration technology ranges from the modern (using lasers) to traditional (with ice lanterns). There are ice lantern park touring activities held in many parks in the city. Winter activities in the festival include Yabuli alpine skiing, winter-swimming in the Songhua River, and the ice-lantern exhibition in Zhaolin Garden.

The Harbin festival is one of the world's four largest ice and snow festivals, along with Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival, Canada's Quebec City Winter Carnival, and Norway's Ski Festival.

The 2007 festival featured the Canadian theme, ''in memoriam'' of Canadian doctor Norman Bethune. It was also a Guinness Record of the largest snow sculpture: 250 metres long, high, using over 13,000 cubic metres of snow. The composition consisted of two parts: "Niagara Falls" and "Crossing the Bering Strait" (the latter depicting the migration of the First Nations).

Construction

Swing saws are used to carve ice into blocks, taken from the frozen surface of the Songhua River. Chisels, ice picks and various types of saws are then used by ice sculptors to carve out large scaled ice sculptures, many of them intricately designedand worked on all day and night prior to the commencement of the festival. Deionised water can also be used, producing ice blocks as transparent as glass to make clear sculptures rather than translucent ones. Multicoloured lights are also used to give colour to ice, creating variations on sculptured spectacles when lit up especially at night. Some ice sculptures made in previous years include: buildings and monuments of different architectural types and styles, figures including animals people and mythical creatures, slippery dips or ice slides and lanterns. Apart from winter recreational activities available in Harbin, these exquisitely-detailed, mass-produced ice sculptures are the main draw card in attracting tourists around the world to the festival.

See also

Ice sculpture

Ice palace

Snow sculpture

Sand sculpture

Winter carnival

Gallery

References

External links

Harbin Ice Festival

2003 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

2005 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

2006 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

2006 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

2007 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

2009 Harbin Snow and Ice Festival

Category:Festivals in China Category:Culture of the People's Republic of China Category:Winter festivals Category:Harbin Category:Outdoor sculptures in China Category:Water ice

es:Festival de esculturas de hielo y nieve de Harbin fr:Festival de sculptures sur glace et de neige de Harbin id:Festival Internasional Salju dan Es Harbin it:Festival internazionale delle sculture di ghiaccio e neve di Harbin he:פסטיבל חרבין הבינלאומי לפיסול בקרח ושלג ja:ハルビン氷祭り ru:Харбинский международный фестиваль льда и снега zh:中国哈尔滨国际冰雪节

Ice Festival, Ice and Snow Festival, or Snow and Ice Festival may refer to one of the following events.

Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival

Sapporo Snow Festival

World Ice Art Championships

International Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival

Snowking Winter Festival

International Ice Sculpture Contest "Polar Rhapsody", Salekhard, Russia

Italian Ice Carving Championship

International Snow and Ice Sculpture Championships "Europe - Asia", Ekaterinburg, Russia

Concours International de Sculpture sur Glace, Valloire, France

International Ice Sculpture Contest "Ice Fantasy", Khabarovsk, Russia

International Ice Sculpture Contest, Korkeasaari, Helsinki, Finland

International Ice Sculpture Festival, Jelgava, Latvia

Karuizawa Winter Festival - Ice Sculpting International Exhibition, Karuizawa, Japan

Crystal Garden International Ice Carving Competition, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

2004 World Ice Sculpture Competition, Asahikawa, Japan

International Ice Sculpture Contest, St.Petersburg, Russia

Blue Ice Art Cup 2004, Pello, Lapland, Finland

International Ice Sculpture Competition, Vaasa, Finland

International Ice Sculpture Competition, ICE ART 2004, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

Michigan Technological University's Winter Carnival, Houghton, Michigan, USA

:''See also'': Winter carnival, List of winter festivals

References

Category:Winter festivals

de:Liste der Schneefeste ko:눈축제 ja:雪まつり

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
name	Robert Harbin
birth name	Ned Williams
birth date	February 14, 1909
birth place	Balfour, South Africa
death date	January 12, 1978
death place	Westminster, London, England
parents	}}

Robert Harbin (born Ned Williams February 14, 1909 Balfour, South Africa - January 12, 1978 Westminster, London, England ) was a British magician and writer. He is noted as the inventor of a number of classic illusions, including the ''Zig Zag Girl''. He also became an authority on origami.

Career

The young Ned Williams first got interested in magic after an unknown ex-serviceman appeared at his school with a magic show later described as "rather poor". Williams came to London at the age of 20 and began by working in the magic department of Gamages toy shop. He began performing in music halls under the title "Ned Williams, the Boy Magician from South Africa". By 1932 he was appearing in the ''Maskelyne's Mysteries'' magic show in various London theatres. He was the first British illusionist to move from stage performing to television, appearing in the BBC TV show ''Variety'' in 1937 and in his own show which began in 1940. He developed a number of new tricks, including the ''Neon Light'' and the now ubiquitous ''Zig Zag Girl''. His lesser know inventions include the ''Aztec Lady'', The Blades of Opah, and Aunt Matilda's Wardrobe.

Much of his inventive genius was put into written form and he is known as one of the most prodigious authors on the subject of magical effects. However, although Harbin was brilliantly creative in the field of magic he was not a particularly good writer and his friend and associate Eric C Lewis has stated that many of Harbin's titles were ghost written for him.

In about 1952 Harbin appeared in a minor part as a magician in the film ''The Limping Man'', produced by Cy Endfield. In 1953, Harbin and a friend of Endfield, Gershon Legman (1917–1999), discovered a common interest in the Japanese art of paper-folding. Harbin wrote many books on the subject, beginning with ''Paper Magic'' (illustrated by the young art student, the Australian Rolf Harris who in the middle of the project, caught the origami idea and contributed several intricate models himself) in 1965, and was the first President of the British Origami Society. He was the first Westerner to use the word origami for this art-form. He also presented a series of origami programmes for ITV in its "Look-In" magazines for children in the 1970s.

His grave is at Golders Green Crematorium in London.

Bibliography

Titles by Robert Harbin

On origami

''Paper Magic: The art of paper folding'', Oldbourne, 1956, ISBN B0000CJG8R

''Paper Folding Fun'', Oldbourne, 1960, ISBN B0000CKUYQ

''Secrets of Origami, old and new: The Japanese art of paper-folding'', Oldbourne, 1963, ISBN B0000CM4YW

''Teach Yourself Origami'', Hodder, 1968, ISBN 0-340-05972-9

''Origami 1: The Art of Paper-Folding'', Coronet, 1969, ISBN 0-340-10902-5

''More Origami, The art of paper-folding no.2'', Hodder, 1971, ISBN 0-340-15384-9

''Origami 2: The Art of Paper-Folding'', Coronet, 1971, ISBN 0-340-15384-9

''Origami 3: The Art of Paper-Folding'', Coronet Books/Hodder, 1972, ISBN 0-340-16655-X

''Secrets of Origami'', Octopus, 1972, ISBN 0-7064-0005-4*''Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Teach Yourself)'', Hodder, 1973, ISBN 0-340-16646-0

''Origami Step by Step'', Hamlyn, 1974, ISBN 0-600-38109-9

''Have Fun with Origami'', ITV, 1975, ISBN 0-900727-26-8

''Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Illustrated Teach Yourself)'', Picture Knight, 1975, ISBN 0-340-19381-6

''Origami A/H'', Hodder Arnold, 1976, ISBN 0-340-27950-8

''Origami 4'', Robert Harbin, 1977, ISBN 0-340-21822-3

''Have Fun with Origami'', Severn Ho., 1977, ISBN 0-7278-0225-9

''Origami: Art of Paper Folding (Coronet Books)'', Hodder Headline Australia, 1977, ISBN 0-340-21822-3

''New Adventures in Origami'', 1982, Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-463555-4

On magic

''Something New in Magic'', Davenport, 1929

''Psychic Vision'', Davenport, 1930

''Six Card Creations'', Davenport, 1930

''Demon Magic'', Davenport, 1938

''How to Be a Wizard'', Oldbourne, 1957, ISBN B0000CJUT3

''How to Be a Conjuror'', Sphere, 1968, ISBN 0-7221-4322-2

''Magic of Robert Harbin'', C.W. Mole and Sons, 1970 - This was published with a run of only 500 copies, after which Harbin had the plates destroyed.

''Magic (Illustrated Teach yourself)'', Treasure, 1983, ISBN 0-907812-39-2

''Magic (Illustrated Teach Yourself)'', Knight, 1976, ISBN 0-340-20502-4

''The Harbin Book'', M. Breese, 1983, ISBN 0-947533-00-1

''Harbincadabra, brainwaves and brainstorms of Robert Harbin [i.e. N. Williams]: From the pages of Abracadabra, 1947-1965'', R. Harbin

Other subjects

''Waddington's Family Card Games'', Elm Tree, 1972, ISBN 0-241-02111-1

''Waddington's Family Card Games'', Pan, 1974, ISBN 0-330-23892-2

''Party Lines'', Oldbourne, 1963, ISBN B0000CLQIH

''Instant Memory: The Way to Success'', Corgi, 1968, ISBN 0-552-06091-7

References

Further reading

Eric C. Lewis, ''The genius of Robert Harbin: A personal biography'', Mike Caveney's Magic Words (1997), ISBN 0-915-18130-8

External links

Robert Harbin page at ''Whirligig'' 1950s TV Nostalgia site

Category:1909 births Category:1978 deaths Category:British magicians Category:Origami artists Category:Cancer deaths in England

it:Robert Harbin he:רוברט הארבין