The city first came into being with the settlement, in 1097, of the Nazhen nationality. The place then was a natural, and cold, fishing area, situated right on the Songhua River. By the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368AD) the area was renamed Haerbin, literally meaning "where the fishing nets are dried".

It was later in the nineteenth century, however, that the city really began to thrive, and when the Russian influence, that was to remain and heavily dominate Harbin's history, began to take a hold. The Russian Tsar and Qing court agreed, in 1896, to the signing of a contract that granted the latter the right to build a railway from Dalian, through Harbin, to Vladivostok. By 1898, the city had become a Russian concession, with its own powerful Tsarist police force, as the Tsar continued to enforce his colonial plans for Manchuria, plans that were strengthened by the completion of the rail link in 1904. The Tsar was finally thwarted by the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) that ended with a shock victory for the belligerent and rapidly militarized Japan. The Japanese took over the railway. The city then swung between these two nations, the Russians returning in force to the city in 1917, mostly White Russians fleeing the newly established Bolshevik state, the Japanese taking control in 1932 as a part of their Manchukuo invasion, and the Soviets retaking the city in 1945 and remaining dominant here for almost ten years.

Endowed with a long history, Harbin is a well-known city, where exist many cultural relics produced by the ethnic groups in Northeast China. With many constructions built in both Chinese and Western style, such as the Jile Temple, the Christian church, the Cathedral church and the Orthodox Eastern church, Harbin has embraced a distinctive flavour peculiar to the land of Europe. Hence, it is acclaimed as the "Oriental Paris."

Harbin has many attractive tourist destinations, including the Sun Island, the Northeast China Tiger Garden, the Stalin Park, the European Flavour Playground, Yabuli, Erlong Mountains, Songfeng Mountains and the Yuquan Hunting Ground. Besides, as the home to the ice and snow culture, it boasts a series of advanced facilities for winter sports, such as the high mountain skiing in Yabuli, Ice Lantern Festival at the Zhaolin Park, the winter swimming on the Songhuajiang River as well as the ice and snow sculpture competition held every year. Besides, there are also the worldknown "Harbin Summer Concert" and the Harbin Trade Fair held annually.