Among the many Orthodox churches and Russian style facades in this region, the St. Sophia Orthodox Church is the most impressive, and imposing, structure.

The magnificent St. Sofia Church was built in the 7th century, on the ruins of a large, five-aisled basilica dated to the 5th century A.D. It was the metropolitan church of Thessalonike, dedicated to the Wisdom (Sophia) of God and soon became the nucleus of a large building complex, with administrative and religious functions. In 1524, it was converted into a mosque, it was burnt down in 1890 and was repaired between 1907 and 1909. After the liberation of the city, in 1912, it was restored to Christian worship.

The building was restored in 1907-1909, 1941 and again, after the earthquake of 1978. In 1961, the wall paintings of the narthex were uncovered and cleaned, after the turkish plaster was removed.

Church of St. Sophia is a rectangular church, with a cross-in-square nucleus, which is covered with a dome. It is surrounded by a U-shaped ambulatory on the three sides, while the east is occupied by the tripartite sanctuary. The 53m tall church is a perfect example of Byzantine architecture: the main structure of the church is laid out as a Latin Cross with the main hall topped with a huge green tipped roof. Under the bright sun, the church, together with the square around it, reminds the Chinese, bizarrely, of the Red Square in Moscow. Although there are still several hundred Orthodox believers in Harbin, the religious activities are usually conducted in other smaller churches. St. Sofia Church is nowadays used as the Municipal Architecture and Art Museum with exhibitions of the architectural history of the city, a photographic survey with captions all in Chinese.