Harbin has been awarded the title of "Culture City of East Asia 2018" thanks to its unique culture and long history.

It was announced at the selection activity for the "Culture City of East Asia 2018" held in Beijing on Aug 7, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture.

Initiated in 2013, the Culture City of East Asia project is a tri-national event to promote cultural diversity throughout East Asia. Each year, China, South Korea and Japan vote to select one of their cities as the Culture City of East Asia to promote their national cultural development and encourage trilateral cultural exchanges.

Harbin in Heilongjiang province, Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Sanya in Hainan province were the Chinese finalists for the award this year. Harbin got the highest score with 82.69 and was crowned the winner.

Quanzhou in Fujian province, Qingdao in Shandong province, Ningbo in Zhejiang province and Changsha in Hunan province were China’s cities selected in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively.

The Culture Cities of East Asia 2018 –– Harbin, Kanazawa in Japan and Busan in South Korea ––will officially be awarded titles at an awards ceremony for the three cities held during the Ninth China-Japan-ROK Cultural Ministers' Conference by the end of August.

Harbin received the invitation letter of the Ninth China-Japan-ROK Cultural Ministers' Conference from Luo Shugang, minister of culture, on Aug 7.

Located in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang ––the most northern province in China, which borders Russia.
 
The city, which has combined both the history and the eastern and western cultures of its northern ethnic groups, has been given various nicknames including “Ice City,” “Eastern Moscow,” and “Eastern Paris.”

Due to the city’s unique culture, well-protected cultural relics and strong awareness of protecting its heritage, Harbin was highly praised by China’s Ministry of Culture and finally approved as one of the Culture Cities of East Asia for 2018.