With a long history, Harbin is a city which was not surrounded and protected by a city wall. Archeological discoveries showed that human beings existed in Harbin area as early as the late Paleolithic period 22,000 years ago which is the earliest Heilongjiang ancient civilizations. In addition, Harbin is the birth place of the Jin and Qing dynasties. There are many culture relics in Harbin: the Buddhist Jile Temple, Confucius Temple, Seven Pagoda Tower and the Ruins of Jin Dynasty capital.

From 1896 to 1903, with the construction of railways linking China and Russia, Harbin gradually formed its own prototype of modern cities. In early 20th century, Harbin became an international commercial center, there were 160,000 foreigners from 33 different countries lived in Harbin and 16 countries set up their consulates in Harbin. During the anti-Japanese War, Harbin was under Japanese occupation. To commemorate these martyrs who died during the anti-Japanese war, Northeast Martyrs Memorial Hall, Shangzhi Forest of Stone Tablets, Zhaolin Park were built.

In 1945 when Harbin was liberated from the Japanese rule, the population of Harbin was around 700,000; On April 28, 1946, the government of Harbin under Chinese Communist Party was set up and Harbin became the largest city administrated by the Communist Party of China. As a new tourist destination, Harbin is best known for its European style buildings and snow and ice festival.