We arrived in Harbin China at about midnight, after a series of three flights covering about 24 hours. The ride from the airport took about 45 minutes and at first I thought we were driving through a deserted countryside. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dark it became evident that we were driving through a dense, dark forrest of high rise apartment and office buildings. There were few street lights, and only occasional brightly lit signs for the few still-open stores, bars, or restaurants. There were few other vehicles on the streets, although several construction trucks sped passed us, ignoring the red stop lights as if they didn’t apply to heavy trucks at all.
At first I thought the buildings were vacant or abandoned, and it turns out many are indeed empty. But unlike commercial buildings in the US that are brightly lit all night long, in Harbin they don’t want to waste electricity. In the morning I looked to the west out our hotel window to see 37 construction cranes amongst the sea of high rise buildings. Later I counted 31 more cranes to the east. Harbin, and Beijing too as I would later discover, is in the midst of a construction boom. It seems their central planners anticipate an immense housing need in the near future and are building more apartments and office buildings now so they are prepared. They apparently are not afraid to let the buildings sit vacant until they are needed.
Zoning laws that separate offices, stores, and apartments in the US seem to be missing in China. Our hotel had several floors of offices scattered throughout – meaning that the elevators were jammed when all the office workers came to work in the morning. The apartment building U Squad stayed in had two or more floors where the apartments were converted into convenience shops.
Our experience with darkness continued when we went to visit the Squad on Friday morning. Karen and I got off the elevator on the 15th floor in near total darkness – it seemed as if there weren’t even emergency exit signs. I carried a flashlight by which we found the apartment – and only then did we discover that the lights in the hallways were sound-activated (clap-on!). Once on they didn’t stay on for long; waiting for the elevator required an occasional foot-stomp or hand-clap to bring the lights back.
Despite the lack of lighting, the Chinese people were very welcoming of our Squad. While stories of religious repression in China abound, our Squad openly worked with a pastor who has planted four churches in Harbin. A Squad courtyard worship service drew a crowd of onlookers, including a disinterested police officer. The Squad visited a number of local universities, and even got a chance to speak before some classes – each time the instructors welcomed sharing the purpose of their visit. During the weeks in Harbin the Squad met other believers, shared their faith with many interested students and others, and led several to accept Christ as their Savior.
This visit to China allowed us to plant some seeds, help tend to what has been planted by others, and even participate in a harvest of sorts. Out of the supposed darkness of China a new light is dawning and the church there is growing.
More reflections on my visit to China to follow. If you haven’t already done so, subscribe for blog updates (to the left, just under my picture!) so you get updates when new blogs are posted.
