Leisure on the Chinese Eastern Railway: Yacht Club and Racecourse as “Other Spaces” of Harbin

Alexander Yu Meshcheryakov

doi:10.46539/jfs.v6i3.314

Abstract

Applying Fr. D. Turner's frontier theory and M. Foucault's concept of heterotopic spaces the author studies “other” spaces created by Russian railway men and Cossacks in Northern Manchuria in the late 19th – first half of the 20th centuries. Particular attention is paid to the organization of leisure in Harbin. The article considers two quite interesting spaces: the yacht club on the bank of the river Sungari and the hippodrome. The choice of these leisure spaces was based on a number of important characteristics. The purpose of this study is to analyze the spaces of the yacht club and the hippodrome as heterotopic spaces on the frontier territory. The author reaches several important conclusions about the basic principles of the basic principles of the creation and the functioning of these leisure spaces. Within these spaces, many cultural processes took quite different forms. The article provides numerous previously unknown facts about the development of yachting and trotting in Harbin.

Highlights

PROBLEM STATEMENTThis article explores several aspects of leisure in Harbin during the formation of the new frontier
One of the important aspects of leisure is the creation of a new order of space and time during the struggle for spheres of influence in Manchuria
Leisure spaces are examined using the example of the Harbin Yacht Club and Racecourse

Summary

Introduction

PROBLEM STATEMENTThis article explores several aspects of leisure in Harbin during the formation of the new frontier. One of the important aspects of leisure is the creation of a new order of space and time during the struggle for spheres of influence in Manchuria. Leisure spaces are examined using the example of the Harbin Yacht Club and Racecourse. These were spaces of competition and confrontation as well as the imposition and defense of the interests of the Russian, Chinese and Japanese elites on the RussianChinese frontier. The creation of such leisure places was aimed at the socialization of space. The study of leisure spaces allows us to better understand the history of Harbin and its people in the late 19th – first half of the 20th centuries

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Conclusion