Feeding The Birds at Saint Sophia Cathedral 圣索菲亚大教堂 in Haerbin 哈尔滨
Though not as old as majority of China’s architectural attractions, the Saint Sophia Cathedral stands alone in its magnificent Neo-Byzantine design. The style is used a lot particularly in Russian religious structures and it has been brought to Haerbin as well. The church was inspired by the Christ the Savior Church in the Ukraine which was at that time part of the Russian Empire. Though not as ornate as the original, this was the first time I was seeing this type of architectural style and it is truly refreshing.
Pigeon by the Window in Saint Sophia Cathedral 圣索菲亚大教堂 in Haerbin 哈尔滨
A surprising sight welcomed me as I was walking around the church. It seems that the Saint Sophia Cathedral attracts a lot of pigeons during the day time. I’m not sure if the pigeons come here because of the church or because of the people who come to feed them. It was really like a scene from a European street with the pigeons just walking around the people and just minding their own business. The kids were having a field day with the pigeons throwing them stuff to eat or just chasing them around.
Pigeon Taking a Bath in Haerbin 哈尔滨
The pigeon would mostly roost on top of the walls of the church far away from the reach of humans. Some of them would come down and surprisingly, take a bath. There was a basin of water there and the birds would be taking turns bathing in the water. I’m not sure if it is a good idea to bathe in this kind of cold weather but they do seem to like it and they would try to shove each other out of the basin to get their turn. I have heard of ice diving or ice swimming here in Haerbin, but I didn’t know that birds would also do the same thing. I was standing clear of the pigeon though since I didn’t want to get bird poo on me or my camera, or maybe it is because I remember someone saying how pigeons are like “rats with wings”.
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