Chinese Eastern Railway Liaodong from China in 1898. Officially, traffic on the line started in November 1901, but regular passenger traffic from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok across the Trans-Siberian railway did not commence until July 1903. In 1898, construction of a 550-mile (880 km) spur line, most of which later formed the South Manchuria Railway, began at Harbin, leading southwards through Eastern Manchuria, along the Liaodong Peninsula, to the ice-free deep-water port at Lüshun, which Russia was fortifying and developing into a first-class strategic naval base and marine coaling station for its Far East Fleet and Merchant Marine. This town was known in
Trans-Siberian March Band Trans-Siberian March Band The Trans-Siberian March Band (TSMB) is a London-based Balkan music band. They play the music of the Balkans, and also Russian, Turkish and Klezmer tunes. Their repertoire ranges from the well-known, such as Goran Bregović’s Mesečina, to the obscure. They also write their own material, described by the band as ‘affectionate pastiche’. They are well-known on the London Balkan Music scene, and also have an international reputation due to touring in Eastern Europe. They also have a following in Japan after an appearance on Japanese television. They are not purist in their approach to the music, and