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Northeast China is a popular travel destination, with Harbin, Changbai Mountain, and Xuexiang (Snow Town) all popular destinations. If you're looking for a more secluded destination, we recommend a unique and hidden gem: Suifenhe, Heilongjiang Province, a small city on the Sino-Russian border along Highway G331.
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Suifenhe, a scenic mountain town located in southeastern Heilongjiang Province, borders Russia's Primorsky Krai to the east. It serves as a crucial hub for my country's revitalization of Northeast China and Russia's development of the Far East, known as the "Golden Passage" connecting Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. A visit to Suifenhe offers a rich experience of Russian charm, while attractions such as the Suifenhe National Forest Park ski resort and the Jianxin Village archaeological site add to its allure.
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The small town is full of European style, with numerous historical relics that have a sense of age, as well as a rich variety of local cuisine, with beautiful, fun and delicious things to see and do.
When visiting a border city, the national border is a must-see attraction. Suifenhe's national border boasts the highest height among northern China's national borders, boasting three generations of national borders coexisting in one place—a unique example among China's many national border scenic spots. The scenic area offers numerous check-in spots, and visitors can even take an elevator up to overlook the national border area and the exotic scenery.
Suifenhe National Forest Park is located 10 kilometers west of Suifenhe City. It has a large area of natural secondary forest, beautiful natural environment and rich wildlife resources.
The ski resort covers an area of 37.5 square kilometers and offers three levels of natural snow trails: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Three parallel tubing tracks and an 800-meter-long tow ropeway provide easy alpine skiing. The ski shop at the resort offers ski clothing and equipment rentals, as well as other amenities.
Love Valley is located on the shore of Tianchang Lake, between Tianchang Mountain and Dijiu Mountain, with coordinates at 131° east longitude and 44° north latitude, and an altitude of 520 meters. The words "forever", "for a lifetime" and "I love you" are concentrated together, making Love Valley a holy place for love made in heaven.
Tianchang Lake boasts a 999-meter golden sand beach and a birch wetland known as the "Forest of Love Confessions." Around the lake, there are numerous romantic check-in spots, including the Lianxin Bridge. There's also a "Love Tree" with intertwined roots, known as the "Hundred Years of Happiness" Tree. At the foot of the lakeside mountain, there's a wedding hall and European-style cabins, offering couples a romantic haven.
The Sino-Russian Self-Drive Campground, a popular destination for self-drive enthusiasts, was developed in 2021. The visitor center is a two-story European-style building, and the commercial area is a campsite made up of container houses, providing dining and accommodation.
The wooden villas have bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, restaurants, and entertainment rooms, and also provide open-air terraces. The starry sky houses are houses of various geometric shapes, which are quite technological.
There are tent camping sites and barbecue camping sites in the camp, as well as a bonfire square, drive-in cinema, Russian steam room, basketball court, football field, tennis court, and children's entertainment area, providing a rich and colorful experience.
I have heard of nesting dolls, but this is the first time I have heard of nesting tracks, and even the first time I have seen one.
In Suifenhe, there is a unique single-track four-track railway in the world. Four rails are laid on a section of roadbed, forming two groups of different widths. The train runs on one set of rails, riding on one track, so it is also called a riding railway.
Due to the different track standards between China and Russia, Russia uses the broad-gauge standard while China uses the standard gauge commonly used worldwide. Due to terrain restrictions, it was impossible to build two parallel roadbeds. Therefore, engineers used their creativity to lay two different gauges of track on the same roadbed. Vehicles of different gauges travel on the two sets of tracks, resulting in this spectacular sight.
Built in 1899, the Suifenhe Old Railway Station is the only remaining indoor, large-span steel-beam, wooden-frame station on the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). It stands as a crucial historical witness to the railway. The old station has been transformed into the CER Memory Museum, where the floor tiles, glass, and window frames bear witness to the 140-year-old station's past.
Built in 1903 by a renowned Russian architect during the Tsarist era, the Secret Transportation Line Memorial Hall, known as the "Big White Building," features a classic Russian-style architecture. The museum showcases artifacts and materials related to Suifenhe's revolutionary history, recounting the arduous struggles of the Party's international underground transportation station and its personnel. Many Party leaders, including Li Dazhao, stayed here, making the Big White Building a historic site of the revolutionary movement.
Suifenhe City Museum was originally a school for Soviet expatriates. It is divided into four parts: history, nature, art and modern times. It collects and displays more than 3,000 cultural relics, showing the history of the century-old port city, its rich natural resources and the development of various economic and social undertakings.
The exterior of the Suifenhe Museum is a Russian-style building, and the interior is designed to resemble a train carriage. It is also a great place to take photos and check in.
The former site of Chichakov Tea House was built in 1914. It was originally a tea house owned by the Russian Chistyakov, mainly used for storing and inspecting export tea. Because there were human face reliefs under the eaves between the third and fourth floors, it was called the "Human Head Building".
In 1927, Japan established a consulate here. After liberation, the building served as the office building of the Dongning County People's Government. After 1952, it was used as a garrison barracks. After 1992, it was converted to commercial use and has been used ever since. This century-old building has witnessed the history of Suifenhe.
The Historical Archives of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China is located on the shore of Tianchang Lake. The yellow and white Russian-style building restores the site of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China more than 90 years ago.
The total exhibition area of the museum is more than 2,800 square meters, and it collects more than 57 million words of various materials, more than 2,300 pictures, and more than 300 cultural relics. It has important research reference value for studying the spread of Marxism in China and the establishment, development and growth of the Party.
The Honghualing Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Town is a military study and tourism scenic spot with the theme of "Anti-Japanese United Army". It revolves around the history of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army's retreat into the Soviet village of Vyatsk, the reorganization and establishment of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Teaching Brigade, and the participation in the Far East Campaign. It restores the scenes of that year and reproduces the Anti-Japanese United Army fighters' epic battle history, their heroic patriotic feelings, and their unyielding and indomitable national integrity.
Galya was born in 1928. She is a Chinese-Russian girl who can speak Chinese, Russian and Japanese.
In August 1945, the Soviet army entered Northeast China and the remaining Japanese troops retreated to the Tianchang Mountain Fortress. Galya went with four Soviet soldiers to persuade them to surrender, but was brutally killed by the Japanese army. She was only 17 years old.
To commemorate her, the people of Suifenhe built the Angel of Peace Galia Memorial Hall. In the adjacent Peace Park, the Galia Monument, designed by three Russian art masters and inscribed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, took six years to build.
This is a memorial hall built by Cao Liming, a farmer from Suifenhe, with more than 30 years of time and hard work, and a total investment of more than 300,000 yuan. It displays more than 3,000 relics left over from the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, recording that painful and tragic history with iron-clad facts.
For 22 years, the Peace Memorial Hall has always opened its doors and provided free admission, receiving more than 500,000 visitors from home and abroad. It has also donated more than 300 items worth more than 100,000 yuan to memorial halls across the country.
The first bridge in the Far East was built in 1903 by Tsarist Russian colonists who forced local laborers to build it. The bridge consists of five main stone arch bridge holes and two auxiliary stone arch bridge holes. The bridge is 91.3 meters long, 4.7 meters wide, and the highest point of the bridge is 12 meters.
Because it's located at the easternmost end of the China-Eastern Railway and was the first bridge to begin construction, it's known as the "First Bridge in the Far East." To its west, the Far East Middle Bridge, built in 2015, and a concrete bridge constructed in 1937 during the Japanese occupation era stand side by side. These three railway bridges, dating back to different eras, bear witness to Suifenhe's century-long history.
This is a barbecue restaurant that has set a Guinness World Record. On July 15, 2014, the "world's longest meat skewer," measuring 112.374 meters long, was created in the border town of Suifenhe and certified by the Guinness World Records.
The generous portions of barbecued meat here embody the unbridled spirit of a warrior nation. While evenly grilling large cuts of meat can be challenging, the chefs masterfully master the heat. This simple, direct, and original cooking method yields the most alluring flavors. Russian barbecue paired with Russian beer is a satisfying and refreshing experience.
Lucys Bakery was founded by the last disciple of Russian baker Lucys. It adopts traditional Russian production technology, with flour, hops and salt as the main raw materials. It is naturally fermented without any additives and is purely handmade with real materials. The baking process requires using oak and birch wood to bake more than three times to maintain the classic and authentic Russian bread flavor.
It is not only popular among locals, but also sent to all parts of the country by express delivery. Some Russians even come here specifically to try the taste of their homeland.
Chekhov, one of the world's three greatest short story writers, once lived in Suifenhe. A street in Suifenhe, once named Chekhov Street, is located not far from the café. Sit back in this exotic, century-old Russian-style house and savor the leisurely pace of this historic port.
Simbacher Brewery was founded in 1913 and has a century-long history. In 1913, Russian-Czech Uloban invested 80,000 dollars to build the Oriental Brewery to produce Bear Brand beer.
In August 1945, the brewery was rebuilt and renamed Seagull Beer in 1950, which quickly became a household name. At the 2015 and 2016 World Beer Championships in Brussels, Belgium, Zimbacher Beer won one gold medal, one silver medal, and two bronze medals, representing the best performance ever achieved by a Chinese beer in a world competition.
The Igor Russian Goods Mall has a total construction area of over 30,000 square meters, with two floors above ground and one floor underground. It houses more than 100 merchants and collects many high-quality Russian goods. It is a large Russian goods distribution center on the China-Russia border.
The Rus Empire Russian Goods Sales Center features an imported food supermarket, Russian jewelry, and Russian specialty food areas. It also offers cross-border e-commerce, making it a comprehensive commercial sales base integrating tourism, shopping, and leisure. Express delivery is very convenient here; if you don't want to carry your items with you, you can send them locally, and they'll arrive before you even leave.
One visitor commented on Suifenhe: "Suifenhe is a city you never want to leave, and one you'll want to come back to again." With its clear blue skies, fresh air, unique Russian charm, diverse culinary culture, and a century-long history steeped in revolutionary memories... Suifenhe offers everything from dining, entertainment, accommodation, travel, and shopping.
Entering the era of high-speed rail, the border town is no longer far away, and this city, brought by the railway, will usher in another prosperity.
During weekends and holidays, come to Suifenhe to experience the unique charm of this small border town.
