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| Russo-Chinese borderlands
by habecker71 on 10 March 2003 6:47pm |
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I would like to recommend a travel route in the Russo-Chinese borderlands which I did in April 2001 that is definitely off the beaten track. I was living in Vladivostok, Russia, at the time, and from there travelled by train north to Khabarovsk, then west parallel to the Amur River to Blagoveshchensk. This is a Russian city that is situated directly across the Amur from the Chinese city of Heihe. It was absolutely fascinating to see the contrast between these two cities. I cannot think of any other place in the world where one river divides two cities that belong to two such vastly different cultures -- can anyone else? We had to take a hovercraft across the Amur, since it was the season the Russians call "rasputitsa" when the ice is breaking up and the rivers are too treacherous to walk on but not clear enough from ice to sail on yet. (The racial tension between Russians and Chinese was in stark evidence. My American friend and I were hustled to the front of the customs line past dozens of waiting Chinese, and put onto an empty hovercraft by ourselves with only one other Russian women, while the Chinese had to wait for the next one. That was a bit awkward, needless to say.)
From Heihe I travelled south to the city of Harbin, a former Russian colonial city in north China which still bears a distinct Russian influence in its architecture. I did a side trip down to Beijing on the fast and convenient overnight train from Harbin, then returned to Harbin and set out eastwards for Vladivostok.
This was the most complicated leg of the loop. Although originally there was a major railway line connecting Harbin and Vladivostok (part of the original Trans-Siberian route until 1916), after the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s this route fell into disuse. I had to take an overnight Chinese train from Harbin to the border town of Suifenhe, where we arrived at about 5am. Then we had to go through customs to exit China, and board a special "international train" which runs between Suifenhe and the Russian town of Pogranichnyi, on the eastern side of the mountains that constitute the border. This took about two hours and wound slowly through scenic forested hills. The Russo-Chinese border itself was marked only with a small marker and no fanfare, although we did lose three hours in one fell swoop as we crossed into a new time zone. Finally we arrived in Pogranichnyi where we went through Russian customs. There is only very infrequent train service from this point on, so it was far more practical to hitch a ride on a small bus with a group of Chinese tourists heading for Vladivostok. By that evening I was back overlooking the blue waters of the Amur Sound in Russia's own "city by the bay."
Another interesting trip in this part of the world, particularly for those interested in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, is to visit the cities of Dalian and Port Arthur (called Lushun in Chinese), both located at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. I visited them in May 2000. Both places were the object of heated geopolitical rivalry between Russia, China, and Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and have at one time or another been ruled by all three countries. Dalian today is a modern, bustling city with a gorgeous seaside location, while Lushun is mostly a military town which you need special permission to visit. I got to walk around the ruins of old Russian forts that were battered during the Russo-Japanese War. Absolutely fascinating and quite beautiful places, with their forested hills and ocean stretching in different directions. I would highly recommend either the Russo-Chinese loop or the Dalian-Port Arthur trips to anyone who wants to get off the beaten path a bit.
Take care all,
David H.
Washington, DC |
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| Re: Russo-Chinese borderlands
by peripatetically on 10 March 2003 9:01pm |
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Hello David. Welcome to the Palin travel site. You sure have had some intersting experinces. Exactly what traveling's about.
I have added your name and other statistics to "Patty"s Vital Statistics" It's a,list of regular visitors who have given their user name, real name and age and location (At 3 of 4 stats) We recommend copying and pasting the list to a file on your desktop, then printing it. That way, you will be able to keep up with all the "Palinites" on the site. Many of us have done that. The list of people here grows by leaps and bounds.You are #126 on the list, but many more come and leave no stats, (So they aren't on the list) Look under the first posting under "Patty's Vital Statistics" O will add you today. It's in alphabetical order according to user name. Join us in the chat room sometime. It's easy!!
Patty~
P.S> You're a neighbor. I live in Ellicott City, Maryland!!! |
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