Manzhouli

Manzhouli grew as a station on the Chinese Eastern Railway built by Russia at the start of the twentieth century, and it remains the largest land port between China and Russia, with freight trains crossing constantly. The city has leaned into that identity architecturally: streets of buildings in an exaggerated Russian idiom with onion domes, spires and pastel plasterwork, most of it built in the past three decades rather than the past century. The Matryoshka Square holds a hotel shaped as a thirty-metre nesting doll surrounded by hundreds of smaller ones, and the Sino-Russian border marker and a view over Zabaikalsk are a short drive away.

History

In ancient times the Donghu, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, Mongols and Manchu lived in this region. The modern town began in 1901, when the railway across Manchuria was completed and a settlement grew around Manchzhuriya Station, the first stop in Manchuria for travellers from Russia, which gave the city its name; it became a trading centre in 1905, got its customs post in 1908, was made a city in 1927, and in 1992 was among the first land border cities China opened to trade (Wikipedia, Manzhouli).

What to look for

• The Russian-styled streets - domes, spires and pastel facades across the centre.
• Matryoshka Square - a thirty-metre nesting doll hotel and hundreds of figures.
• The border point - the crossing and viewing area facing Russia.
• The freight railway - the constant train traffic across the frontier.

When to go

June to September for tolerable weather; winters fall below minus thirty. The city is busiest in summer with domestic tourists and Russian shoppers. Border viewing areas require identification.

Good to know

Almost all the Russian-style architecture is recent construction rather than heritage, which surprises visitors expecting an old railway town. The matryoshka park is unabashedly kitsch. Cross-border travel requires a visa and is not a casual day trip.

Nearby

Hulun Lake lies southeast; the Hulunbuir grasslands stretch east.

Key facts