Dongbei , or more evocatively Manchuria, may well be the
closest thing to the "real" China that visitors vainly seek in the
well-travelled central and southern parts of the country. Not many
foreign tourists get up to China's northernmost arm, however, due
to its reputation as an inhospitable wasteland: "Although it is
uncertain where God created paradise," wrote a French priest when
he was here in 1846, "we can be sure he chose some other place than
this." Yet, with its immense swathes of fertile fields and huge
resources of mineral wealth , Dongbei is metaphorically a
treasure house, and this area has been fiercely contested for much
of its history by Manchus, Nationalists, Russians, Japanese and
Communists. Today the region, comprising Liaoning ,
Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, forms an industrial
heartland, producing more than a third of the country's heavy
machinery, half its coal and oil and most of its military
equipment. Economically, Dongbei is perhaps the most important
region of China, and with four thousand kilometres of sensitive
border territory alongside North Korea and Russia, it's
strategically one of the most vulnerable.
People up here are very glad to see visitors; the closing of
state-owned factories has resulted in massive lay-offs (
xiagang), and tourism has become one of Dongbei's leading
growth industries. A Manchurian makeover is underway as the
area cashes in on its colourful history. The thriving port
Dalian sports cleaned-up beaches, a new cliffside drive and
China's best football club. China's window on North Korea,
Dandong features a new promenade on the Yalu River and an
incredible Korean War Museum. China's other Forbidden City - the
restored Manchu Imperial Palace - and the tombs of the men who
established the Qing dynasty draw tourists to Liaoning's otherwise
bland capital, Shenyang . North into Jilin Province,
Jilin city's new river promenade showcases ice-coated trees
in winter, and improved ski resorts in the outskirts of town. Jilin
Province's capital, Changchun , memorializes Puyi's reign as
"emperor" of the Japanese state Manchukuo in the Puppet Emperor's
Palace. Evidence of Heilongjiang Province's border with Russia can
be seen throughout its capital, Harbin . A restored central
shopping district preserves the city's old architecture, while a
new history museum set in an Orthodox cathedral makes China's
northernmost metropolis known for reasons other than its
world-famous ice lantern festival.
Boasting a terrain of fertile plains, rugged mountains and
forests (41 percent of Heilongjiang is covered by trees), Dongbei's
other attraction is its geography. The region is home to several
protected reserves, most famously the mountainous Changbai Shan
Nature Reserve in Jilin Province near the Korean border, where
Lake Tian is nestled in jaw-dropping scenery. Zhalong Nature
Reserve , in Heilongjiang, is a summer breeding ground for
thousands of species of birds, including the rare red-crowned
crane.
Dongbei's climate is one of extremes. In summer it is
hot, and in winter it is very, very cold, with temperatures as low
as minus thirty degrees Celsius, and howling Siberian gales. But if
you can stand the cold, a trip up here in January has the added
attraction of ice festivals in Jilin and Harbin, and the
whole of winter brings excellent, cheap skiing, sledding and
skating .
As for transport , there's an efficient rail system
between the cities and an extensive highway network due to
Dongbei's export-based economy. Hotel prices used to be
outrageous, but with the new attitude towards foreign tourists,
cheap, clean dorms and rooms exist in every town. Gone are the days
of "No Foreigners Allowed", so if you encounter an unrelenting
concierge, simply take your business to the next hotel. Dongbei
food is diverse, from fresh crabs in Dalian, to the local
river fish lu zi yu in Dandong, to mushroom dishes and fresh
bread in Harbin, to silkworms in the countryside (a mushy,
pasty-tasting local delicacy). Cuisine here is also heavily
influenced by its neighbours, and every town has a cluster of
Korean, Japanese and, up north, Russian restaurants. KFC has
landed in every major city, as well.
For now, visitors to these parts tend to come for quite
specific reasons: foreign students find an
immersion-environment free of thick accents and perfect for
practising Chinese; steam buffs will find plenty of trains
to get excited about; and keen hunters, hikers and
bird-watchers will all find places to indulge their passions.
Fans of recent Chinese history couldn't choose a better
place to visit: Dongbei's past one hundred years of domestic and
international conflicts heavily influenced the shape of the PRC
today. Those interested in the Russo-Japanese War can follow
the route of the Japanese advance; bring a copy of Jack London's
Reports, which contains the columns he wrote on assignment
for the San Francisco Examiner. Puyi 's
autobiography, From Emperor to Citizen, lends insight to
Manchukuo, and Ha Jin's recent Ocean of Words shows what
life was like patrolling the Heilongjiang-Siberian border in the
tense 1970s. Independent tour companies in each region provide
better service and selection, but you can also ask at CITS for
details of their special-interest tours to the region.