The Northeast
东北
Ice cities, Russian facades, volcanic lakes and the country's ski country.
Photo: Dayou_X · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dongbei — the old Manchuria — is China at its most extreme: −30°C winters, Russian onion domes in Harbin, a lake in a volcano on the North Korean border, and the rime-frosted forests that gave the region its ice-festival industry. Summer is short, green and blessedly cool; winter is the whole point.
Provinces & regions: Heilongjiang · Jilin · Liaoning
Best time to go: December to February for ice and snow; July to August to escape the heat.
02Covered in depth
2 destinations in this region
+Also worth knowing
6 more from the full index
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Shenyang Imperial Palace沈阳故宫 UNESCO Liaoning
The Manchu court's palace before they took Beijing in 1644, mixing Manchu, Mongol and Han architecture.
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Dandong & the Yalu丹东 Liaoning
A border city facing North Korea across the river, with a bombed-out bridge that stops halfway and boat trips along the frontier.
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Jilin Rime Island吉林雾凇岛 Jilin
Warm water from a dam upstream keeps the Songhua open in −25°C air, coating the riverbank willows in thick rime frost.
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Mohe & Beiji Village漠河北极村 Heilongjiang
China's northernmost point at 53°N, where winter hits −45°C and the aurora is occasionally visible in summer.
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Wudalianchi五大连池 UNESCO Heilongjiang
Five lakes dammed by lava from eruptions in 1719–21, with cinder cones, mineral springs and black basalt fields.
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Zhalong Nature Reserve扎龙 Heilongjiang
Reed marsh holding a large share of the world's remaining wild red-crowned cranes. Daily flight releases for visitors.