Heilongjiang

The signature venue for Harbin's winter-long Ice & Snow Festival is the main reason that both domestic and international travellers chase the cold weather here in huge numbers every year. It's a photogenic...

Laohei Shan is the humble zenith of a prehistoric landscape washed clean by hardened lava where ghost-like trees snake up from dormant craters, and brilliant blues shimmer off a cloud-strewn lake.It's also...

Church of St Sophia

The red-brick Russian Orthodox Church of St Sophia, with its distinctive green onion dome and roosting pigeons, is Harbin’s most famous landmark. Built in 1907 and expanded in 1932, it was the largest Orthodox...

The cobblestone avenue of Zhongyang Dajie is the most obvious legacy of Russia's involvement with Harbin. Now a pedestrian-only zone running from Jingwei Jie up to the Songhua River, the street, and those nearby,...

This museum is set in the notorious Japanese Germ Warfare Experimental Base (Division 731). Between 1939 and 1945, prisoners of war and civilians were frozen alive, subjected to vivisection or infected with...

Across the water from Stalin Park is Sun Island, a 38-sq-km recreational zone with landscaped gardens, a ‘water world’, a ‘Russian-style’ town, and various small galleries and museums. It’s a pleasant place to...

Zhalong Nature Reserve near Qiqiha'er is the most accessible and most visited of the nature reserves established to protect endangered species of wild cranes in Northeastern China. The reserve is home to some 260...

Walk astride the Russian border in this quaint Chinese village 100km from Beijicun, where wandering souls are welcomed with a glancing smile. No tourist tack around here – and usually no tourists, but you will...

Heilongjiang’s largest temple complex has an active Buddhist community in residence, giving it a genuine religious atmosphere despite the ticket sales. There are many large statues here, including Milefo...

The residents of 'Stone Village' are in fact immobile orbs of rock-hard lava arranged by nature around a forest of white-and-black birch trees. It's eerily cool to march the network of boardwalks and wave an...

This synagogue was built in 1921 by the city's Jewish community, the vast majority of whom had emigrated from Russia. Beautifully restored and converted into a museum in 2004, the 2nd and 3rd floors present a...

This waterfall boasts a 12m drop and 300m span. During the rainy season (June to September), when Diaoshuilou is in full throttle, it’s a spectacular raging beauty, but during spring and autumn it’s little more...

Harbin Main Synagogue

The beautiful old Main Synagogue, built in 1909, has been refurbished as a concert venue. You can buy tickets on-site to a variety of musical performances, including opera, usually starting around 7pm on most...

Further north from Mohe (roughly 50km) is Beijicun, a sprawling village and recreation area on the banks of the Heilong Jiang, separating China and Russia. The area is fast expanding with new hotels and resorts...

If culture equals amusement, then the creators of this park have certainly ticked all the right boxes. The 110m high Ferris wheel offers panoramic views of the city, and the Steel Dragon Inverted Coaster is a...

This peaceful temple complex was first built in 1929 and is said to be the largest Confucian temple in northeastern China. Most of what you see now, though, is from a recent restoration. The site also houses the...

Attached to the Harbin Main Synagogue, this was the first Jewish middle school in the Far East, and has been immaculately restored and reopened as the Glasnov School of Music, a private performing arts academy.

Best seen illuminated at night, this tree-lined promenade, dotted with statues, historic buildings, playgrounds and cafes, runs along part of the 42km-long embankment built to curb the unruly Songhua River and is...

Despite its name, the Underground Forest isn’t below the earth; instead it has grown within volcano craters that erupted some 10,000 years ago, giving the appearance of trees sinking into the earth. Hiking around...

A pleasant green space in the heart of old Harbin, Zhaolin Park comes alive during the Harbin Ice & Snow Festival with its Ice Lantern Display. Tickets don't come cheap, however, so you might want to save...