Russian-style buildings attract winter tourists to town

HARBIN — In the small, snow-covered town of Hengdaohezi, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, tourists swarm into a century-old Russian-style house to sip steaming fruit tea and enjoy the icy landscape through the window.

Dubbed "a town pulled by trains", Hengdaohezi, in the city of Hailin, was established in the late 19th century when Russians built train maintenance workshops and other facilities there following the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway.

Thanks to its 256 well-preserved Russian-style buildings, including six under State-level protection, the town has become a hot tourist destination in winter.

Wang Xue, from Tianjin, dropped by for a brief visit after skiing in Harbin, Heilongjiang's provincial capital.

"The snow scenes in Hengdaohezi are beautiful and full of exotic charm," Wang said. "It is an ideal place for photoshoots with its magnificent views."

Song Xingwen, an admirer of Russian culture, first visited Hengdaohezi in 2018. He loved the town so much that he has since bought a century-old Russian-style house there and transformed it into a homestay.

"I retained the original style of the house during the decoration, and moved my collections of Russian antiques here," Song said. "My homestay has become a 'Russian-style household museum' popular among tourists."

In addition to Russian-style houses, the town has developed other tourist attractions, including a Siberian tiger forest park.

Ma Lina, a keeper at the tiger park, said winter is the best time for tourists to visit.

"Tigers are more active in freezing weather and their skins in the snow appear brighter," Ma said.

Since the opening of a high-speed railway passing through Hengdaohezi in 2018, the town has seen a surge in visitors.

It has received about 1 million tourists so far this year, compared with about 800,000 in 2018, according to the town's tourism bureau.

Wei Hongmei, Hailin's Party chief, said that with Hengdaohezi becoming a tourism hot spot, the city has continued to foster its tourism industry in recent years and regularly holds tourist activities, including an ice and snow festival and a winter fishing event.

"We are striving to turn our ice and snow resources into a booming economy," Wei said.

Xinhua