Mudanjiang Travel Guide

Covering an area of 40,600 square kilometers (15,676 square miles), Mudanjiang City is located in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, 358 kilometers (222 miles) southeast of the provincial capital Harbin. It is bounded on the south by Jilin Province, and neighbor Russia in the East, adjacent to the Sea of Japan.

The city is named after Mudanjiang River (Peony River). It is the transliteration of rotating Manchu 'Wula', which means the crooked river. It was the first Chinese border city to be opened up and at present, it occupies a position of paramount importance in Northeast Asia's international economic and trade corridors. Having a population of 2.71 million (2003), it is the governmental, economic, cultural and transport hub of southeastern Heilongjiang.

 Geography 
The average altitude of the city is 230 meters (755 feet) above sea level. Its topography is varied and hilly and mountainous areas constitute the main landform. The northeastern part is flat, the central part is a basin, and the rest are mountains.

 Climate 
Mudanjiang has a temperate monsoon climate with an annual average temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius (38.3 degrees Fahrenheit) and 126 frost-free days. Annual rainfall averages 550 millimeters (21.7 inches). The seasons are distinct and climate is rather pleasant, so the city has the good reputation of 'the South beyond the Great Wall' and it is the famous 'land of plenty in the north'. The rich collection of resource of the city, scenery it succeeds, it is China's 'heaven in human world ' of North.

 Tourist Sites  
The region's premier tourist attractions include the Jingbo Lake, the Longquanfu and the Ningguta ancient city ruins, the Canglu Nature Reserve, and the Yueya Lake Nature Reserve. The most famous one is Jingpo Lake noted for its craggy limestone cliffs and its turquoise waters containing Ericton fish and fresh water coral. What is more, every winter sublime and majestic Snow village will be constructed on the Jiangxin Island in Mudanjiang City, bearing much resemblance to the Harbin Ice and Snow World in structure.

 Transportation
Mudanjiang is the main transport hub of southeastern Heilongjiang. Within the city are the Harbin-Suifenhe, Mudanjiang-Jamusi and Mudanjiang-Tumen railway lines, national roads 301 and 201 and the Fangzheng-Hulin and Jixi-Tumen county roads, and international road freight transport links with Ussuriysk in Russia have been opened in full. Mudanjiang Airport has attained the level of class two national airports and has 10 domestic routes to such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Dalian and Tianjin.

 What to see: Jingbo Lake