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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.
4 wheel jeepSebastianos says "Cool.
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