Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia

The farthest location to the northwest frontier of Inner Mongolia ended at Manzhouli, a city just borders Russia.

Earlier, the tour itinerary also included an excursion to an outpost at the Inner Mongolia/Russia territorial border - a dividing line demarcated by a high chain-linked fence. The excursion started with a ride in a pick-up to a small river. After crossing a tinny wooden bridge, we proceeded to walk on a timber-decked boardwalk laid over an open field. The short walk ended at another small river. We then boarded a small boat and after 10 minutes landed at an uninhabited open field overgrown with reeds and small trees. A banner is erected next to the high chain-linked fence which reads "You have reached the border. Do not attempt to cross the border".  I find this excursion rather weird - arrange groups of visitors to visit a no man land! Probably, China and Russia should learn from Thailand and Myanmar for what they come up at the border at the Golden Triangle - create something so that there is reason for visitors to visit the border (Read here).

This outpost at the China side is an equivalence of the 

fire tower of the Great Wall.

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Manzhouli is best described as a City of Light. The installations of all the lighting hardwares at the exterior of the buildings in town are funded by the local authority. The latter also pays for the electricity bills of these exterior lights. This is indeed a genius idea of the local authority to lure visitors to this city. Besides the lights, the other major attraction is the Russian Doll Playground Theme Park. It boasts of hosting 20,000 visitors a day during peak season!

Well lighted up city.

Lighted up Russian Doll Playground Theme Park.

Lighted up Russian Doll Playground Theme Park.

Clearly, our tour company opted the cheaper option by not taking us into the Theme Park, ostentatiously because of the so-called high entrance fee. They opted for the short cut by stopping the tour bus just outside the Theme Park for photo taking only!

Russian influence is evident just by looking at the many buildings in 

Manzhouli.

Aershan Nature Forest Park, Inner Mongolia

From Zhalantun, our bus took us southwest to Aershan Nature Forest Reserve,  a huge (in excess of 100,000 hectares) forest reserve. This area is also being referred to as Aershan National Geopark. This Park is well known for its dramatic volcanic landscape, dense forests, mountaintop crater lakes, rivers and grassland. Infrastructure in the Park is well developed, with well prepared timber-decked boardwalks and paths making walking around the Park more pleasant and easy.

We were first taken to Dujuan Lake, a volcanic crater lake. The word Dujuan means Azalea, a well known flower in China. The lake is supposed to be surrounded by Azalea flowers during Spring. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Azalea when we were there.

Solidified volcanic lava are aplenty in Dujuan Lake.

The Park is reported to have over 90 species of animals. As we walked along the boardwalk, we saw  a few rather friendly little squirrels.

The walk around Dujuan Lake was monotonous after some time. But then, it was spiced up by the comical translations of the many signboards.

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After Dujuan Lake, we were taken to another area to do forest trekking. The stretch which traverses alongside the meandering Halaha River was particularly scenic.

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Our visit to the Park finally ended at the Tianchi or the Heavenly Lake, a mountaintop crater lake. It was by far the most challenging because of the need to climb 998 steps up and then 768 steps down.

Everything looked so green during the time of our visit. We were told that during Autumn, the colours of leaves of the surrounding trees and shrubs would turn the water surface golden and reddish. By Winter, the lake surface becomes a huge skating ring with the surrounding area blanketed with white snow! 

Part of Tianchi.

Spectacular view of the Tianchizhen or Tianchi City as 

we descended the hill.

Zhalong Nature Reserve

The following morning after our arrival to Qiqihar from Harbin, we visited Zhalong Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang. The huge 2,100 sq. km freshwater marshland is the major migratory route for birds migrating from the Arctic to Southeast Asia. Within the reserve, a large flock of red-crowned cranes is held in captivity for conservation purpose.

Like all the visitors, we came to see the massive reed marshland and the red-crowned cranes. Twice a day, tourists come to see the feeding of the cranes by the park rangers. We came for the 11.00am session which is said to be better because the birds are more energetic. It was quite a "show" to see the cranes being led out from captivity and ushered to fly over the spectators before these birds settled by the pond for their feed.

Nothing goes to waste in China. Every year, reeds in the marshland are demarcated into zones and opened to contractors for bidding. Successful bidders would then harvest the reeds and sell them to paper mills. This is most suitable for making of Chinese painting paper.

Red-crowned crane is highly regarded in China. It is also called Japanese Crane and Fairly Crane. These birds have an average life span of 30-40 years with some living to 70 years in captivity. To the Chinese, it is a symbol of luck, fidelity, longevity and immortality. China has considered naming it as their national bird but decided otherwise because of its Latin translation as "Japanese Crane". Any attempt by China to name it as their national bird will likely provoke strong resistance from Japan and Korea.

Inner Mongolia

It was not our plan to do another China tour this year. In China, it is next to impossibility for tourists in group tours to avoid being taken to so-called slaughter houses - these are outlets where tourists have to deal with all kinds of marketing antics. The bottom line is to get the buyers to part with their money.  The thought of this menace could kill off all the urges to sign up for another China tour!.

But when the idea of touring Inner Monglia was floated, the urge to attempt another tour to China was rekindled.  This was probably because of the fascination of the exotic and alluring Mongolian grassland. For someone who grew up with the familiar tune "Night on The Prairie", such an opportunity was simply impossible to ignore. We decided to sign up for it.

The tour started with the flight from Singapore to Beijing in China Air at 00:15, not an attractive time on 25 June. It took just over 5.5 hours to fly from Singapore to Beijing and another 2 hours from Beijing to Harbin. After a break for lunch, we boarded the high speed train from Harbin Railway Station to Qigihar. Boarding the train was chaotic. Once the gate was opened, long queues of passengers were just being pushed forward by the surging crowd at the back. By the time we looked around, we could not see any of the group members. We sensed we were lost. We asked around but the railway staff was not helpful. It was strangers who were kinder to point the It was barely 30 seconds left by the time we made it to the right spot to board the fast approaching train. I dread to think of the consequences if we had missed the train!

One obvious benefit of this trip is learning the geography of north and northwest China. In the past, Inner Mongolia was often mistaken with Mongolia and vice-versa. Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region is part of China. Mongolia, an adjoining piece of land northwest of Inner Mongolia is a separate country. The upper northwest of Inner Mongolia shares a common boundary with Russia.

The highlight of the tour was supposed to be the Mongolian Grassland in Hulunbeir. As it turned out, it was not as authentic as was made out in the promotional material of the tour company. What was shown to us was a set-up settlement created just by the highway. A few yurts were erected in the compound.  The yurt shown to us was in fact used as a small canteen to entertain tourists. It was bare except for a few tables each surrounded with a few stools.There were a number of horses for horse riding by tourists. A go-cart ring was set up to cater for the speed lovers in open field. The set-up was at best a mini adventure park rather than a Mongolian grassland!

Most in the tour group were disappointed and had wanted to see a more genuine Mongolian settlement complete with sheep and horses grazing in the the grassland. In the end, we were unsure whether the short change was the game plan of the Malaysian tour company or their Chinese counterpart!

Still, I tried to be positive and to make up the missing parts with a bit of imagination!

Mongolian costume offered to tourists for photo taking. 

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In the end, it was the scenic drive alongside huge expanse and limitless of grassland and green hilly and rolling landscape that made up for the not so pleasant experience with the Mongolian Grassland!