China Guide
Dongbei
Not many foreign tourists get up to China's northernmost arm – Dongbei, or, more evocatively, Manchuria – due to its reputation as an inhospitable wasteland. Yet, with its immense swaths of fertile fields and huge resources of mineral wealth, Dongbei is metaphorically a treasure house. Comprising Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, it is economically and politically among the most important regions of China, and the area has been fiercely contested for much of its history by Manchus, Nationalists, Russians, Japanese and Communists.
The region is cashing in on its colourful history, seen most vividly in the preservation of long-ignored Russian and Japanese colonial architecture, some of which you can actually stay in. The country's window on North Korea is Dandong, featuring a 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. In Jilin's provincial capital, Changchun, the Puppet Emperor's Palace memorializes Puyi's reign as "emperor" of the Japanese state Manchukuo. 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 history museum set in an Orthodox cathedral ensures China's northernmost metropolis is known for more reasons than its world-famous Ice Festival. The region "outside" the Great Wall is home to several protected reserves, most famously the mountainous Changbai Shan Nature Reserve near the Korean border, where a huge lake, Tian Chi, nestles 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 extreme: in summer, it is hot, and in winter it is very, very cold, with temperatures as low as ‑30°C and howling Siberian gales. But the whole of winter brings excellent, cheap skiing, sledding and skating, while a trip up here in January has the added attraction of local ice festivals.
Highlights
1 The Imperial Palace, Shenyang Pre-empting Beijing's Forbidden City, this was the historical seat of the Manchus before they seized the capital.
2 Old Yalu Bridge, Dandong Walk halfway to North Korea on this structure, bombed by the US during the Korean War.
3 Puppet Emperor's Palace, Changchun The second act of the "last emperor" Puyi's life was played out here, where he was installed by the Japanese as leader of Manchuria.
4 Changbai Shan The northeast's loveliest nature reserve – see the crater lake and root around for wild ginseng, though beware of North Korean border guards.
5 Winter ice festivals Most Manchurian metropolises have one, but Harbin's is the biggest and best, carvings by international artists.
6 Zhalong Nature Reserve Bird-watchers flock to the reedy lakes west of Harbin where the red-crowned crane and thousands of its cousins breed.