MANILA, Philippines - It was a big surprise that we were flown from Beijing to Manzhouli City for a leadership program sponsored by the All China Youth Federation. It is a city that takes you to another dimension, totally different from the impressions of China that one gets from Beijing. It is a crossroads of cultures since it lies on the border of Mongolia and Russia, an autonomous region of China called Inner Mongolia where the Siberian train passes on its way from Beijing to Moscow.
Manzhouli is the northern gateway to Russia. The name comes from a Russian name, Manchzhuriya. Just a few minutes to the north of the city is already Russia and a couple of hours to the west will take you to Mongolia. It is made up of vast meadowlands, deserts, acres and acres of forest towards the northern part of Inner Mongolia and mountains from one end of the province to the other.
The city was established in 1901 as a stop on the Trans-Manchurian Railway. At the time, it was intended as a shortcut between the main line of the Trans-Siberian Railway and Vladivostok, Russia. But now it is an international marketplace, where Russians come from across the border in search of cheap and portable items to sell back in their country.
Most Russians come into this city to trade and enjoy the lowest prices of products and services. The signs of most business establishments are in Russian as well as Chinese characters. Vendors accept Russian money.
Russians and other visitors party all night long in the clubs that abound. The architecture is European and most buildings were patterned after it. Night market starts from 1 a.m. until late morning. Tibetans also come here to sell their wares, mostly indigenous products. And of course, Mongolians sell their products here too.
We watched a performance of the Russian ballet. It was a performance to remember, as these tall Russian ladies and gentlemen danced with such graceful movements.
There was one evening at the Diplomacy Hotel where we were treated to a dinner cum cultural show of the music and dance of China, Russia and Mongolia. I tried on the Mongolian costume of one of the performers.
Another evening we went to an open air concert where popular Chinese singers performed. It was attended by a big crowd composed mostly of young people.
We were treated to another evening of cultural performances of Russian and Mongolian dances and Chinese acrobats and martial arts after dinner at Grand Manzhouli Hotel where we were billeted.
We visited Dalai Lake and also Cha Gan Lake, which had literally disappeared. We saw the grasslands and the gigantic elephant monuments and big rocks. We visited the Sino-Russian Border Museum and also to Russian Art Museum.
Not to be missed were the Manzhouli Sculpture Park and the Russian Taowa Square where we saw the world’s largest Matryoshka Doll and giant Russian easter eggs. The Russian doll was a hit among our group, and we all bought copies as souvenir. We shopped at the International Commercial Center near the Russian border where bargaining was the order of the day for items such as Chinggis Khan souvenir keyholders, sandals, stuff sheep toys, headdress, caps, fur coats, fur hats, vodka and many others.