China has the longest land border in the world totaling more than 22,000 kilometers. Many of the border towns are diverse and share both Chinese and foreign characteristics.

CGTN has collected China's top 10 most beautiful border cities and towns for tourists. Following a stop to Dandong along China's border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), our second trip is to Jiamusi, a border city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. 

Known as the first city to see the sunrise in China, the city is also called “the most eastern point of China.”

Located along the lower reaches of the Songhua River, Jiamusi is conveniently connected to Khabarovsk in Russia's Far East by air and water and is an important harbor for international trade in northeastern China.

Sanjiang Plain Wetland

The Sanjiang Plain Wetland was named one of the "Top six most beautiful grasslands in China" by China National Geography Magazine in 2005. Constituted by Heilongjiang, Songhua River and Ussuri River, Sanjiang Plain Wetland is blessed with rich biological diversity as it is home to nearly 291 kinds of vertebrate animals and almost 500 species of higher plants. It used to cover an area of 5.13 square kilometers of marsh wetland. But now there is only 1.347 square kilometers of marsh wetland and it continues to shrink due to human activity. 

The Sanjiang nature reserve is the least disturbed geothermal ecosystem in the eastern end of the Sanjiang Plain and is also a rare freshwater swamp wetland. There are more than 50 rivers, over 200 lakes and 26 islands in the reserve. When summer comes, pink, white and red lotus flowers bloom in the wetland lake, stretching for more than 10 miles and attracting rare animals.

Heixiazi Island

Heixiazi Island in Fuyuan County is a border island that links China and Russia. The two countries unveiled boundary markers on the island in 2008 and agreed to jointly develop the island into an eco-tourism zone. 

The western half of the 335-square-kilometer island now belongs to China, while Russia controls the other half. Tourists can visit China's easternmost Wusu Town and watch the earliest sunrise in the country.

Wusu Town

Wusu Town is both the smallest "town" in China and one of the smallest in the world. It has attracted a large number of tourists from home and abroad to watch the sunrise or the snow scenery. Located in the easternmost part of China, Wusu is the first place in China that greets the sunshine. The sun rises as early as 2:00 a.m. in the summer. You need to be an early bird (or late sleeper) if you want to catch the first beam of sunshine.

Although Wusu is small, it is the largest salmon fishery in China. More than 90 percent of the salmon in Heilongjiang Province is from Wusu.

Wusu is far from Jiamusi City center. Tourists can reach the town from Jiamusi by bus in about five hours.

All about fish!

Jiamusi is known for its freshwater fish. There are countless ways to cook fish here. It's reported that a chef in Jiamusi can cook 16 different dishes with a sturgeon. If you're a fish lover, you'll fall in love with this city. There are also local souvenirs made with fish skin or fish bones.

Travel Tips:

Best time to visit: Summer and winter

Transportation: Jiamusi can be reached by airplane, railway, expressway or waterway. 

Read more:

A journey along the Chinese border: Dandong