By staff reporters YU JIE & LI MENG

SANJIANG Plain in eastern Heilongjiang Province was formed from the alluvium of the winding and rolling Heilong, Songhua, and Wusuli rivers. Located in the hinterland of the fertile Sanjiang Plain, Jiamusi faces Russia's Far East region on its opposite bank, and has a frontier measuring 438 kilometers.

Greeting the First Ray of Sunlight

A fair deal.

Located in easternmost China, Jiamusi enjoys the reputation of "East China's No. 1 City," as its residents are the first each day to greet the initial rays of sunlight. At just 500 meters from north to south, and 100 meters from west to east, Wusu, the smallest town in the world, has just one household, containing three residents. Every morning, the sun's first rays light on their roof.

Jiamusi occupies an area of 32,700 square kilometers, and its per capita area is 21.9 mu (1 mu = 1/15 hectare) -- more than twice the national average. Visitors to Jiamusi are mesmerized by the starkly simple north China view. In winter, the Jiamusi Ice and Snow Amusement Park seethes with excitement. It houses ice carvings, ice lanterns, boats, motorcycles, and dog-drawn sleds fashioned in ice, and also offers winter outdoor swimming.

Visitors should not miss the chance to visit the hospitable Hezhen ethnic minority and try traditional roast fish fillet and their specialty -- stewed freshwater fish. If you are lucky enough to be invited to a Hezhen family, the host will treat you to fish salad, mellow homemade wine, and beautiful folk song serenades.

Some 50 years ago, Jiamusi was a vast expanse of wilderness. Later, after construction planned and carried out by numerous intellectuals and soldiers, the once barren wilderness was transformed into fertile land. Sanjiang Plain is now a key national commercial grain production base, as well as a comprehensive agricultural development and experimental zone.

After the founding of the PRC in 1949, the springing up of numerous factories, as well as newly developed products, transformed Jiamusi from a small city in the frontier region with a relatively weak industrial base, into a developing industrial city. It contains the country's biggest paper mill - the Jiamusi Paper Mill, and the oldest explosion-proof electrical machinery producer - the Jiamusi Electrical Machinery Plant. In addition, it has formed the five pillar industries of food, machinery, papermaking, building materials and chemicals, among which over 40 categories have reached international advanced level, and 10 have been awarded gold and silver medals by the state.

Backed by the development of agriculture and industry, as well as geographical advantages, Jiamusi's foreign trade has seen rapid development. It currently has 18 categories of export products, including grain and oil, local and livestock products, textiles, and light industry and chemical products. These are sold to Japan, countries in Southeast Asia, the USA, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia, Russia, and the Middle East -- altogether over 50 countries and regions. In 2001, its total import and export volume exceeded US $100 million. Apart from having been twinned with Japan's Nirasaki and several other cities in the world, Jiamusi has trade contacts with more than 30 countries and regions.

Prosperous Port Economy

Busy Fuyuan wharf.

In 1989, Jiamusi was approved by the state as a Category One port open to Russia, increasing the number of open ports to five (Jiamusi, Fujin City, Tongjiang City, Fuyuan County, and Huachuan County), all of which carry on border trade with Russia. Its geographical advantages, as well as prosperous Sino-Russia border trade, has created a perfect environment for Jiamusi's economic development.

Located in the center of Northeast Asia, Jiamusi borders Russia to its north, faces the Korean Peninsula to its south and Japan across the sea. It is a pivotal facet of Heilongjiang's water transport, as ships go downstream from here, across Russia, enter the Tartar Channel, and reach Japan, the DPRK, the ROK, and regions along the Pacific Ocean. No wonder Jiamusi is popularly known as the "continental bridge leading to the Pacific Ocean."

Fuyuan Port, located northeast of Jiamusi, is only 65 kilometers from Khabarovsk, the biggest city in Russia's Far East region. Apart from playing an important role in the opening up of Heilongjiang to Russia, owing to the convergence of the Heilong and Wusuli rivers, Fuyuan is a key port where Heilongjiang Province links up with the Pacific Ocean.

Land and water communication lines radiate in all directions from Fuyuan Port. Waterways lead to Jiamusi, Harbin, Heihe, Raohe and other cities and counties through the Heilong, Wusuli, and Songhua rivers. Ships on the Heilong River go downstream to Nikolayevsk, a coastal city in Russia, and navigate onwards to Japan, the ROK, the USA, and Canada. This is the only passage in the whole of Heilongjiang Province through which ships may enter the sea. Land transport leads to Tongjiang, Fujin, Raohe, and Jiamusi, and joins the domestic highway network.

As China's foremost deepwater port on the Heilong River, as well as a good trans-shipment port for Jiamusi and Heilongjiang Province's river and sea coordinated transport, Fuyuan has broad water areas, where there are no shallows, making it sufficiently spacious to berth a 5,000 tonnage barge.

Facing Russia on the other side of the river, Tongjiang is a city where the Heilong and Songhua rivers converge, and augments the ties of friendship between the Chinese people and peoples of the world, as well as economic exchanges. Generously bestowed by nature, Tongjiang has a long history of foreign trade. In 1992, Tongjiang, an excellent natural harbor within the Songhua River and Heilong River systems, was approved by the State Council as a national Category One port for international trade.

Today's Jiamusi is a vigorous city. More important still, the gap between it and other places narrows daily.