Manzhouli sits in the far northeast of Inner Mongolia, a small modern city on the main border crossing from China into Russia. It is an unlikely place to visit, but that is exactly what makes it interesting — a Chinese town where Russian is widely spoken, Russian cafes line the streets, and the Mongolian grasslands start just outside the city limits.
The main draw is the landscape. The grasslands surrounding Manzhouli are easily accessible and genuinely spectacular — vast, open steppe stretching to the horizon. Hulun Lake (Dalai Lake), about 47 kilometres from the city, is one of the largest lakes in northern China and a good base for a night or two in a yurt during the summer months. The lake area has seen some tourist development, but the countryside beyond it remains wide open and tranquil.
The town itself is compact and centred on a main square, with avenues of shops and malls radiating outward. The Russian influence is everywhere — many Russians cross the border to buy Chinese goods, and the result is a town where you will find as many signs in Cyrillic as in Chinese. The Sino-Russia Pedestrian Street is the liveliest part of town in the evenings. The Matryoshka Square — 200-plus oversized Russian nesting dolls in a purpose-built plaza — is kitsch but fun, and the Guomen Scenic Area, with its monumental border gate, gives you a direct look across into Russia.