Boundless borderlands

The Siberian Tiger Park in Hengdaohezi town is one of the largest breeding centers of the tiger subspecies in the world. [PHOTO BY XU LIN/CHINA DAILY]

Tourists can see a variety of different animals there, ranging from tigers, lions and leopards to bears and peacocks. They can also hop on a special bus to watch tigers playing with each other in the meadows.

The Siberian tiger, which is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, once roamed freely throughout Northeast China, Russia's Far East and Mongolia.

It's best to travel throughout Mudanjiang and surrounding cities by high-speed train.

In 1896, the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) granted a construction concession of the Chinese Eastern Railway to the Russian Empire.

The two countries jointly built the railway, which went into service in 1903. Along its T-shaped line, its western branch extends from Harbin to Manzhouli, while its eastern branch runs from Harbin to Suifenhe.

It provided a shortcut for the Russian Empire to link Chita city on the Trans-Siberian Railway with its eastern port of Vladivostok.

In 1903, a 2,160-square-meter fanshaped steam locomotive garage was completed in Hengdaohezi town, about 210 kilometers from Suifenhe.

After it closed down in the 1990s, the garage was renovated and turned into the Chinese Eastern Railway Museum.