Northeast China · Heilongjiang · Tongjiang, Jiamusi
Here the Songhua River empties into the Amur — already the China-Russia border river — the two streams running side by side in visibly different colors. This small frontier city is also homeland to the Hezhen people, where Yimakan storytelling and fish-skin craft are still practiced and passed on.
Why it's special
A border river, a two-river confluence, and a people who carried an oral epic and a fish-skin craft into the present.
Tongjiang — once called "Lahasusu" — sits in the northeast of the Sanjiang Plain, where the Songhua empties into the Amur a few kilometres past town. The Amur here is already the China-Russia border river, with about 170km of it fronting Tongjiang; after the confluence the two streams run side by side for dozens of kilometres, visibly different in color and refusing to blend. This is also a homeland of the Hezhen — a people numbering just over five thousand nationwide (2020 census), historically fishers whose fish-skin clothing remains their most distinctive craft. Hezhen people today live modern lives, while Yimakan storytelling (UNESCO Urgent Safeguarding List 2011, upgraded to the Representative List in December 2025) and the nationally listed fish-skin craft are being deliberately passed on through Jiejinkou's culture village, teaching workshops and festivals.
Nature
Hezhen culture
Honest fit
Don't miss
Not a sightseeing list — things worth seeing and hearing firsthand.
Eat & bring home
River fish rules the Tongjiang table — from the Hezhen raw-fish tradition to a full whole-fish banquet.
With fish and stews dominating, vegetarian choices are limited — vegetable dishes at home-style and Russian restaurants are the main route.
Stews and soup bases often use bone stock or animal fat — vegans must check dish by dish.
Halal restaurants are scarce — search and confirm ahead.
Fish is the heart of the local diet — allergy sufferers should lean on stews and Russian fare, and watch for fish-based broths.
Good to know
Reality check
The honest take
If you expect a city packaged for ethnic tourism, Tongjiang will feel like "nothing to do." Its value is for those who come on purpose — to watch two rivers refuse to blend, hear a passage of Yimakan, feel hand-tanned fish skin. None of that can be replicated elsewhere.
Yimakan performances and craft demonstrations run through workshops, culture-village events and festivals — not on a daily schedule. If they're your main reason to come, confirm the day's program in advance.
The Hezhen are a people living modern lives, not a "living exhibit": watch performances to understand and appreciate, ask before photographing, and don't talk about people's lives as a curiosity.
June-September is the window; winter routinely drops below -20℃, the river freezes and many activities stop — come then only if winter itself is the point.
The hotel base is small, and rooms tighten around festivals like Wuriguang; foreign travelers must confirm hosting and registration ability ahead.
In China, hotels handle your registration; for guesthouses, a friend's home or short-lets, you usually register at the nearest police station within 24 hours of arrival.
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Is it for you?
Where to next
From Tongjiang, keep following the border.
China's easternmost point — the country's first sunrise, Heixiazi Island and the Ussuri River, the natural continuation of the Sanjiang story.
Another border port upstream on the Amur, facing the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk across the water.
The hub on your way back — and a destination itself: Central Street, Russian architecture, and the winter Ice and Snow World.
Travel responsibly
Travel isn't only about the view — it's about living alongside a place with respect.
