Travel to the Northeast丨In Mohe Arctic Village, I found the north!

Taking the opportunity to attend a friend’s wedding in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, I took my mother to the vast black land of Northeast China for the first time.

Get on the train from Qiqihar all the way north at 8:30 in the evening, have a long sleep, and arrive at the northernmost county in China - the Daxinganling region at around 7:00 the next morning. Mohe County.

Under the remote guidance of the innkeeper, we got on the bus to Arctic Village. Arctic Village was formerly called Mohe Village and was the seat of the Mohe Township Government. Later, in order to develop tourism, it was named "Arctic Village". Some Mohe locals on the bus still used to call Arctic Village Mohe Township.

Arctic Village is 70 kilometers north of Mohe Station. It takes an hour by bus and costs 25 yuan per person. Thanks to local efforts, Arctic Village is no longer an ordinary village. It is a national 5A-level scenic spot. Visitors must pay 60 yuan to buy tickets before entering the village. The bus stopped at the passenger terminal in Arctic Village. This is the northernmost passenger terminal in China. It is very, very small. It only operates shuttle buses between Arctic Village and Mohe County. There are three round-trips every day. If you miss it, you can only take the second bus. We can go there on the same day or rent a car, so in general the transportation is still a bit inconvenient.

Everything in Arctic Village seems to be named "the northernmost". To the left of the Northernmost Passenger Terminal is the Northernmost Post Office, and opposite is the Northernmost School. It was noon, some children were playing basketball on the playground, some ran to the small store to buy snacks, and they walked back in twos and threes. On the right side of the Northernmost School, across the road is the Northernmost Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The Northernmost Supply and Marketing Cooperative has not been open for the two days I was there. According to the inn owner, this store is now run by an individual and mainly sells some. Mountain product. There is also a house that is the so-called "Northernmost House in China". There are so many bright eyes in the "Northernmost House" that I feel numb just looking at it.

We got in the car and drove further north. The road was not wide and there were Pinus sylvestris on both sides. We were the only car driving on the road. As far as the eye could see, we could only see the distance. The snow-capped mountains, I felt peaceful in my heart at that moment, I hope this road has no end. After driving for a while, we arrived at the northernmost Arctic Post. The situation on the watchtower could not be clearly seen. There were two border guards in the yard chatting while sawing wood. Thinking of the northern sentinels sticking to this small village in the ice and snow, protecting the borders of our motherland, a feeling of admiration arose spontaneously. .

The sky in Arctic Village is as clear as a color-standard sky blue. Occasionally, there is a trace of cloud hanging on the horizon. The weather has warmed up, but the air is filled with a cool breath. The air is exceptionally fresh and comfortable to breathe. When we walked to the Heilongjiang River, which divides the country from Russia, we found that the river was still very frozen and covered in white snow. It just so happened that the "14th China Mohe International Ice and Snow Autocross Race" was going on. We watched the competition for a long time in the biting cold wind by the river. Hundreds of off-road vehicles were marching on the river in turn, making a rumbling sound. Some people successfully completed the race through N turns, while others rushed to the snowdrift and were unable to move. The river was open and the wind was blowing very hard. After watching for a while, we quickly evacuated and found a place to fill our stomachs.

Beijing Village has developed well. Tourism has supported the village, and almost every household has opened an inn or farmhouse. We stayed at the "Northern Lights Inn", an ordinary farmhouse. We stayed in a room in the backyard, and the conditions were pretty good. There is a restaurant in the courtyard, and the chef is the proprietress's mother. We had breakfast for two days, one day with handmade dumplings, and the other day with porridge, side dishes, and flatbreads. Surprisingly, both were delicious, a home-cooked delicacy. In addition to the restaurant in every inn, there are not many specialized restaurants, so for two days in a row, we had lunch at a small shop called "Sihai Cake Shop", which specializes in casseroles , we tried several kinds, including mutton and sauerkraut casserole, tomato and beef casserole, mutton and tofu casserole, and ribs and sauerkraut vermicelli casserole. They were all delicious and not expensive. What impressed me more was the hospitality of the aunt in the store. , these are probably people from the Northeast.

In the afternoon, we took a horse-drawn sledge with two other tourists from the same inn and went all the way to find "North". My mother and I had a white horse, and my two sisters from Zhejiang had a brown horse. They were very excited. They felt it was novel to see the snow on the ground, and they were even more surprised to see a real horse. We all sat on the sledge behind the horses, fully equipped with hats, gloves and masks, with warmers attached to our bodies, and covered with large quilts, crunching on the snow and walking through the trees. Daxinganling is truly a forest area, with trees everywhere, trees everywhere. The eldest brother driving the horse chatted with us while controlling the direction. When he mentioned that we were from Inner Mongolia, he sang a few lines of "Hulunbuir Prairie" and when he mentioned Harbin, he sang a few lines of "My home is in the northeast~on the Songhua River~" , the sound is high and loud, flying in the vast world, it is particularly fun.

Horses pulling sledges and sledges pulled us along, stopping and taking photos with various "North" signs. "Heilongjiang" stele, "China Arctic" blessing stone, Beizi Square, North View Pass Square, "China Arctic" stele, "Golden Rooster Crown" square, all the way down, finally, "I found the North"! There is also a Chinese national boundary monument beside the Heilongjiang River. The center of the Heilongjiang River behind the national boundary monument is the real national boundary. The half of the Heilongjiang River is the water of Russia, and the mountains on the other side of the river are the mountains of Russia.

The border line was drawn up and warning signs were erected on the river, with the words "Border ahead, no crossing allowed". Large banners with red backgrounds and white letters were everywhere in the Arctic village. Slogans such as "Crossing the border is a crime and Russia will punish you" were everywhere. visible.

Since it has entered the off-season, there are very few people in Arctic Village, and there are even fewer tourists. Walking on the road, there is always a feeling that there are only a few of us in the world. As night fell, my mother and I finished a large plate of pork stewed vermicelli and walked slowly to the inn with our whole bodies warm. Of course we didn't see the aurora, and there weren't even many stars in the sky, but the stars were very bright and sparkling.

After two days, my mother also had a lot of fun and liked this small village very much, but she still said that she did not want to live here. It was too cold, too remote, and life was inconvenient. The man who pulls the sledge also said that there are fewer and fewer local young people, and there is no money to be made in the off-season. Indeed, tourism alone cannot achieve comprehensive and healthy development. For example, many newly built houses in the village are unoccupied, many new shops are having difficulty attracting investment, and there are even many unfinished buildings. Mohe was founded on tourism, and Arctic Village was developed for tourism. It remains to be seen what the future holds.

Overall, the trip to Arctic Village was worthwhile. At least, I found the North!