Mingshan Island

Mingshan Island

Mingshan Island is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

When the Heilongjiang River flows through the Mingshan section, a small midstream island appears on the main channel side of our territory. It is called Mingshan Island, located 1.7 kilometers from Mingshan Town, and is a national 3A-level tourist attraction. Some say that if you visit Luobei without climbing Mingshan Island, you haven’t truly been to Luobei at all.

Mingshan Island is 3,000 meters long from east to west and 250 meters long from north to south, covering an area of 0.45 square kilometers, and is shaped like a spindle. It lies close to the national border, situated in the middle of the great river, with the southern side just 200 meters from the riverbank of Mingshan Town and the northern side 1,000 meters from the Russian riverbank. The island is surrounded by river water on all sides, and its vegetation is well preserved. Many precious tree species such as Manchurian ash, Manchurian walnut, and Amur cork tree provide dense canopy cover, with diverse forms. Beneath the forest, shrubs are entwined with mountain grapes, creating a rugged, natural, and charming ecological landscape.

The island’s unique geographical location, beautiful natural scenery, and legendary mysterious aura attract tens of thousands of domestic and international tourists every year. Attractions on the island include Golden Beach Bathing Beach, resort village, Jewish Culture Garden, Russian Culture Garden, Dragon King Temple, Yantong Temple, Reclining Buddha Temple, Water-Dripping Guanyin, Hundred Blessings Path, and Heilongjiang River Basin Museum.

China’s only Heilongjiang River Basin Museum was completed and opened to visitors on July 26, 2008, on Mingshan Island.

From the origin of the Heilongjiang River to the ancient culture of the Heilongjiang region, from the hard work of generations of fishermen in the past to the true portrayal of happy life today—all are vividly displayed in the Heilongjiang River Basin Museum.

The museum consists of six exhibition halls. Its bold design and rich exhibits, especially showcasing the distinct ethnic cultures of China, Russia, and the Jewish people, intermingle against the grand backdrop of river basin civilization, enough to amaze every visitor. Halls one and two serve as the dragon’s head and are natural history exhibition halls. Hall three, a long “dragon body,” displays the history and culture of the Heilongjiang River Basin. Halls four and five are built together to present the folk cultures of northern Chinese ethnic groups, as well as those of Russia and the Jewish people. The “dragon tail,” Hall six, is designed as a performance hall where folk culture is dynamically showcased. This “dragon-shaped” museum was designed by the Provincial Planning and Design Institute. Viewed from above, the connected head and tail shape of the Heilongjiang River Basin Museum resembles a flying “dragon,” displaying the unique essence of the “dragon” culture of the Heilongjiang River Basin.

At the entrance of the “Dragon Head” hall, there are three massive pieces of petrified wood, which are the “treasures” of the Heilongjiang River Basin Museum. On the left side of the first floor is the introductory hall, which narrates the formation of the universe, the Milky Way, the solar system, and up to the Heilongjiang River Basin. A hemispherical silver screen in the hall plays the evolution of this historical time and space, allowing us to feel the power of nature and the history and vicissitudes of the Heilongjiang River Basin civilization. In its early days, the Heilongjiang River Basin consisted of separate lakes and water systems. Later, as the lakes dried up, they formed dendritic water systems flowing in opposite directions. Mountain-building movements eventually shaped today’s Heilongjiang and Songhua River systems. The introductory hall also recreates volcanic eruptions from Mudanjiang to Wudalianchi, showing the topographical changes across the entire Heilongjiang River Basin. Following the winding path of the Heilongjiang River, visitors seem to walk through a time tunnel, with cities from China, Mongolia, and Russia lining both sides of the tunnel—from the upstream areas of Erguna and Mohe, to Heihe, Blagoveshchensk, Luobei, and Birobidzhan, then to Tongjiang, Fuyuan, Khabarovsk, and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, with 22 cities standing along the riverbanks. These not only serve as city landmarks but also demonstrate how the Heilongjiang River has nurtured regional civilizations.

The Natural Hall is divided into five sections: Botanical Hall, Zoological Hall, Aquarium, Geological and Mineral Hall, and Paleontology Hall. The Paleontology Hall is set apart from the Zoological Hall and displays four major ancient creatures: dinosaurs, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and primitive bison. The background of the Botanical Hall features a uniquely scenic birch forest, with real birch trees within reach in the foreground, and a large birch forest painting in the background, blending reality and illusion to create an immersive depth. The ground is covered with yellow leaves against white tree trunks, filling the scene with poetic charm. In the Zoological Hall, rare birds such as red-crowned cranes and mute swans forage freely in the wetlands, the “king of the mountains,” the tiger, prowls through snow-covered forests, and a giant kaluga sturgeon highlights the unfortunate fate of the largest freshwater fish species in the Heilongjiang River Basin today—making environmental and natural protection an urgent priority for humanity. The Geological and Mineral Hall displays a variety of geological and mineral specimens from the Heilongjiang River Basin, allowing visitors to appreciate the wonders of nature while also being grateful for the land’s gifts to human survival.

The Historical and Cultural Hall showcases six major cultures extensively excavated and organized by Luobei over the years. The Folk Culture Hall presents the customs and traditions of ethnic minorities in the Heilongjiang River Basin, as well as those of Russia and the Jewish people. Standing next to the museum and looking north, across the river lies the Russian town of Amurzet, just 900 meters away in a straight line. Mingshan Island’s special geographical location gives the Heilongjiang River Basin Museum a transnational river basin civilization and a grand atmosphere.

Hegang is the birthplace of ancient Heilongjiang civilization, a melting pot of Chinese, Russian, and Jewish civilizations, the place where martyr Zhao Shangzhi sacrificed his life, the cradle of New China’s film industry, a mine with a century-long development history, and one of the regions where 100,000 soldiers and one million educated youths reclaimed and guarded the frontier. The Zhao Shangzhi Memorial Hall, the Great Wilderness Sentiment Memorial Hall, the former site of the Northeast Film Studio, the Xingshan Fortress, and the ruins of the Aolimi Ancient City are all highly attractive.

[Tree House Village] Tree House Village and Water House Village are distinctive wooden architectural complexes on Mingshan Island. In 2008, seven wooden cabins 6 meters above the ground were built in the woods of Mingshan Island (also known as Tree House Village or "Mukelen"). All building materials are made of wood, and the interiors are luxuriously furnished. Each cabin is equipped with an LCD TV, air conditioner, water dispenser, and bathroom. The chairs inside the cabins and the bathroom fittings are all made of solid wood, giving a very imposing appearance. These seven cabins can be used as restaurants, bedrooms, meeting rooms, or living rooms. Upon entering, the fragrance of wood immediately brings a delightful sense of comfort.

The seven Tree House Village cabins are connected by an overhead walkway, covering a total area of 7,000 square meters.

[Water House Village] Two Water House Village cabins are located along the Heilongjiang Riverbank, directly facing the Heilongjiang River Basin Museum to the south and just a stone’s throw from the Russian Jewish Autonomous Prefecture’s Amurzet to the north. They sit 6 meters above the river surface and were constructed in 2008 with a total investment of 440,000 yuan.

The Water House Village structures adopt classical architecture with wooden frameworks, evoking a classic, rustic charm that blends with nature, and are equipped with modern facilities (bathrooms, air conditioners, water dispensers, LCD TVs, etc.).

Heilongjiang Three Gorges National Forest Park

Xinglong Canyon

Heshan United Operation Korean Pine Mother Tree Forest

Jinhua Nunnery

Taipinggou Ancient Town

Guntuling Watchtower

Xingdong Daotai Mansion