Dongning Port

　　Dongning Port officially opened to the public on April 26, 1990. It is the closest first-class land port in China to Russia’s largest Far Eastern port city — Vladivostok. It is connected by road and rail to Russia, forming an integrated network, and serves as one of the optimal routes for combined sea-land transport between China and Russia. From Vladivostok, it is 900 nautical miles via the Korea Strait to Dalian, 1,500 nautical miles to Shanghai and Nantong, and 1,900 nautical miles to Hong Kong. Moreover, cargo transport by both vehicle and ship remains abundant, making it a true case of “one connection enables all.” Historically, this was a hub where merchants from China, Russia, Korea, and Japan gathered. After the reform and opening-up, trade relations were established with over 900 districts and regions in more than 30 areas across Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other CIS countries, along with economic and trade ties with Peru, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Hong Kong, Macau, and other countries and regions.

　　Since the port opened in 1990, Dongning County has fully leveraged the advantages of the port and its resources to vigorously develop port economy. It has built import-export industrial parks for trade with Russia, the Suiyang imported sawn timber processing park, and the Huayu Industrial Park, forming an export-oriented industrial system dominated by light industrial products, timber, food processing, energy, biopharmaceuticals, and mineral development. The county has also developed the nation’s largest black fungus production base and Heilongjiang Province’s largest export fruit and vegetable production and distribution hub. The Suiyang Black Fungus and Wild Vegetable Wholesale Market achieves a “buy from the northeast, sell to the whole country” model. A group of well-known foreign trade enterprises such as Huayu and Jixin Industrial and Trade Groups have been nurtured. Construction has begun on the Dongning–Bolshoye Ustye (Poltavka) Cross-border Trade Zone Commodity Trading Center. Specialized markets for trade with Russia such as Hengyuan Mall and Tianfu Commercial Building have been developed. Dongning also built a local railway, forming a comprehensive open pattern that has driven sustained rapid economic and social development. The cumulative total value of imports and exports reached USD 2.9 billion, with freight volume at the port totaling 2.85 million tons. Local tax revenues amounted to CNY 300 million, and customs duties reached CNY 640 million. The Dongning Fortress, the largest military fortification built by the Japanese invaders in Asia, has been designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit and a national defense education base. It has become an important tourist destination along China’s border open belt. The port has cumulatively received 2.6 million inbound and outbound travelers. In 2003, the GDP reached CNY 2 billion, up 13% year-on-year. Fiscal revenue was CNY 137.83 million, up 8.9% year-on-year. The total value of imports and exports hit USD 620 million, up 47.3% year-on-year. The number of inbound and outbound tourists reached 140,000, up 9.1% year-on-year. Dongning has become the leading port for China–Russia trade in Heilongjiang Province and a shining pearl along China’s border open belt.