By Wang Yuan, Liu Mengdan, Zhou Zhou, People’s Daily
Fuyuan, a county-level city administered by Jiamusi, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, is dubbed “the east pole of Huaxia (historical concept representing China)”. Separated from Khabarovsk, the largest city in Russia’s Far East, by the Heilongjiang River, the two cities are just 65 kilometers apart by water. This culturally rich boundary river has long connected communities on both sides, fostering vibrant cross-border cultural exchanges.
On the morning of April 12 this year, thousands of visitors gathered along the banks of the Songhua River in Jiamusi, united in collective exclamations as the ice broke. As the river’s ice broke apart and drifted downstream amid the cheers of spectators, fifty performers from the Hezhe ethnic group beat deerskin drums, chanting ice-thawing prayers to rhythms inspired by the cracking river ice.
For nearly a millennium, the Hezhe people have inhabited the Heilongjiang, Songhua, and Wusuli river basins, sustaining themselves through fishing and hunting. Their belief in the “river god,” who governs weather and fishery yields, underpins the grand Kaijiang ceremony, a spring ritual marking the thaw and invoking annual abundance. Evolving into the annual Hanjiang Festival, the tradition heralds the arrival of spring and the resumption of fishing.
Today, the festival celebrates Hezhe fishing-hunting culture while facilitating a dialogue between humanity and nature. It consistently draws Russian visitors as both participants and spectators. At the 2024 Hanjiang Festival, over 10,000 attendees sang the theme song in unison, securing a Guinness World Record for the largest livestreamed choral performance.
Russian tourists Andrei and Yulia, having journeyed from Khabarovsk specifically for the festival, captured this year’s Kaijiang spectacle. “The resounding chants resembled dialogue with the river itself. Absolutely stunning! I’ll share this footage to friends and family back home so they can experience this unique culture,” Andrei said.
Frequent traveler Lina, fluent in northeastern Chinese dialect, regularly commutes via the Khabarovsk-Fuyuan passenger vessel since the open-water season commenced, making multiple monthly round trips.
Nature mirrors human connections:. each summer morning, egrets fly from Russian nests across the boundary river to forage in Chinese wetlands.
“Bird populations here were historically sparse compared to current numbers,” said Zhao Wanjing, research director of the Zhuaji management station at Heilongjiang’s Sanjiang National Nature Reserve.
In 2001, the reserve signed its first joint-protection agreement with Russia’s Bolshekhekhtsirsky Nature Reserve. This was followed in 2015 by another agreement with United Directorate of State Nature Preserves and National Parks in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. These partnerships have expanded collaboration in conservation and research across broader regions and sectors, steadily improving ecological conditions to safeguard local species, Zhao said.
Through binoculars at the station, Zhao observed Oriental white stork chicks in artificial nests, spotting several quickly. “The number of bird species in the reserve has increased from 245 to 285 since its founding. We’ve built over 250 artificial nests with an 80 percent occupancy rate. More and more Oriental white storks are making their homes here,” Zhao added.
Nature reserves in China and Russia regularly host academic exchange conferences, conduct ecological restoration, and build artificial nests for endangered waterbirds. On occasions like International Day for Biodiversity and Bird-Loving Week, they co-organize youth activities such as hanging bird nests, wetland knowledge competitions, wildlife releases, and ecology classes for schoolchildren, continuously raising public awareness of biodiversity conservation on both sides of the border.
As evening approaches, a dozen gray herons fly toward their habitats in Russia. After the sunset fades, the Sanjiang National Nature Reserve returns to serene tranquility. With the dawn, the riverside “residents” will resume their cross-border lives, continuing to write new chapters in the story of harmony between humanity and nature.
