鹤岗市

Why this place

Hegang is one of China's coal cities, sitting where the Lesser Khingan mountains begin. It is a frontier-feeling place — long cold winters, forest at the city's edge, and the Amur River and Russian border not far to the east.

What to see

• The Lesser Khingan forest and the surrounding mountain parks
• Longjiang Gorge and the Heilongjiang (Amur) river scenery
• Coal-industry heritage sites, which tell the story of the northeast's industrial rise and decline

What to eat

• Northeast home cooking with pickled cabbage
• Forest mushrooms and hazelnuts from the Khingan

Best time

June–September; winter is severe