牡丹江市

Why this place

Mudanjiang sits in a river valley in southeastern Heilongjiang, and it is the base for two very good sites: Jingpo Lake, a volcanic barrier lake with a huge waterfall, and the Goguryeo mountain city of Dongning. It is also the world's largest producer of edible fungus.

What to see

• Jingpo Lake and the Diaoshuilou Falls — a lava-dammed lake with a 40-metre waterfall
• The Underground Forest (Dixia Senlin) — a lava tube you walk through, with trees growing in the crater
• Goguryeo and Bohai period sites in the surrounding valleys

What to eat

• Mudanjiang black fungus (heimuer) — the local crop, in everything
• Northeast fish stews from the Mudan River
• Rice from the volcanic-soil plain, sold as a premium grade

Best time

July–September; winter is very cold but the ice on the falls is impressive