On the China-Russia border, visitors reminisce about the bad old days
For China, a dividend of peace is tourists’ cash
EVERY YEAR an elderly retiree brings dozens of his friends to a wind-swept customs post at Mishan on China’s side of the country’s border with Russia. “There is nothing to see or do here,” says the man, who goes by the name “Old Jiang”. He is not entirely right. Not far away, the border runs through a large, picturesque lake. A disused bridge is described as the world’s smallest connecting two countries. And busloads of visitors arrive every day, many drawn by memories of a not-so-distant history and curiosity about “the very existence” of the post, as Mr Jiang puts it.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Tense times recalled”
From the December 7th 2019 edition
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