Yakeshi 牙克石市

Setting and landscape

The city stretches 352 kilometres north to south and 147 kilometres east to west across mountains of 900 to 1,300 metres, higher at the north and south ends than in the middle. The city government puts forest cover at 73 per cent, mostly larch, white birch and poplar. The Yalu (雅鲁河) and Chuo'er (绰尔河) rivers belong to the Nen basin; the Hailar, Tulihe (图里河), Yitulihe (伊图里河) and Kudur (库都尔河) rivers belong to the Argun system. Winters are long and cold, snow lies for about 200 days, the frost-free season is 70 to 95 days, and the north has recorded −46.5°C. The forests yield more than 20 kinds of wild berry, among them lingonberry and bog blueberry.

History

The city government dates human activity along the Yalu and Chuo'er rivers to the Neolithic, some 6,000 years ago. Under the Qing, land west of the range answered to the Hulunbuir deputy lieutenant-general and land east of it to the Butha office (布特哈总管衙门). The Chinese Eastern Railway (中东铁路) opened in 1903 with ten stations between Balin (巴林) and Yakeshi, and afterwards settlers gathered into villages. Yakeshi town was created within Solon Banner (索伦旗) in 1936. In 1950 it became the core of Xiguitu Banner (喜桂图旗), which was replaced by the city of Yakeshi on 1 January 1984.

What to see

Boketu (博克图镇), one of five towns on the city's southern line, is a China Historical and Cultural Town (中国历史文化名镇). A city government report on the town names a century-old locomotive shed with a steam-engine water tower and turntable, the Boketu Chinese Eastern Railway history exhibition hall and the former headquarters of the Russian railway guard. It also names the Xing'an Ridge railway tunnel (兴安岭铁路隧道) and a Chinese Eastern Railway heritage park that overlooks the Xing'an ridge spiral line (兴安岭螺旋展线).

Getting oriented

Yakeshi lies at the junction of the Harbin–Manzhouli line (滨洲铁路) and the Yakeshi–Linhai line (牙林铁路), and the city government calls Yakeshi the gateway from the interior to the forest districts. The Suifenhe–Manzhouli Expressway (绥满高速公路) crosses the city for 135 kilometres, and National Highway 301 skirts the south and west of the urban area. Hulunbuir Dongshan International Airport (呼伦贝尔东山国际机场) is 70 kilometres west of the city centre.

Highlights

• Boketu 博克图镇: China Historical and Cultural Town with a century-old locomotive shed, turntable and Chinese Eastern Railway exhibition hall.
• Xing'an ridge spiral line 兴安岭螺旋展线: Chinese Eastern Railway spiral seen from the railway heritage park at Boketu.