Fangchuan 防川

About Fangchuan

Longhu Pavilion provides a raised view of the river, railway crossing and neighbouring terrain. The historic Tu boundary marker adds a tangible element to the area's border history. Clear-weather views and access to individual sites vary, so approach Fangchuan as a managed Chinese-side landscape visit rather than an opportunity to cross into the neighbouring countries.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties Fangchuan lay on a maritime trade route linking China to Japan. Under Qing-era treaties with Russia, including the Treaty of Nerchinsk (尼布楚条约), Treaty of Aigun (瑷珲条约) and Treaty of Peking (北京条约), China lost its nearby Sea of Japan coastline, cutting off Fangchuan's sea access, and in 1938 the Battle of Lake Khasan (张鼓峰事件) broke out nearby between Japanese and Soviet forces. In 1886 the Qing official Wu Dacheng (吴大澄) negotiated with Russia and erected a granite boundary marker, the 'Tu' stone tablet (土字牌), 1.44 meters high.

Flooding of the Tumen River (图们江) in 1957 cut off Fangchuan's land route to the rest of China, turning it into an exclave that could be reached only through Soviet territory. A levee was built in 1990, and in 1992 an 888-meter, 8-meter-wide road on the levee restored Fangchuan's overland connection to mainland China.

In 2002 Fangchuan was designated a National Key Scenic Area (中国国家重点风景名胜区) with a planned area of 139 square kilometers and a 44.68-kilometer border line, set amid mountainous, hill-ringed terrain. Its closest point to the Sea of Japan lies under 3 kilometers away, about 16 kilometers from Russia's Posyet Port (波谢特港), and 120 kilometers from Vladivostok.

What to look for

• Longhu Pavilion's view over the lower Tumen and the adjoining border landscape.
• The Tu boundary marker and interpretation of the area's nineteenth-century boundary history.

Location & getting there

Getting to Fangchuan

Travel from Hunchun towards Fangchuan Village in Jingxin Town. Use the scenic visitor entrance and its authorised internal connections; the narrow border-area approach is not a casual riverside walking route.