Fireworks on both sides of the river: One year anniversary of visa exemption, Heihe turns passers-by into regulars

In September, in the early autumn, the autumn mood is getting stronger on the banks of Heilongjiang. The streets and alleys in the business district of Heihe City are as busy as usual. Many Russian tourists are traveling with their families, strolling around, tasting delicious food, and immersing themselves in the fireworks of the border town.

As China celebrates its first anniversary of its trial visa-free policy for Russian ordinary passport holders, the cross-border passenger flow that used to rush across the border has turned into regular visitors, and people-to-people exchanges in border towns are becoming more and more popular.

Russian tourists experience the fireworks at the Heihe morning market. Photo by Hu Xinyue

Since China and Russia implemented the reciprocal visa-free policy in September and December 2025, cross-border exchanges at Heihe Port have continued to heat up, and passenger flow data has repeatedly reached new highs.

As of 17:00 on September 14, the number of inbound and outbound passengers at Heihe Port this year exceeded 1 million, a year-on-year increase of 56.18%, setting a historical record for the same period. Among them, more than 217,500 tourists entered Russia, a year-on-year increase of 110.15%.

On the same day, Russian tourist Natalia became the millionth passenger entering and exiting the port this year. Flowers and commemorative plaques were received at the scene. "This is my first time coming to China. This kind of ceremony is really gratifying and I am very happy." Natalia said frankly. This summer, the average daily number of inbound and outbound passengers at Heihe Port has exceeded 5,000, and the hot passenger flow has witnessed the continued release of visa-free dividends.

Russian tourist Natalia (left) became the millionth passenger entering and exiting the Heihe Port this year, and received flowers and commemorative plaques at the scene. Photo by Liu Song

Heihe and Blagoveshchensk, separated by a river, are the "Twin Cities of China and Russia" known at home and abroad. In the early days of the implementation of the visa-free policy, most Russian tourists mainly engaged in short-distance shopping, with a short stay in the country and a fast pace of travel. After a year of quality improvement and upgrading, this border city has completely reversed the single "punch-in and check-in" model and completed its transformation from a transportation channel to a cultural, tourism and consumption destination.

Behind the increase in passenger flow is the all-round iterative upgrade of Heihe's software and hardware facilities. In order to solve the problem of "getting in but not keeping", the local government continues to polish the details of foreign-related services. Wei Qiang, deputy director of the Heihe Municipal Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, said that the local government has launched the "China-Russia Connect" barrier-free service platform, launched a pilot program for cross-border prepaid stored-value cards, added ruble exchange and departure tax refund outlets, and equipped foreign-related police and cross-border consumption rights protection stations to comprehensively resolve cross-border travel and consumption problems.

Refined services infiltrate the streets and alleys, making cross-border interactions more warm. Nowadays, all merchants in the city have bilingual signs, and local merchants are proficient in Russian for daily communication. Zhang Weishen, the person in charge of Lena Restaurant, has deep feelings: "With smooth communication, the tourist experience has improved. Now many Russian guests will stay here for four or five days. There are constant repeat customers, and the business is becoming more and more prosperous."

Russian tourists enter the country through the Heihe water transport port. Photo by Liu Song

Changes in tourist demand have forced the local cultural tourism industry to iteratively upgrade. Traditional short-distance sightseeing routes have become cold, and health and wellness vacations and inter-provincial joint travel have become new hot spots. Bao Zhitong, general manager of Heihe Workers International Travel Agency Co., Ltd., said that more and more Russian tourists use Heihe as a hub to travel to Wudalianchi, Harbin, Dalian and other places. The border ports have successfully opened up the domestic and foreign cultural tourism markets.

"Visa exemption brings a steady flow of inbound passengers, but passenger flow does not mean retained tourists." Wei Qiang said bluntly that in the past year, Heihe has focused on making up for shortcomings and improving quality in the entire chain of food, accommodation, travel, shopping and entertainment. High-quality services combined with convenient policies have made people-to-people exchanges between the two countries more frequent.

Russian tourist Ekaterina said that the improvement of tax refund services has made traveling and shopping in China more convenient, and the frequency of family visits to China has increased significantly. (over)