Heilongjiang Province in northeast China has opened 27 Sino-Russian border tour routes, attracting flocks of Russian tourists,according to sources from the National Tourism Administration.

Over 255,000 tourists visited Suifenhe, a 60,000-resident border city between China and Russia in the province last year, the record high tourist count in recent years.

At the same time, 152,000 Chinese visited coastal tourism sites in Russia last year, up 80 percent over the previous year.

With a 3,000-km-long borderline, Heilongjiang led the rest of the country in Sino-Russian border tourism business.

Since the city of Heihe initiated a one-day border tour program with Blagoveshchensk, Russia, in 1998, Sino-Russian border tourism has become one of pillar money-makers in the province's border cities.

In addition to border tours, Russian travelers are also interested in visiting a number of major inland cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian.

(Xinhua 07/09/2001)