The last major city before you hit the sub-Siberian wilderness and its scattering of oil and mining towns, HARBIN is the capital of Heilongjiang Province and probably the northernmost location that's of interest to visitors. It's worth a visit for its winter ice festival alone, but it's also one of the few northern cities with a distinctive character, the result of colonialism and co-operation with nearby Russia. The city's past is celebrated with the restored shopping street, Zhongyang Dajie , at the heart of town, as well as in a Russian cathedral that now serves as the Harbin Art and Architecture Center , housing a photo history of the city. Harbin was a small fishing village on the Songhua River - the name means "where the fishing nets are dried" - until world history intervened. In 1896 the Russians obtained a contract to build a rail line from Vladivostok through Harbin to Dalian, and the town's population swelled. More Russians arrived in 1917, this time White Russian refugees fleeing the Bolsheviks, and many stayed on for the rest of their lives. In 1932, the city was briefly captured by the Japanese forces invading Manchuria, then in 1945 it fell again to the Russian army, who held it for a year before Stalin and Chiang Kaishek finally came to an agreement. The city reverted to the Chinese, though when the Russians withdrew, they took with them most of the city's industrial plant. Things haven't been totally peaceful since - Harbin was the scene of fierce factional fighting during the Cultural Revolution, and when relations with the Soviet Union deteriorated, the inhabitants looked anxiously north as fierce border skirmishes took place.

Not surprisingly, the city used to be nicknamed " Little Moscow ", and though much of the old architecture has been torn down and replaced with sterile blocks and skyscrapers, the place still looks a little like the last threadbare outpost of imperial Russia. Leafy boulevards are lined with European-style buildings painted pastel shades, and bulbous onion domes dot the skyline. It's possible to eat in Russian restaurants, and the locals have picked up on some of their neighbour's customs: as well as developing a taste for ice cream and pastries, Harbin's residents have a reputation as the hardest drinkers in China.

During the summer the climate is quite pleasant, but in winter the temperature can plummet to well below minus 30°C, and the sun sets at 3:45pm. Local people are accustomed to the cold, however, and it is during winter that the city is most alive, with skiing and ice festivals in December and January.

Attractions beyond here are limited, and journeys can be arduous, though new highways and trains have shortened travel times. Ornithologists will be interested in the Zhalong Nature Reserve , home of the rare red-crowned crane, and roughnecks will enjoy Daqing , "Big Celebration", home of China's largest petroleum field. Beyond that sits Qiqihar and the volcanic spa at Wudalianchi , the latter an unattractive place that draws mostly elderly Chinese to its supposedly medicinal hot springs. If you're planning on heading onwards to Russia , new overnight trains from Harbin serve the two largest border crossings, Heihe to the north and Suifenhe to the east. You can also join the weekly Trans-Siberian train in Harbin. Make sure to have your paperwork and visas sorted in Beijing beforehand, as Harbin's PSB is, in the words of a local businessman, "worthless". Foreigners don't get up here much, and in general, local people are friendly and helpful.