A few hours to the west of Hailar is MANZHOULI , on the border with Russia. There is a daily train here from Hailar, and the Trans-Siberian train from Beijing to Moscow also passes through once a week in each direction. The town has important steam locomotive yards, which you can visit, and not far to the south of town is the great lake Dalai Hu (Hulun Nur in Mongolian), a shallow expanse of water set in marshy grazing country where flocks of swans, geese, cranes and other migratory birds come to nest. The grasslands in this region are said to be the greenest in all Mongolia.

 

North of Hailar is a true wilderness, the final frontier of China. Here are some of the last great areas of untouched primeval forest in the country, a natural habitat for the wolf and the much-threatened Manchurian tiger. There is a rail line that meanders up as far north as Mangui, above the 52nd parallel, but before attempting to visit this area you should check with the Hailar PSB