10 Days in Qiqihaer

Check in downtown, then eat on your feet — the market lanes grill beef over table charcoal late into the night.

1. qiqihaer city markets

Lakeside pavilions first laid out in 1897, then the mansion quarter that frames 1699-1954, when Qiqihar ran Heilongjiang.

1. qiqihaer longsha park
2. qiqihaer general mansion

26 km southeast, about 2,100 sq km of reed marsh; mid-morning release flights of captive-bred red-crowned cranes and boardwalks into the reeds.

1. qiqihaer zhalong reserve

Follow the west-of-town waterway between its banks, then rest in the grounds of the temple complex built 1939-1943.

1. qiqihaer labor lake
2. qiqihaer dacheng temple

The 2005 riverside square fills at dusk; walk the bank road either way and finish with a slow charcoal dinner.

1. qiqihaer peace square
2. qiqihaer nen river bank

The Daur village across the river in Meilisi, rebuilt after the 1998 floods — culture hall, wood-clad houses and the wide Nen beside it.

1. qiqihaer hala new village

An hour west by rail to the district built around the 1950s heavy-machine works; the exhibition hall keeps the presses, cranes and photographs of the first machine age.

1. qiqihaer fulaerji exhibition hall

An honestly labelled neighbouring-city day — about 1.5-2 hours east, Daqing's Iron-Man memorial museum and oilfield exhibits recall the 1959 strike that reshaped the region.

1. qiqihaer daqing iron men museum

A recovery day — tea in the park, a second look at any exhibit you rushed, and the market streets at leisure.

1. qiqihaer longsha park
2. qiqihaer city markets

A second, slower Zhalong morning for the herons and the wetland museum, then back for luggage and the afternoon train or flight.

1. qiqihaer zhalong reserve