Resources and products: Underground mines of Suifenhe mainly refer to zeolite, ferrochromium, and cinnabar. Laumontite in zeolite is widely distributed and is rich in reserve. Groundwater reserves reach 11.1512 million cubic meters, accounting for 20.1% of the total water resources. Reclaimed land covers 55,908 mou and the reclamation rate is 8.8%, which is lower than the national rate and provincial rate, 10.4% and 18.5% respectively. The forest cover rate reaches 45.87%, 10.86 percentage points over the provincial standard. Pines, birches, basses, oaks, elms, poplars, willows, maples, Manchurian walnuts, Manchurian ashes constitute the main species. The stock of living wood amounts to 991.45 thousand cubic meters. There are also a great number of wide plants with high economic value, such as roses, amur grapes, strawberries, wild brakes, daylilies, osmunds, astragalus, Chinese magnoliaving, Chinese gentian, acanthopanax, peonies, fritillaria, lilies, bupleurum, balloonflower, atractylodes rhizome, motherwort, earthworm, fungi, mushroom, etc. Its abundant wild life resources mainly refer to tiger, bear, wild boar, red deer, wolf, fox, raccoon dog, badger, roe deer, water deer, yellow weasel, otter, chicken, pterosaur, snake, frog, etc. By 1980s, large mammals have been very rare.
Population and nationalities: The population of Suifenhe city maintains at the level of 100 thousand, 56,670 of whom are permanent residents. Among them, 46,629 are nonagricultural and 10041 are agricultural, accounting for 82.3% and 17.7% of the total population respectively; 28,787 males and 27,883 females, 50.8% versus 49.2%. The population under 18 is 16,392; the population between 18 and 35, between 35 and 60, over 60 is 19,596, 16,920 and 3,762 respectively. Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Korean and Hui nationality are the major nationalities. According to the fifth census information, people who have received education amount to 62,462, 90.5% of the total population. Among them, people with a college degree or above account for 13.7%; those with a senior middle school degree or lower account for 17.9% and 68.4% respectively. In 2002, both primary school enrollment rate and middle school enrollment rate reach 100%. Infant mortality is 1.87‰. Adult literacy rate is 97.3%. The average life span of expectation is 70.8 years old.
Location and transportation: Suifenhe lies in the centre of Northeast Asian economic circle, as the starting point of the Northeast main railway---Bin-Sui Railway as well as that of the eastern part of No.301 National secondary highway. It enjoys advantageous location and convenient transportation. In an international main path, it is connected with Russia by one railroad and two highways. In the west, it is 460 kilometers away from Harbin; in the east, it is only 21 kilometers away from Buguranikinai, the Russian corresponding port. It is 210 kilometers away from Vladivostok and 270km from Nakhodka, which is the greatest free trade zone of the Far East. From Suifenhe Port, freight can be transmitted to Japan, Korea, American as well countries or regions in South-east Asia through Vladivostok and Nakhodka, no matter by the way of land, sea or air. In this sense, it is reputed to be the “Golden Corridor” which joins Northeast Asia and opens into the Asia-Pacific region. Through these years’ construction and development, Suifenhe initially turns into a regional logistics center, with international logistics as its focus, railway transportation as its body and joint rail-and-sea transportation as its channel. In November, 2001, Suifenhe was approved by National Bureau of Forestry, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and General Administration of Customs as the sole pilot port in Heilongjiang Province to process sawn timbers with raw wood imported from Russia. Since January 1, 2002, its processed sawn timbers can be exported to Russia without quota limitation, which further consolidates Suifenhe’s status as a great port of processing imported raw wood and exporting sawn woods. Today, Suifenhe has developed into the biggest land distributing center of imported wood in North China.
Human landscape: Suifenhe Municipality has an advantageous geographic location, beautiful mountains and rivers. In winter, it offers charming snow scenes, while in summer, it becomes an excellent summer resort. Its historical relic, Europe-styled architectures as well as archaized buildings add glorious luster to Suifenhe’s beauty.
The Relics at Jianxin Village
From 1989 to 1991, Wei Gang, a retired employee from the municipal power administration, conducted research in the area around Baoan Valley that is about five kilometers northeast of Jianxin Village, and uncovered over 200 pieces of relics, such as stone mortar, stoneware and pottery pieces. The study by the cultural heritage authorities of Heilongjiang Province and Mudanjiang City revealed that the place is remains of ancient human settlements. The stone mortar was identified as belonging to the period of the Bohai Kingdom; the stonewares are from the New Stone Age 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. The pottery pieces, either unadorned or bearing patterns, belong to handmade red-brown pottery pots mixed with sand. Among the various patterns, some are in human shapes of different sizes. Red scorched earth and porcelain of Qing Dynasty were also found at the site.
Skiing Resort of Suifenhe National Forest Park
The skiing resort is 10km west of the downtown and at the 18km section of No. 301 National Highway. It is 140km away from the Mudanjiang City and easily reached by transport. Marked for the abundance of wild animals and snowfalls in winter, it is a best choice for skiing and hunting, which offers an amazing and exhilarating experience. Covering 2,176 hectares, the resort is equipped with three grades of ski courses. For five months in a year, the place is covered with snows. With varied features of the terrain, excellent snow resources and fresh air, the resort is suitable both for skiing and sightseeing in winter and vacationing in the summer.
Suifenhe Museum
This small local museum is situated on the north of the beautiful Beihai Park. Its construction was begun in September 1997 and completed in October 1998. With a total space of 1,200m2, the museum is divided into four sections: history, nature, art, and modern. The exhibits present a unique opportunity to understand the city’s long history, abundant natural resources and prosperity brought on by the reform and open-up. Reputed as “a pearl on the black soil”, the museum offers a view of the city’s brilliant past and proud achievements today.
The Waiting Hall of the Railway Station
The waiting hall is a Russian-style architecture, which was built in the early of the 20th century. The north-south layout is about 40 meters long. The west entrance leads to the railway platform while the east entrance faces the street. On its north and south are two-storey buildings. The hall has an arched ceiling supported by iron and steel beams. The inside is spacious, with many geometric figures in relief. Above the main entrance on the west flank, the Chinese characters for “suifenhe” are shown in relief, below which are Russian letters “Buguranikinai”. A frontier war broke out in September 1929, when the ticket office was destroyed in the air raid by the Red Army of Soviet Union. It was soon restored in October the same year.
Big White Building
Built in 1913, it is a two-storey circle building, with carved doors and windows. Situated at the north end of Zhanqian Road, the building used to be the dormitories of Russian railway workers during the construction of Middle East Railway.
The Former Russian Consulate in Suifenhe
It lies in the mid section of Guanghua Road and on the east side of the road, opposite the Russian Residents School. Built around 1910, the building was first occupied by the consulate of Czarist Russia and then the consulate of Soviet Union. After the liberation, it housed Suifenhe Military-Political Committee and then the municipal committee of CPC. Today it is the office building of the city’s postal bureau.
Head-portrait Building
It sits southwest of the intersection of Xinglong Road and Yingxin Street. In 1914, it was built in block structure. For under its eaves are relief sculptures of head portraits, it gets this name. It was first used by Russians as a place for storing and inspecting tea products for export. During the puppet regime in World War II, it was occupied by the Japanese Consulate. After the liberation, it first became barracks for local garrison then the office building for Dongning Country Government.