White nights
Around the solstice.
funcn — CC BY 3.0 · HCCB3947 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · HCCB3947 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · funcn — CC BY 3.0 · HCCB3947 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · HCCB3947 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · HCCB3947 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Prince Roy from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — CC BY 2.0
A village on the bank of the Heilongjiang, the Amur River, at China's northern border, once called Mohe village and known as «China's northernmost town», though Beihong village lies slightly further north; it has the country's northernmost post office. Life here follows the seasons harshly: summer days run over seventeen hours, and around the June solstice darkness never fully falls and the sky stays light all night, while winter is long, averaging thirty degrees below zero and sometimes dropping below fifty, burying the log houses in snow and freezing the river. The village promotes the northern lights, but they are truly rare here: the Mohe weather station saw them only 58 times between 1957 and 2010, with the best chances on winter nights. Nearby lie Longjiang First Bay, where the river loops around a birch forest, and the marker of China's northernmost point. Tickets cost CNY 68 in high season and 50 otherwise, the park bus 30, and Longjiang First Bay with the northernmost point 50 plus 60 for transport, per visitor guides.
Around the solstice.
Under snow.
Of the Heilongjiang.
Beiji town, on the Heilongjiang River, about 80 km by road north of Mohe city, Heilongjiang
Very rarely: they were recorded only a few dozen times in more than fifty years, with the best chances on clear winter nights; what is promoted in summer is usually the glow of the white nights.
Halal choices are rare in the far north, so bring food and order fish and vegetable dishes while asking about ingredients.