Mengwu Shiwei (; ) is a ''sum'' (a type of

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

-level division) under the administration of Ergun City, northeastern

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

, situated directly on the border with the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

- Siberian Far East. Shiwei is known for its use of

Russian architecture The architecture of Russia refers to the architecture of modern Russia as well as the architecture of both the original Kievan Rus', the Russian principalities, and Imperial Russia. Due to the geographical size of modern and Imperial Russia, i ...

, including many domed buildings in the Russian style. The township is one of the main border crossings between China and Russia, lying on one side of the Ergune River. On the opposite bank lies the Russian village of Olochi,

Zabaykalsky Krai Zabaykalsky Krai is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Russian Far East. Its administrative center is Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, Chita. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, the population was ...

, which connects to Shiwei via the Friendship Bridge.

Demographics

Shiwei is notable for being home to descendants of

ethnic Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

, one of China's smallest minorities (

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

are among the 56 nationalities officially recognized in China). They mostly live in the neighboring township of

Enhe Enhe Russian Ethnic Township (, ) is an ethnic township in Northeast Inner Mongolia under the administration of Ergun City. The township along the banks of the Argun River. Enhe is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russi ...

(恩和俄羅斯族鄉), which, since 2011, has split with Shiwei to become an ethnic township. Ethnic Russians first arrived in large numbers to (what was)

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

during the 1890s as colonists. Marriages between Russian women and Han Chinese men in the towns and villages of the frontier areas along the Ergun River, including in Shiwei, became more common around this time and into the early twentieth century. However, intermarrying between Chinese women and Russian men were relatively rare, a contrast to the stereotypical image of Asian women marrying European (or otherwise Western) men.

Economy

Shiwei serves as a border crossing between China and Russia. A Friendship Bridge was built following a joint agreement between Russia and China to construct it in 2001, an outcome of the

1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement The 1991 Sino–Soviet Border Agreement was a treaty signed between China and the Soviet Union on May 16, 1991. It set up demarcation work to resolve most of the border disputes between the two states. Initially signed by China and the Soviet Uni ...

. The treaty was implemented to resolve border disputes between the two states. Social anthropologist Ed Pulford has described the Friendship Bridge as an example of how "even the most fervent attempts to forge cross-border linkages can become almost comically ineffective" when it comes to Russian–Chinese relations, as passenger traffic is not permitted, and the bridge primarily serves as a crossing for trucks carrying quarried stone into China, amongst other goods transported between the countries.

Education

There is one school, Ergun City Shiwei Primary School (额尔古纳市室韦小学).

Tourism

Domestic tourists on package tours stop in Shiwei to view the Russian side from a viewing platform, on the riverbank on the Chinese side of the Friendship Bridge. The central square of Shiwei offers nighttime entertainment in the form of neon lights, techno music, and an atmosphere of "revelry", in addition to many shops and eateries. Along with neighboring Enhe, Shiwei is marketed as a tourist destination, inviting visitors to experience a "Russian town" in China. Since being listed in 2005 by

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

as one of the "top ten most beautiful townships in China", Shiwei has seen an influx of tourists. However, domestic media and tour operators have seemingly given more weight to Enhe as the preferred locale to experience a "Russian" village.

References

{{China–Russia border crossings Township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia Ergun City Russian diaspora in China