Seasonal pontoon passage linking China, Russia opens to traffic

A temporary pontoon passage across the China-Russia border, which connects Luobei County of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province with Russia's Amurzet, opened to traffic on Friday to facilitate transportation between the two countries in winter.

The pontoon passage is a temporary river crossing facility, typically used during the winter when the river is frozen. It usually consists of multiple connected floating units to form a transport route on the ice surface.

The pontoon passage connecting Luobei and Amurzet is composed of 34 floating units with a total length of more than 900 meters. With the passage, it takes only five minutes by car to travel between the two places.

To further facilitate the cross-border transportation, local authorities in Luobei set up a "one-stop" customs clearance mechanism, allowing the vehicles to be inspected upon arrival to maximize the efficiency of customs clearance.

"We have frequent business exchanges with Russia on the other side, and the opening of this freight pontoon channel is really convenient. It takes only five minutes to get to Russia, which is time-saving and labor-saving for us," said Zhang Shuai, a passenger who is taking a cross-border bus to Russia.

The construction of the pontoon passage greatly enhanced the transportation capacity of Luobei Port, especially during the winter, allowing it to operate year-round.

Seasonal pontoon passage linking China, Russia opens to traffic

China's movie industry is increasingly deriving its earnings from broader consumer economy.

Released during the 2025 summer season, the film "Nobody" became China's highest-grossing two-dimensional animated film -- and its success went beyond theaters.

Through licensing and brand partnerships, the movie has generated 2.5 billion yuan (about 358.3 million U.S. dollars) in retail sales to consumers, with more than 800 licensed products on the market.

Ranging from plush toys to food and home goods, the movie-related merchandise can be purchased from over 3,000 online and offline outlets.

Meanwhile, souvenir stores are crowded at Shanghai Disneyland's Zootopia themed land, with hats, plush toys, and collectibles seeing steady demand from visitors.

"China's film industry is no longer defined by box office revenue alone. It has become a new growth engine that links and energizes multiple cultural sectors. At the heart of every successful film is strong storytelling. High-quality productions create cultural value, which in turn enhances the commercial value of intellectual property and opens up new consumption opportunities. I believe China's film industry delivered an outstanding performance in the past year," said Chen Xiaoda, vice dean of Shanghai Vancouver Film School.

Film IP fuels expansion of consumer market