Russians flock to northeast China city to experience TCM appeal

Russian tourists are flocking to Heihe City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, to experience the appeal of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Heihe faces Blagoveshchensk in Russia across the Heilongjiang River.

The straight-line distance between the two cities is only 700 meters.

With the visa-free tourism policy reopened in August 2023, many Russians are enthusiastic about traveling to China. And now, experiencing TCM treatment has become a must-do.

"I feel extremely relaxed and comfortable. It doesn't hurt at all. I cried out because I'm really surprised," said Daniya, a Russian tourist.

"This is my first time here. I like the culture, cuisine and language here. I really love China and want to live here in the future," said Vera, another Russian tourist.

A local travel agency has also launched medical tourism routes for Russians. Currently, traditional Chinese acupuncture, massage and dentistry are the most popular.

"We receive about 1,000 Russian patients every year. They mainly suffer from diseases such as cervical and lumbar spondylosis, which the TCM acupuncture and massage are good at treating," said Wang Geng, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Heihe.

Quite a few Russians have become fans of traditional Chinese medicine and regularly come to China for physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Last year, about 760,000 Chinese and Russian tourists entered and exited through the Heihe checkpoint.

With these close interactions and exchanges, the friendship and mutual understanding between the people of the two countries is growing deeper.

Russians flock to northeast China city to experience TCM appeal

The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it is pausing immigrant visa processing from 75 countries.

The measure will apply to "countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates. The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people," the department said on X.

The pause impacts countries including Somalia, Haiti, Iran and Eritrea, "whose immigrants often become public charges on the United States upon arrival," said the State Department.

Earlier on Wednesday, the department announced in a memo that it would suspend visa processing for 75 countries, including Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand and Yemen, according to a Fox News report.

The pause will begin Jan. 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of visa processing, the report said. The move came after the White House announced on Tuesday that it is ending temporary protected status for Somali immigrants amid fraud allegations in Minnesota.

On Monday, the State Department announced on social media that it had revoked over 100,000 visas since U.S. President Donald Trump took office nearly a year ago.

In November 2025, Trump announced his intention to permanently suspend immigration from what he described as "Third World countries", following the death of a National Guard member after being shot near the White House by an Afghan national.

U.S. freezes immigrant visa processing from 75 countries