The Luobei section of the Heilongjiang River main stream, which traces China's northeastern border with Russia, broke its ice cover on Friday, marking the start of the spring thaw three days later than the historical average.
The ice breakup process was gradual and stable, causing no adverse impact on riverside embankments, dock facilities or local communities, according to local authorities.
Officials said they will continue to monitor closely ice conditions and water dynamics along the stretch to pave the way for upcoming navigation, fishery operations, and the ecological recovery of the river basin.
River on China-Russia border awakes from winter freeze
Chinese stocks closed higher on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.16 percent to 4,086.34 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.37 percent higher at 14,995.75 points.
The combined turnover of the two indices totaled 2.59 trillion yuan (about 377.7 billion U.S. dollars), down from 2.64 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.
The semiconductor and memory chip sectors led the gains, while the liquor and agriculture sectors were among the biggest decliners.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.52 percent to close at 3,648.79 points.
The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.5 percent higher at 1,901.63 points.
Chinese shares close higher Monday
