2 countries you can travel by cable car in just 8 minutes

A cross-border ropeway connecting China and Russia is nearing completion, promising to make travel between the two countries faster and easier.

The ropeway will connect Heihe City in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province with Russia’s Blagoveshchensk across the Heilongjiang River. Once operational, passengers will be able to cross the river between the two border cities in just six to eight minutes.

Construction of the passenger ropeway began in July 2019. The main structure has now been completed, and the entire project is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year, according to Zhang Qijun, deputy director of the management committee of the China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone’s Heihe section.

Heihe and Blagoveshchensk are located on opposite banks of the Heilongjiang River, known as the Amur River in Russia. The river forms part of the border between the two countries.

Despite the border, the two cities have long maintained close economic, trade and cultural ties.

According to Cao Xinhong, chairman of Heihe-based Jinlonggang Construction and Development Co Ltd, the contractor for the Chinese section, the ropeway will reduce cross-river travel time between the two cities to six to eight minutes once it begins operation.

The ropeway will have a horizontal cross-river span of 970 metres and will operate with two cabins.

Each cabin will be capable of carrying up to 110 passengers at a time. The ropeway will have a maximum operating speed of 12 metres per second.
It is designed to carry 2.6 million passengers in one direction annually.

The ropeway will not be the first cross-border transport link between Heihe and Blagoveshchensk.

A highway bridge connecting the two cities opened to traffic in 2022. It was the first highway bridge linking China and Russia.

Once the ropeway becomes operational, Heihe will have three cross-border transport options: a highway bridge, ferry service and the ropeway.

According to Zhang, the combination of these transport links will strengthen connectivity between the two countries and support the development of tourism, logistics, trade and other industries in the border regions.

People-to-people exchanges between China and Russia have also been increasing, helped by improved connectivity and the introduction of a mutual visa-free policy.

In the first half of this year, more than 568,000 passengers travelled in and out through Heihe Port, an increase of more than 60 percent from the same period last year.

Source: Xinhua