Enhe

{{Infobox settlement | name = | settlement_type = Ethnic township | official_name = Enhe Russian Ethnic Township | native_name = {{native name list |tag1=zh-Hans |name1=恩和俄罗斯族民族乡 |tag2=ru |name2=Эньхэ-Русская национальная волость |tag3=mn |name3={{MongolUnicode|ᠡᠩᠬᠡ ᠣᠷᠣᠰ<br>ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ<br>ᠰᠢᠶᠠᠩ}}}} | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = China Inner Mongolia#China | pushpin_map_caption = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = China | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = Autonomous region | subdivision_name2 = Inner Mongolia | subdivision_type3 = Prefecture-level city | subdivision_name3 = Hulunbuir | subdivision_type4 = County-level city | subdivision_name4 = Ergun City | coordinates = {{coord|50.819|119.911|type:city_region:CN|display=inline,title}} | population_total = 2339 | area_total_km2 = 2068 | population_as_of = 2017 | population_density_km2 = auto }} {{Infobox Chinese | order = st <!-- Chinese --> | s = 恩和俄罗斯民族乡 | t = 恩和俄羅斯民族鄉 | p = Ēnhé Èluósī Mínzú Xiāng <!-- Mongolian --> | mong = ᠡᠩᠬᠡ ᠣᠷᠣᠰ<br>ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ<br>ᠰᠢᠶᠠᠩ <!-- Russian --> | rus = Эньхэ-Русская национальная волость }}

'''Enhe Russian Ethnic Township'''{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{Lang-zh|s=恩和俄罗斯民族乡|p=Ēnhé Èluósī Mínzú Xiāng}}|{{langx|ru|Эньхэ-Русская национальная волость}}|{{langx|mn|{{MongolUnicode|ᠡᠩᠬᠡ ᠣᠷᠣᠰ<br>ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ<br>ᠰᠢᠶᠠᠩ}}}}}}}} is an ethnic township in Northeast Inner Mongolia under the administration of Ergun City.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2021-04-23|title=|script-title=zh:恩和俄罗斯民族乡|trans-title=Enhe Russian Ethnic Township|url=http://www.eegn.gov.cn/Item/Show.asp?id=1554&m=1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714194137/http://www.eegn.gov.cn/Item/Show.asp?id=1554&m=1|archive-date=2021-07-14|access-date=2021-07-14|website=eegn.gov.cn|publisher=Ergun Municipal Service Bureau|language=zh}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2019-01-30|title=|script-title=zh:恩和俄罗斯族民族乡|trans-title=Enhe Russian Ethnic Township|url=http://xz.eegn.gov.cn/Item/Show.asp?id=1980&m=1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714194134/http://xz.eegn.gov.cn/Item/Show.asp?id=1980&m=1|archive-date=2021-07-14|access-date=2021-07-14|website=xz.eegn.gov.cn|publisher=Enhe Russian Ethnic Township People's Government|language=zh}}</ref> The township along the banks of the Argun River.<ref name="nyt2026" /> Enhe is the only ethnic township in China designated for China's Russian minority.<ref name=":0" /> Enhe spans an area of {{Convert|2068|km2|mi2}}, and has a population of 2,339 people as of 2017.<ref name=":1" />

== Geography == Enhe spans an area of {{Convert|2068|km2|mi2}}, with its center located {{Convert|98|km|mi}} north of Ergun's urban center.<ref name=":1" /> Enhe's terrain is largely hilly, with its elevation ranging from {{Convert|700|m|ft}} to {{Convert|1000|m|ft}} above sea level.<ref name=":1" /> The ethnic township shares a {{Convert|75|km|mi}} border with Russia, determined by the Argun River.<ref name=":1" />

=== Flora and fauna === The ethnic township hosts much undisturbed nature, including large swathes of virgin forests and grasslands.<ref name=":1" /> Plants native to Enhe include lingonberries, blueberries, Chinese skullcaps, and dangshen.<ref name=":1" /> Animals native to Enhe include the Asian black bear, the Siberian roe deer, the lynx, and the Hazel grouse.<ref name=":1" />

=== Climate === Enhe experiences an average annual temperature between {{Convert|-5|°C|°F}} and {{Convert|-4|°C|°F}}, with the lowest recorded temperature being {{Convert|-50|°C|°F}}, and the highest recorded temperature being {{Convert|39|°C|°F}}.<ref name=":1" /> The ethnic township experiences an average annual precipitation between {{Convert|450|mm|in}} and {{Convert|600|mm|in}}.<ref name=":1" /> On average, Enhe experiences 90 frost-free days per year.<ref name=":1" />

==Demographics== As of March 2017, Enhe's population totals 2,339,<ref name=":1" /> and is largely descended from mixed marriages of Han Chinese and Russians.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> A 2019 publication from the ethnic township's government states that 1,309 of Enhe's 2,339 people, or 55.96% of its total population, is either ethnically Russian or have both Russian and Chinese heritage,<ref name=":1" /> whereas a 2021 publication from Ergun's municipal government suggests that 80% of Enhe's population have some Russian lineage.<ref name=":0" /> A 2026 report indicated that much of the Russian heritage of the city has become largely decorative to display for tourists, however. Most of the 40% of the population registered as Russians only speak Chinese, and the Russian Orthodox Church in the town has been closed.<ref name="nyt2026">{{cite news |title=China's Russian Town Has Log Cabins and Cyrillic Signs, but No Russians |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Andrew |last=Higgins |date=January 4, 2026 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/world/asia/china-russia-xi-putin.html |access-date=January 4, 2026 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260104062328/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/world/asia/china-russia-xi-putin.html |archive-date=4 January 2026 }}</ref>

Records of marriages between Chinese and Russians in the region date back to the 1890s from the beginning of Russian colonization of Manchuria. Unlike the conventional colonial marriage pattern of Western men marrying native women, the predominant combination in Manchuria was between Russian women and Chinese men. Mixed families are mainly settled along the towns and villages of the Argun River including Enhe, which is the only one of the settlements to be an official ethnic Russian township.<ref name="mixedmarriages">{{cite book |title=Entangled Histories: The Transcultural Past of Northeast China |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |location=London |pages=47–58 |url=https://www.asia-europe.uni-heidelberg.de/fileadmin/Pictures/Publications/springer_books/Ben-Canaan_and_Gruener_Springer_The_Transcultural_Past_of_Northeast_China.pdf}}</ref>

In addition to Russian and Han Chinese populations, Enhe is also home to Mongol, Hui, Manchu, Korean, Daur, Oroqen, and Evenk populations.<ref name=":1" />

== Economy == Sizable mineral resources run through the region, including gold, lead, zinc, iron and copper.<ref name=":1" />

Enhe hosts one state-owned ranch and two state-owned tree farms.<ref name=":1" />

==History== In the 19th century, the discovery of gold brought Russian miners into the region. A railway line was also built to manage extraction of resources. Meanwhile, Chinese laborers &ndash; nearly all single men &ndash; helped build and work on these Russian-led ventures, some of them marrying Russian women. After the 1917 Russian Revolution, defeated "Whites" who had opposed the "Reds" (Bolsheviks) fled Russia, some of them coming to Enhe, resulting in another wave of Russians.<ref name="nyt2026" />

The independence of the Russian community was curtailed during the Cultural Revolution of 1966&ndash;1976 as well as the Sino-Soviet split. The Red Guards destroyed many Orthodox churches and ethnic Russians were denounced for disloyalty, resulting in many of them fleeing back to Russia or to elsewhere. It was largely the children of the mixed marriages who stayed during this period.<ref name="nyt2026" />

== Education == There is one school: Ergun City Enhe Primary School (额尔古纳市恩和小学).<ref name=Ergunschoollist>{{cite web|url=https://gk.eegn.gov.cn/thread-8920-1.html|title=义务教育学校名录|publisher=Ergun City|language=zh-cn|accessdate=2022-02-16}}</ref>

==Tourism== Enhe has emerged as a tourism destination noted for its peaceful countryside backdrop. Lonely Planet describes Enhe as "a charming village brimming with an unhurried and authentic atmosphere" where "herders milk their cows outside their properties when they aren't taking them out to pasture".<ref name="lonelyplanet">{{cite web|title=Enhe|url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/enhe|website=Lonely Planet}}</ref> Tourism is also enhanced by the Russian cultural ties of the township including Russian bakeries and buildings with the architectural stylings of traditional Russian wooden cottages.<ref name="bread">{{cite news |title=Russian bread maker hopes to pass on traditional skills via local tourism industry in China's Inner Mongolia |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/01/c_138355421_2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011174328/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/01/c_138355421_2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2019 |work=Xinhua |date=September 1, 2019}}</ref> There is also homestay accommodation in Enhe giving a representation of traditional Russian village living.<ref name="mirrorlands">{{cite book |last1=Pulford |first1=Ed |title=Mirrorlands: Russia, China, and Journeys in Between |date=2019 |publisher=Hurst Publishers |pages=102–105}}</ref>

There were plans to enclose the village and charge an entrance fee,<ref name="mirrorlands"/> though as of 2023 no such actions have been taken.

==See also== *Shiwei, Inner Mongolia{{snd}}neighboring town

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

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Category:Township-level divisions of Inner Mongolia Category:Ethnic townships of Inner Mongolia Category:Russian ethnic township Category:Ergun City Category:Russian diaspora in China