Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai (Russia)

Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai (Russia)

According to Nexticle, Komsomolsk-on-Amur is located on the left bank of the Amur River, 356 km northeast of Khabarovsk. This is the second largest and most important city in the Khabarovsk Territory. It was founded in 1860 by peasants who were forcibly relocated from the Perm province, and initially it was a small village called Perm. In 1932, the village received the status of a city, from that year extensive construction began, in which visiting Komsomol members and prisoners of the Far Eastern camps took part. In 1981, the Baikal-Amur Railway was laid through Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

The city stretches along the Amur River for 30 km. The most beautiful place in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the embankment. It has a memorial stone in honor of the builders of the city. An inscription in gratitude to the “first Komsomol members” is carved on the stone, although, in fact, the city was built mainly by political prisoners, because the main transit point of the Far Eastern camps was located here. On the embankment stands the building of the River Station – the largest on the Amur River. In the industrial area of the city – Leninsky district – there is an extensive city park – a great place for walking. Be sure to visit the local history museum. Several collections are presented here – ethnographic with products made of birch bark, wood, bone, metal and fabric, archaeological, covering the history of the region from the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages, natural history collection, collections of herbariums, taxidermic sculptures and soil, collections of works of art and posters, photographic, negative and documentary funds and a collection of documents about the construction of the city in the 1930s. Also in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the Museum of Fine Arts. It was opened in 1966. Today, works of art from the Soviet period, works by masters of the near abroad, traditional art of the indigenous peoples of the Amur region, works by artists of the Far East region and works by Korean, Japanese and Chinese masters are exhibited here. The uniqueness of this museum lies in the presence of a collection of Chinese folk paintings nianhua of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries, the only collection of paintings in Russia by the American artist Sergei Bongart, a collection of labels of the 19th-20th centuries of the largest tobacco factories in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Europe, America, Asia and Africa. They are made by leading masters of art associations of Moscow, collections of theatrical and decorative painting of St. Petersburgand Moscow in the first half of the 20th century, collections of paintings and graphics of the first professional artist of Komsomolsk-on-Amur – G.A. Tsivileva – and a collection of works by E.K. Evenbach, who worked during expeditions along the Amur.

There are several places for skiing in the city. Ski slope “Amurstal” is located in the Central region. Its length is 250 m, width – from 20 to 40 m. Ski lift delivers skiers to the top of the track. At 100 m from it there is a ski base where you can rent equipment. In the Leninsky district on the hill “Polygon” there is a ski base “Bolshevik”. There is a track 370 m long and 30 to 60 m wide. There is a two-seater drag lift. On the right bank of the Amur River in the vicinity of the city on the hill “Znatnaya” there are 2 ski slopes with a height difference of 150 m. 32 km from Komsomolsk-on-Amur there is a ski resort “Shargol”. The complex offers a ski run more than 1 km long with a height difference of about 200 m, an extreme skiing track, a halfpipe, a tubing track, cross-country skiing tracks and an ice rink. The trails are serviced by a towing cable car. Not far from the complex there is a holiday home of the same name.

There are also opportunities for skiing in the Solnechny district, which is located near Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Not far from the village of Solnechny there is a ski resort “Kholdomi” – one of the largest and most comfortable in the Far East region. The season here runs from November to May. Vacationers are offered three ski slopes with a length of 250 to 1850 m and a snowboard track with artificial obstacles and a natural chute. The slopes are served by two ski lifts and one double chair lift. On the territory of the complex there is a skating rink, a shooting range, equipment rental, parking lots and several cafes. For accommodation there are 4 residential cottages with a capacity of up to 140 people. 10 km north-west of the village of Gorny, in the spurs of the Miao-Chan ridge, at an altitude of 1000 m above sea level, there is a ski resort “Amut”, named after the nearby lake Amut. There are several ski slopes with a height difference of up to 70 m, cross-country skiing trails, a snowboarding trail and a tubing trail. On the territory of the complex there are two hotels and 6 cottages, a cafe, an equipment rental point, and a parking lot.

Not far from Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the Komsomolsk State Nature Reserve. It was founded in 1963 in the basin of the Gorin River (the left tributary of the Amur River). The area of the reserve is 64.4 thousand hectares. Numerous islands are scattered along the Gorin River, and on its floodplain there are many shallow lakes and oxbow lakes with marshy shores. Willow, alder and ash forests grow on floodplain terraces and islands, on the mountain slopes in their lower part – cedar-broad-leaved forests, above – fir-spruce forests. The most common tree species in the reserve are Ayan spruce, white fir, Korean cedar, Mongolian oak, Manchurian and yellow birches, David aspen, Manchurian ash, long elm and Amur linden. The forests are inhabited by sable, brown bear, elk, reindeer, musk deer and wild boar. Of the rare species, there are the Far Eastern forest cat, the Himalayan bear, the harza and the badger. In the reserve you can meet birds, Russia – wild grouse, mandarin duck, black stork and Steller’s sea eagle. Seasonal migrations of such fish as whitefish, carp and crucian carp take place along the Gorin River, pink salmon, lenok and grayling also spawn here. Excursions are held in the reserve to Nanai villages, whose inhabitants are classified as a separate ethnographic group – the “Gorinsky” ethnic group, and several hiking and water routes are offered, to Shaman Mountain (1182 m).

32 km southeast of Komsomolsk-on-Amur on the right bank of the Amur River is Lake Khummi, which is translated from the local dialect as “tiger rookery”. This lake is a natural monument. It occupies a vast basin with an area of 117 sq. km.

In the Komsomolsk district in the village of Nizhnie Khalby the center of Nanai ethnography is interesting, where tourists can get acquainted with the products of decorative and applied art of this people, with the main rituals and national games, as well as look at the performances of national groups.

South-west of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, on the shores of Lake Bolon and at the mouths of the Selgon and Simmi rivers flowing into it, the Bologna State Nature Reserve is located. It was formed in 1997 to protect the wetlands of the Amur region. The total area of the reserve is 103 thousand hectares. The reserve is located on the migration route of many birds. Here protected are listed in the Red Book of Russia Far Eastern and black storks, mandarin duck, osprey, white-tailed eagle, Japanese crane, fish owl, needle-footed owl, in addition, Japanese and black cranes nest on the territory of the reserve. Up to several hundred thousand birds accumulate on the local lake Albite during migratory periods.

In the south-west of the Khabarovsk Territory in the Verkhnebureinsky district, northeast of the village of Chegdomyn, the Bureinsky State Nature Reserve is located.. The reserve was established in 1987 at the head of the Bureya River. Its territory is 358.4 thousand hectares. The relief of the reserve is mountainous with average heights from 1400-1800 m. The spurs of the Bureinsky ridge and the Dusse-Alin, Aesop and Yam-Alin ridges come here. The landscapes of the reserve are covered with untouched forests, the main tree-forming species of which is the Gmelin larch. The forests are inhabited by such animals as elk, reindeer, musk deer, red deer, roe deer, brown bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx, sable, ermine and mink. The upper reaches of the Bureya are the main spawning area for grayling, lenok and taimen. In addition, new forms of grayling were discovered here – Bureya and large-scaled. Most of the routes of the reserve pass through the Dusse-Alin ridge. Rafting is offered on the Bureya River. Scuba diving to the bottom of mountain lakes is also possible.

Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Khabarovsk Krai (Russia)