--FILE--View of oversized Russian dolls at the Matryoshka Square in Manzhouli city, north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 29 August 2012. At the base of the giant matryoshka, five storeys high, °restaurant± is spelt out in Cyrillic script: PECTOPAH. But the face on the Russian doll is evidently Asian and the welcome to diners scrolls across a screen in Chinese characters. Perched on the 2, 700-mile border with Russia, the Chinese city of Manzhouli has acquired the flavour of its northern neighbour. Gilded domes gleam and buildings are adorned with white icing flourishes. Shoppers pay for fur coats in roubles and dine on borscht and salmon. Sino-Russian ties have turned this small Inner Mongolian landport into a prosperous trade hub. Now it hopes to benefit from the broader push for closer bilateral ties. Last month, the countries agreed to jointly develop Russia¯s Zarubino port, 11 miles (18km) from the Chinese border. Even vegetable exports are getting a boost after Russia imposed a one-year ban on agricultural products from much of the west in retaliation for sanctions. The city wants to attract still more visitors. There are plans to run new rail services from China¯s southern manufacturing areas to Poland via Manzhouli, and a 3bn yuan free-trade zone is being built. Reports say it will allow Russians to enter without a visa and stay for up to a month. Last year, 265, 000 people crossed into China here: a 14% rise on 2013.
