Why The World's Most Segregated Metro Exists

00:24:50
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rBRdzf1fYo

摘要

TLDRThe video discusses the unique urban area of Blagoveshchensk in Russia and Heihe in China, separated by the Amir River. It highlights the stark cultural and ethnic differences, with Blagoveshchensk being predominantly Russian and Heihe predominantly Chinese. The historical context includes treaties and conflicts that shaped the demographic divide, particularly a violent incident in 1900 that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Chinese population in Blagoveshchensk. The recent construction of a bridge connecting the two cities symbolizes a new era of interaction, despite the long-standing cultural separation.

心得

  • 🌍 Unique urban area with stark cultural differences
  • 🏙️ Blagoveshchensk: Predominantly Russian
  • 🏙️ Heihe: Predominantly Chinese
  • 📜 Historical treaties shaped the border
  • 💔 1900 massacre led to ethnic cleansing
  • 🌉 New bridge symbolizes improved relations
  • 📈 Population growth in Heihe outpaces Blagoveshchensk
  • ⚖️ Demographic imbalance raises security concerns
  • 🤝 Current cooperation between Russia and China
  • 🔮 Future tensions possible due to historical grievances

时间轴

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The video introduces a unique urban area divided by the Amir River, featuring two distinct cities: Blagoveshchensk in Russia and Heihe in China. The demographic and cultural differences between the two cities are stark, with Blagoveshchensk being predominantly ethnically white and Heihe being almost entirely East Asian. This division creates one of the most segregated urban areas globally, with a brief comparison to other divided cities around the world.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The Amir River, despite being the 10th longest river, is relatively unknown due to its harsh geography and sparse population. The historical context of the region is explored, detailing the indigenous Ducher people and the influence of the Qing dynasty and Russian expansion. The Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 established borders, leading to the eventual annexation of the area by Russia, which resulted in a demographic shift as Russian settlers moved in and the Chinese population dwindled.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The video discusses the violent history of the region, particularly the Boxer Rebellion and the subsequent ethnic cleansing of Chinese residents in Blagoveshchensk in 1900. This event solidified the demographic divide, with the Russian side becoming overwhelmingly Slavic. The historical context of both nations' turmoil in the 20th century is highlighted, including the collapse of the Qing and Russian empires, which further entrenched the demographic realities established by the ethnic cleansing.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:24:50

    In recent years, the relationship between Russia and China has evolved, leading to the construction of a bridge across the Amir River in 2020, finally connecting the two cities. Despite this, significant demographic disparities remain, with Heihe experiencing rapid growth compared to Blagoveshchensk. The video concludes by reflecting on the historical grievances and future implications of the demographic imbalance, emphasizing the unique cultural and ethnic segregation that persists in this border region.

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思维导图

视频问答

  • What are the main cultural differences between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe?

    Blagoveshchensk is predominantly Russian with a Slavic culture, while Heihe is predominantly Chinese with East Asian cultural influences.

  • What historical events led to the current demographic situation in Blagoveshchensk and Heihe?

    The demographic divide was shaped by treaties in the 19th century, conflicts, and a violent incident in 1900 that led to the ethnic cleansing of the Chinese population in Blagoveshchensk.

  • How did the Amir River influence the development of these cities?

    The Amir River serves as a natural border, creating a stark cultural divide and limiting interaction between the two cities for much of their history.

  • What recent developments have occurred between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe?

    A bridge connecting the two cities was completed in 2020, allowing for year-round travel and trade between the two urban areas.

  • What is the population difference between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe?

    As of 2024, Blagoveshchensk has about 240,000 residents, while Heihe has grown to over 224,000 residents.

  • What role did historical treaties play in shaping the border between Russia and China?

    Treaties in 1858 and 1860 resulted in significant territorial losses for China, establishing the modern border and leading to demographic changes.

  • How has the relationship between Russia and China evolved over time?

    The relationship has fluctuated from conflict to cooperation, particularly during the Cold War and recent years, influenced by geopolitical interests.

  • What is the significance of the bridge built between the two cities?

    The bridge symbolizes improved relations and increased trade opportunities between Russia and China, marking a new chapter in their interactions.

  • What are the implications of the demographic imbalance in the region?

    The significant population disparity raises concerns for Russia regarding its security and influence in the region, especially with China's growing power.

  • How does the video suggest the future relationship between Russia and China might develop?

    The video suggests that while current relations are cooperative, historical grievances and demographic imbalances could lead to future tensions.

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  • 00:00:00
    This is a map that's focused over an
  • 00:00:01
    urban metropolitan area. While you've
  • 00:00:03
    probably never seen this specific area
  • 00:00:05
    before, it looks like just about any
  • 00:00:06
    other metro area anywhere else in the
  • 00:00:08
    world. With two distinctive urban cores
  • 00:00:10
    separated from one another by a river
  • 00:00:12
    that keeps them fewer than 600 m apart,
  • 00:00:14
    connected over the river by a bridge.
  • 00:00:16
    But this urban area is probably the most
  • 00:00:18
    unique and bizarre one that you can find
  • 00:00:20
    anywhere in the world because of how
  • 00:00:22
    radically different the culture,
  • 00:00:24
    architecture, and most of all people are
  • 00:00:26
    on either side of this river in the two
  • 00:00:28
    different urban cores. On the north side
  • 00:00:31
    of the river live around 241,000 people
  • 00:00:34
    and an overwhelming 97% of them are all
  • 00:00:37
    ethnically white or European in origin.
  • 00:00:39
    While over on the south side of the
  • 00:00:40
    river live around another 224,000
  • 00:00:43
    more people, but 99% of them are
  • 00:00:46
    ethnically East Asian in origin,
  • 00:00:48
    creating what is almost certainly the
  • 00:00:50
    most starkly segregated and ethnically
  • 00:00:52
    culturally divided major urban area that
  • 00:00:54
    can be found anywhere on the planet
  • 00:00:56
    today. To the north of the river is the
  • 00:00:58
    Russian city of Blago, while to the
  • 00:01:00
    south of the river is the Chinese city
  • 00:01:02
    of Heiha. There are a handful of other
  • 00:01:04
    major urban areas in the world like this
  • 00:01:06
    that are divided between two different
  • 00:01:08
    countries. There's Detroit and Windsor
  • 00:01:10
    divided between the US and Canada. While
  • 00:01:12
    on the other side of the border, there's
  • 00:01:13
    San Diego and Tijuana and El Paso and
  • 00:01:15
    Warz divided between the US and Mexico.
  • 00:01:18
    In Europe, the closest comparison to
  • 00:01:19
    this would be Copenhagen and Malmo in
  • 00:01:21
    Denmark and Sweden separated by the
  • 00:01:23
    Orusund but connected by bridge. While
  • 00:01:25
    in Africa, there's Kinshasa and
  • 00:01:27
    Brazville between the DRC and the
  • 00:01:28
    Republic of the Congo. And on the island
  • 00:01:30
    of Cyprus, the island's biggest city,
  • 00:01:32
    Nicosia, is militarily divided between
  • 00:01:34
    the Republic of Cypress and the mostly
  • 00:01:36
    unrecognized Turkish Republic of
  • 00:01:37
    Northern Cypress. However, crossing
  • 00:01:40
    between any of these urban areas from
  • 00:01:42
    one side to the other does not involve
  • 00:01:43
    anywhere near as stark of a change in
  • 00:01:46
    people, culture, history, and
  • 00:01:48
    architecture as the crossing between
  • 00:01:49
    Blavashansk and Heiha over the Amir
  • 00:01:52
    River involves. The Amir River itself,
  • 00:01:54
    despite being almost completely unknown
  • 00:01:56
    in the Western world, is the 10th
  • 00:01:58
    longest river on the planet and runs for
  • 00:02:00
    longer than the Indis does. Part of why
  • 00:02:02
    it's probably so little known in the
  • 00:02:04
    rest of the world is because for almost
  • 00:02:05
    its entire length, it runs through some
  • 00:02:08
    of the most sparsely populated empty
  • 00:02:10
    land on the planet across the harsh,
  • 00:02:11
    inhospitable frontier between China and
  • 00:02:14
    Russia. Despite its great length, the
  • 00:02:17
    only two settlements of any notable size
  • 00:02:18
    along the Amir while it makes up the
  • 00:02:20
    international border are Blag of
  • 00:02:22
    Vashansk and Heiha, immediately opposite
  • 00:02:24
    of each other. An island of two
  • 00:02:26
    radically different civilizations facing
  • 00:02:28
    each other off across the river
  • 00:02:30
    surrounded by absolutely nothing else
  • 00:02:33
    for hundreds of kilometers in every
  • 00:02:34
    direction. It is one of the most bizarre
  • 00:02:37
    borders in the world today where when
  • 00:02:39
    you drive across the only bridge between
  • 00:02:41
    them, the culture immediately and
  • 00:02:43
    radically shifts from a dated city that
  • 00:02:45
    wouldn't feel out of place in Eastern
  • 00:02:47
    Europe to a more modern vibrant East
  • 00:02:49
    Asian Chinese city. From an Indo-Uropean
  • 00:02:52
    language to a Sino Tibetan language from
  • 00:02:55
    everyone looking like white East Slavic
  • 00:02:56
    people to everybody looking like East
  • 00:02:58
    Asian Chinese people. And to understand
  • 00:03:00
    how this unique demographic border
  • 00:03:02
    situation came to be today, you need to
  • 00:03:04
    understand how this region's unique,
  • 00:03:06
    bizarre, violent, and littleknown
  • 00:03:08
    history and geography shaped it that
  • 00:03:10
    way. For most of history, the Amir River
  • 00:03:13
    Valley was always on the remote
  • 00:03:14
    frontiers of human civilization and was
  • 00:03:16
    sparssely inhabited. The indigenous
  • 00:03:18
    people who lived in the modern-day area
  • 00:03:20
    of Blagoanskin Hehuff were known as the
  • 00:03:22
    duchers, but they only numbered around
  • 00:03:24
    14,000 total people in the 1650s when
  • 00:03:27
    the region began simultaneously coming
  • 00:03:29
    under the influence of theQing dynasty
  • 00:03:30
    in China and the Zardo of Russia.
  • 00:03:33
    Explorers and settlers coming from both
  • 00:03:35
    empires began clashing with each other
  • 00:03:37
    in the undefined boundaries of the
  • 00:03:38
    region. But neither side put a great
  • 00:03:40
    deal of effort into the conflict due to
  • 00:03:42
    the geographic limitations of the Amir
  • 00:03:44
    River itself. Even though it is the 10th
  • 00:03:47
    longest river in the world, it forms an
  • 00:03:49
    incredibly poor navigable link from the
  • 00:03:51
    interior to the Pacific Ocean. It
  • 00:03:53
    freezes over for half of the year and
  • 00:03:55
    then even during the other half of the
  • 00:03:56
    year when it's flowing, it's chock full
  • 00:03:58
    of tiny islands and sandbarss that make
  • 00:04:01
    navigating through it extremely
  • 00:04:03
    difficult. Nonetheless, small-scale
  • 00:04:06
    conflict between the Russians and
  • 00:04:07
    Chinese at the frontiers of their
  • 00:04:08
    growing empires continued in the region
  • 00:04:10
    for decades until they came together to
  • 00:04:12
    properly define their borders in 1689
  • 00:04:15
    with the Treaty of Nurinsk. The first
  • 00:04:17
    treaty between the Russians and Chinese
  • 00:04:19
    in history that notably gave nearly all
  • 00:04:21
    of the land in the entire Amir River
  • 00:04:23
    Valley to theQing, including modern-day
  • 00:04:26
    Blavas. This whole area between the Amir
  • 00:04:29
    and Ysuri rivers in the south and the
  • 00:04:31
    settled border in the north all under
  • 00:04:33
    the Ching's administration came to be
  • 00:04:35
    called by them as outer Manuria and it
  • 00:04:37
    basically remained a sparsely populated
  • 00:04:39
    backwater of their empire with not much
  • 00:04:41
    really going on for the next one and a
  • 00:04:43
    half centuries. However, by the time of
  • 00:04:45
    the mid-9th century, theQing Empire was
  • 00:04:48
    beginning to crumble, beset by multiple
  • 00:04:50
    foundation shattering crises. Burden's
  • 00:04:53
    decisive defeat of theQing during the
  • 00:04:55
    first opium war by 1842 led to theQing
  • 00:04:58
    being forced into seeding away their
  • 00:04:59
    control of Hong Kong. While in the
  • 00:05:01
    1850s, an enormous rebellion exploded
  • 00:05:04
    across China that threw the entire
  • 00:05:06
    country into a catastrophic civil war.
  • 00:05:09
    The 14-year long Taiping Rebellion, as
  • 00:05:12
    it would come to be called, would prove
  • 00:05:13
    to become the bloodiest civil war ever
  • 00:05:15
    fought in human history and the biggest
  • 00:05:18
    conflict of the whole 19th century
  • 00:05:20
    worldwide, killing around the same
  • 00:05:22
    number of people as the whole First
  • 00:05:23
    World War, but all entirely contained
  • 00:05:26
    just within China, which severely shook
  • 00:05:29
    the foundations of theQing state. As
  • 00:05:31
    theQing were distracted by the scale of
  • 00:05:33
    the rebellion, the British and French
  • 00:05:35
    attacked theQing again at the same time
  • 00:05:37
    in 1856, sparking the second Opium War.
  • 00:05:41
    And then, smelling blood in the water,
  • 00:05:43
    the Russians lined up tens of thousands
  • 00:05:45
    of soldiers along the 1689 Treaty of
  • 00:05:47
    Nurinsk border. And once it became clear
  • 00:05:49
    that China was losing against Britain
  • 00:05:51
    and France, the Russians threatened to
  • 00:05:53
    invade and trigger a third war for
  • 00:05:55
    theQing state to have to worry about.
  • 00:05:57
    Without the resources to fight back,
  • 00:05:59
    theQing, under enormous duress, signed
  • 00:06:02
    the 1858 Treaty of Aen, seeding away all
  • 00:06:05
    of their land to the north of the Amir
  • 00:06:07
    River over to Russia. And then two years
  • 00:06:09
    later, in 1860, after the British and
  • 00:06:11
    French defeated theQing again, they
  • 00:06:13
    forced theQing into seening away all of
  • 00:06:15
    their land to the east of the Amir and
  • 00:06:17
    Yusuri rivers as well, essentially
  • 00:06:20
    establishing the modern-day border
  • 00:06:21
    between Russia and China that blocked
  • 00:06:23
    China off from having any direct access
  • 00:06:25
    to the Sea of Japan. With these two
  • 00:06:27
    treaties, theQing were forced into
  • 00:06:29
    seeing away more than 600,000 square
  • 00:06:32
    kilometers of land in outer Manuria to
  • 00:06:34
    Russia, an area of land roughly
  • 00:06:36
    equivalent to Ukraine that included the
  • 00:06:38
    locations of what would soon become
  • 00:06:40
    several major far eastern Russian cities
  • 00:06:43
    like Vladivvastto, Habarovsk, and of
  • 00:06:46
    course, Blagoens, which was founded as a
  • 00:06:48
    Russian city almost immediately as the
  • 00:06:50
    annexation took place in 1858 at the
  • 00:06:53
    confluence of the Amir and Za rivers. As
  • 00:06:56
    the border shifted though, thousands of
  • 00:06:58
    ethnically Chinese, formerQCQing
  • 00:07:00
    subjects remained over on the other, now
  • 00:07:02
    Russian side of the river. As the rest
  • 00:07:04
    of the 19th century progressed, a gold
  • 00:07:06
    rush in the area led to a surge in
  • 00:07:08
    settlers from the European side of the
  • 00:07:09
    Russian Empire that was encouraged by
  • 00:07:11
    the Tsarist authorities to populate
  • 00:07:13
    their side of the border with Slavs,
  • 00:07:15
    which led to Blago's population soaring
  • 00:07:18
    from practically nothing in 1850 to
  • 00:07:20
    around 40,000 people just by the end of
  • 00:07:23
    the century. while the Chinese side
  • 00:07:25
    remained a sparsely populated backwater.
  • 00:07:28
    However, by that time, the growing
  • 00:07:30
    resentment and anger within China
  • 00:07:32
    towards the outside imperialist powers
  • 00:07:34
    who had conquered and carved up their
  • 00:07:36
    lands was reaching a boiling point. By
  • 00:07:38
    this time, the Russians had forcibly
  • 00:07:40
    overrun outer Manuria. The British had
  • 00:07:42
    forcibly taken over Hong Kong. The
  • 00:07:44
    French had booted out all Chinese
  • 00:07:46
    influence from Vietnam. And most
  • 00:07:48
    recently, the Japanese had forcibly
  • 00:07:50
    kicked Chinese influence out of Korea
  • 00:07:52
    and taken over Taiwan. All of these
  • 00:07:54
    decades of humiliations and territorial
  • 00:07:56
    setbacks in China eventually culminated
  • 00:07:59
    with the explosion of the Boxer
  • 00:08:00
    Rebellion in northern China in 1899. An
  • 00:08:04
    uprising that involves hundreds of
  • 00:08:05
    thousands of armed and pissed off
  • 00:08:07
    Chinese peasants who sought to drive
  • 00:08:10
    foreign influence out of the country and
  • 00:08:11
    reverse the previous decades of
  • 00:08:13
    territorial losses, humiliations, and
  • 00:08:15
    defeats. The Boxer Rebellion greatly
  • 00:08:18
    alarmed the Russians and exacerbated
  • 00:08:20
    their longheld anxieties over their much
  • 00:08:22
    smaller population than the Chinese and
  • 00:08:24
    the lands they effectively stole from
  • 00:08:26
    China only 40 years previously. There
  • 00:08:29
    was always a fear among the Russian
  • 00:08:31
    settlers in the region that the far more
  • 00:08:32
    demographically numerous Chinese would
  • 00:08:35
    eventually come back around to try and
  • 00:08:37
    reclaim these lands. And that anxiety
  • 00:08:39
    reached a fever pitch over the summer of
  • 00:08:41
    1900 when the Boxer militias and theQing
  • 00:08:44
    Imperial Army moved north and began
  • 00:08:46
    attacking Russian communities along the
  • 00:08:48
    Amir River, culminating with their
  • 00:08:50
    artillery shelling of Blavosk itself in
  • 00:08:52
    July of 1900. The thousands of
  • 00:08:55
    ethnically Chinese formerQmerqing
  • 00:08:57
    subjects within the city at the time
  • 00:08:59
    still numbered between 16th and 1/2 of
  • 00:09:01
    the total population and the local
  • 00:09:03
    Russian government began viewing them
  • 00:09:05
    all as a disloyal fifth column in the
  • 00:09:07
    chaos. So on the 3rd of July in 1900,
  • 00:09:11
    the Russian military governor of
  • 00:09:12
    Blavishans issued the order that the
  • 00:09:15
    city's entire population of ethnically
  • 00:09:17
    Chinese residents were to be forcibly
  • 00:09:19
    deported over to China. But the only way
  • 00:09:21
    to deport them into China was by pushing
  • 00:09:23
    them over to the other side of the Amir
  • 00:09:25
    River. And the problem at the time was
  • 00:09:27
    that shipping along the river was
  • 00:09:28
    non-existent during the conflict. While
  • 00:09:31
    boats were in extreme short supply as
  • 00:09:33
    well. Unbothered by these details,
  • 00:09:35
    however, the Russian authorities rounded
  • 00:09:37
    up all of the thousands of Chinese
  • 00:09:39
    residents in the city, took them down to
  • 00:09:41
    the banks of the Amir River, and at
  • 00:09:44
    gunpoint ordered them all to swim across
  • 00:09:46
    the river over to China or be shot. What
  • 00:09:49
    followed was one of the most
  • 00:09:50
    catastrophic and lesserknown massacres
  • 00:09:53
    in all of modern history. Thousands of
  • 00:09:55
    the city's Chinese residents were driven
  • 00:09:58
    into the powerful river and drowned
  • 00:10:00
    during their doomed effort to cross it.
  • 00:10:02
    While those who refused were shot,
  • 00:10:04
    bayonetted, or axed to death right then
  • 00:10:06
    and there on the shore by the Russian
  • 00:10:08
    police and the cosacs. Very few of them
  • 00:10:10
    managed to successfully make it over to
  • 00:10:12
    China on the other side. And by the end
  • 00:10:14
    of the whole brutal ordeal, four days
  • 00:10:16
    later, as many as 5,000 of Blagoinsk's
  • 00:10:20
    ethnically Chinese population had been
  • 00:10:22
    ruthlessly massacred, resulting in the
  • 00:10:25
    almost complete ethnic cleansing of the
  • 00:10:27
    city's entire Chinese community. This
  • 00:10:29
    was the incredibly violent incident that
  • 00:10:32
    established the formerly diverse
  • 00:10:33
    northern side of the Amir River in
  • 00:10:35
    Blavashins as an overwhelmingly Russian
  • 00:10:38
    Eastlav white community instead that has
  • 00:10:41
    persisted to this day. The Boxer
  • 00:10:43
    Rebellion was eventually crushed and
  • 00:10:45
    then the two communities separated from
  • 00:10:47
    each other by the Amir River steadily
  • 00:10:48
    began evolving in almost complete
  • 00:10:50
    isolation from each other with the
  • 00:10:52
    Chinese side still remaining very
  • 00:10:54
    sparsely populated and the Russian side
  • 00:10:56
    continuing to grow due to the nearby
  • 00:10:58
    gold rush. But both Russia and China
  • 00:11:00
    would soon enter into periods of
  • 00:11:02
    enormous calamity that would shape the
  • 00:11:04
    demographic trajectories of this region
  • 00:11:06
    even further. TheQing Empire collapsed
  • 00:11:09
    shortly after the Boxer Rebellion in
  • 00:11:10
    1912, while the Russian Empire collapsed
  • 00:11:13
    not that much longer afterwards in 1917,
  • 00:11:16
    leading to huge periods of upheaval and
  • 00:11:18
    strife in both countries that lasted for
  • 00:11:21
    decades into the 1940s. That saw the
  • 00:11:23
    population of Blavashins plummet and the
  • 00:11:26
    development on either side of the border
  • 00:11:27
    essentially stalling, freezing the new
  • 00:11:30
    demographic realities following the
  • 00:11:31
    ethnic cleansing of 1900 in place.
  • 00:11:34
    Eventually, the Soviet Union emerged as
  • 00:11:36
    a united and stabilized state by 1945,
  • 00:11:39
    while the People's Republic of China
  • 00:11:41
    emerged as a mostly united and
  • 00:11:43
    stabilized state by 1949, beginning a
  • 00:11:46
    new era of suddenly friendly relations
  • 00:11:48
    between the world's two largest
  • 00:11:50
    communist states. While the Chinese
  • 00:11:52
    community in Bayansk on the Russian side
  • 00:11:54
    of the border was almost completely
  • 00:11:55
    annihilated in 1900, there was also a
  • 00:11:58
    relatively large Russian population that
  • 00:12:00
    had been established over on the Chinese
  • 00:12:01
    side of the border as well with more
  • 00:12:03
    than a 100,000 ethnic Russians who lived
  • 00:12:06
    across Manuria at the time who were
  • 00:12:07
    largely descendants of railway workers
  • 00:12:09
    and white immigrants who had been there
  • 00:12:11
    for decades. The friendly relations
  • 00:12:13
    between the Soviet Union and Communist
  • 00:12:15
    China in the 1950s led to the Soviet
  • 00:12:17
    Union announcing a right of return for
  • 00:12:19
    all of these Russians in Manuria in
  • 00:12:21
    1954, which led to virtually all of the
  • 00:12:23
    Manurian Russians repatriating
  • 00:12:25
    themselves to the Soviet Union by 1962.
  • 00:12:29
    Similarly solidifying the overwhelming
  • 00:12:31
    Chinese demographic on the southern side
  • 00:12:33
    of the Amir River in the process.
  • 00:12:35
    Despite this era of war relations,
  • 00:12:37
    however, no bridges or other
  • 00:12:39
    infrastructure links were ever built
  • 00:12:40
    across the Amir River, connecting China
  • 00:12:42
    to the Soviet Union over it directly,
  • 00:12:44
    which limited contact between both sides
  • 00:12:46
    of the river and continued leading to
  • 00:12:48
    both sides evolving in separate
  • 00:12:49
    demographic directions. And as it turned
  • 00:12:52
    out, this historically unique era of
  • 00:12:54
    friendly relations between Russia and
  • 00:12:56
    China was not destined to last for very
  • 00:12:58
    long, and the two would return back to
  • 00:13:00
    their historic animosity very quickly.
  • 00:13:03
    In the 1960s, the Soviet and Chinese
  • 00:13:06
    relationship rapidly deteriorated over
  • 00:13:08
    their differing interpretations of
  • 00:13:09
    Marxism, which led to the border between
  • 00:13:11
    Blavoskin and China being sealed off in
  • 00:13:13
    1960 along with the entire Sinos Soviet
  • 00:13:16
    border getting sealed off only a couple
  • 00:13:18
    years later in 1962. A few years later
  • 00:13:20
    in 1969, hundreds of Chinese and Soviet
  • 00:13:24
    soldiers were killed fighting against
  • 00:13:25
    each other over a series of border
  • 00:13:27
    disputes further downstream the Amir
  • 00:13:29
    River as Mao Zaong began referring to
  • 00:13:31
    the 1858 treaty of Aegon and the 1860
  • 00:13:34
    treaty of Ping as unequal treaties that
  • 00:13:37
    had resulted from Russian imperialism
  • 00:13:39
    and colonialism, reviving the same kind
  • 00:13:42
    of latent anxieties and fears within the
  • 00:13:44
    Russians over China's demographic
  • 00:13:45
    superiority in the region and their
  • 00:13:47
    potential long-term intentions on
  • 00:13:49
    retaking taking what had used to be
  • 00:13:50
    Chinese territory across outer Manuria.
  • 00:13:53
    Because of this conflict and the return
  • 00:13:55
    of these old anxieties, the border
  • 00:13:57
    between the Soviet Union and China and
  • 00:13:58
    by extension between Blavashinsky and
  • 00:14:00
    China remained completely sealed off and
  • 00:14:03
    highly militarized for nearly 30 years
  • 00:14:05
    between 1960 and 1989. Once again
  • 00:14:09
    keeping the two sides of the river
  • 00:14:10
    hermetically sealed off from one another
  • 00:14:12
    for political reasons on top of
  • 00:14:14
    geographic reasons. Continuing the
  • 00:14:16
    century plus long trend now of the two
  • 00:14:18
    sides demographies developing in almost
  • 00:14:20
    complete isolation despite them being
  • 00:14:23
    located so nearby to one another. By
  • 00:14:25
    1980, China was being led by Deng
  • 00:14:27
    Xiaoing and he was beginning to lead the
  • 00:14:30
    country in a different more open
  • 00:14:31
    direction. As a part of his plan to pave
  • 00:14:33
    the way toward a broader reopening with
  • 00:14:35
    the outside world and the Soviet Union,
  • 00:14:37
    Deng oversaw the founding of the city of
  • 00:14:39
    Heiha directly opposite of in 1980 to
  • 00:14:43
    encourage development in what had always
  • 00:14:44
    been a remote frontier region of the
  • 00:14:47
    country. By 1989, relations between
  • 00:14:49
    China and the Soviets had warmed back up
  • 00:14:51
    enough that the two sides finally agreed
  • 00:14:54
    to reopen their border again. and
  • 00:14:55
    Heiha's strategic location as the only
  • 00:14:58
    builtup urban area along the entire
  • 00:15:00
    border region on the Chinese side made
  • 00:15:02
    it an invaluable logistics center for
  • 00:15:04
    the reopening of SOS Soviet trade
  • 00:15:07
    following the Soviet Union's collapse
  • 00:15:09
    only a couple years later in 1991 and
  • 00:15:11
    the establishment of the new Russian
  • 00:15:12
    Federation and its place trade between
  • 00:15:15
    Blavashinsk and Heiha finally began
  • 00:15:17
    really booming as Russian merchants
  • 00:15:20
    began taking advantage of the
  • 00:15:21
    significantly cheaper goods immediately
  • 00:15:23
    across the border. A sort of regional
  • 00:15:26
    economic boom began and Hi Hus
  • 00:15:28
    population finally began surging growing
  • 00:15:30
    to more than 110,000 residents by the
  • 00:15:33
    end of the decade in 2000 compared to
  • 00:15:35
    around 219,000 residents who were at
  • 00:15:38
    that time across the river in Bag of
  • 00:15:39
    Vashi. But there still didn't exist any
  • 00:15:42
    direct physical infrastructure links
  • 00:15:44
    between the two cities despite their
  • 00:15:45
    geographic proximity. The only ways to
  • 00:15:48
    get across the river between them were
  • 00:15:49
    still limited to either taking fairies
  • 00:15:51
    over the summer or temporary roads built
  • 00:15:54
    across the ice over the winter, which
  • 00:15:56
    continued placing limits on the amount
  • 00:15:57
    of trade and crossber travel that was
  • 00:15:59
    possible. Russia continued preferring
  • 00:16:02
    this for now. However, acutely aware of
  • 00:16:05
    their own weakness following the Soviet
  • 00:16:06
    collapse and still deeply anxious over
  • 00:16:09
    China's enormous population across the
  • 00:16:11
    border and potentially latent claims to
  • 00:16:14
    the outer Manuria region. The border
  • 00:16:16
    disputes here along the Amir River that
  • 00:16:18
    had nearly erupted in war between the
  • 00:16:20
    Soviets and Chinese in the late 1960s
  • 00:16:22
    wouldn't end up being settled by treaty
  • 00:16:24
    all the way until 2004. And before and
  • 00:16:27
    even after that, Russia saw it fit to
  • 00:16:30
    continue limiting access from China into
  • 00:16:32
    the Far East by maintaining their
  • 00:16:34
    geographic defenses along the Amir River
  • 00:16:36
    without any bridges or other
  • 00:16:38
    infrastructure built across it.
  • 00:16:39
    Eventually though, things started
  • 00:16:41
    changing Russia's mind, owing to China's
  • 00:16:43
    rapid economic growth, making it a more
  • 00:16:45
    valuable trading partner and especially
  • 00:16:48
    after Russia seized and annexed Crimea
  • 00:16:50
    from Ukraine in 2014 that led to a
  • 00:16:52
    deluge of sanctions against them by the
  • 00:16:55
    Western world, beginning the modern era
  • 00:16:57
    of sharp confrontation between Russia
  • 00:16:59
    and the West. The Russians began seeing
  • 00:17:01
    pivoting away from Europe towards China
  • 00:17:03
    as increasingly within their own
  • 00:17:05
    national interest. And that paved the
  • 00:17:07
    way for the two sides to finally agree
  • 00:17:09
    on building a bridge between Blavishen's
  • 00:17:11
    Kiha across the Amir River in 2016.
  • 00:17:15
    Built over the next four years at a cost
  • 00:17:17
    of 342 million US and stretching for 1
  • 00:17:21
    kilometer, the first ever bridge
  • 00:17:23
    connecting the two cities with one
  • 00:17:24
    another directly year round was finally
  • 00:17:27
    completed only in early 2020. But its
  • 00:17:30
    formal opening was almost immediately
  • 00:17:32
    delayed because of the onset of the CO
  • 00:17:34
    19 pandemic. Shortly afterwards,
  • 00:17:36
    eventually over the summer of 2022,
  • 00:17:39
    shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine,
  • 00:17:41
    the bridge was finally open to freight
  • 00:17:43
    traffic, which dramatically reduced the
  • 00:17:46
    travel distance of trucked Chinese goods
  • 00:17:47
    to European Russia by around 1,500 km,
  • 00:17:51
    further solidifying Hi Han Bosinsk's
  • 00:17:54
    importance to the overall SinoRussian
  • 00:17:56
    relationship. Roughly 200 freight trucks
  • 00:17:59
    have been recorded traveling across the
  • 00:18:00
    bridge every day since then. And it was
  • 00:18:03
    only a few months before I made this
  • 00:18:04
    video in January of 2025 when the bridge
  • 00:18:07
    was finally opened up to passenger
  • 00:18:09
    vehicle traffic as well. Finally, for
  • 00:18:11
    the first time in centuries, offering a
  • 00:18:14
    way for the Russian and Chinese citizens
  • 00:18:16
    on either side of this river to easily
  • 00:18:18
    travel back and forth between both sides
  • 00:18:20
    year round. Over the time period from
  • 00:18:23
    Heiha's founding as a city by the
  • 00:18:24
    Chinese immediately opposite of
  • 00:18:26
    Blavashinsk in 1980, it has grown far
  • 00:18:29
    more rapidly than its Russian twin has.
  • 00:18:31
    In the early 1990s, Heiha only had
  • 00:18:34
    around 80,000 residents compared to
  • 00:18:36
    Blavosk's 205,000. By 2024, however,
  • 00:18:40
    Heiha had soared to more than 224,000
  • 00:18:43
    residents as black of a sheds had only
  • 00:18:46
    grown more modestly to about 240,000,
  • 00:18:49
    nearly equalizing the two twin cities
  • 00:18:51
    completely different populations. He ha
  • 00:18:54
    now looks like a modern, dense, and
  • 00:18:56
    vibrant Chinese city full of glowing
  • 00:18:58
    lights that shimmer off of the Amir
  • 00:19:00
    River at night. While BLinsk still
  • 00:19:03
    appears like it has for decades,
  • 00:19:05
    essentially like any other drab posts
  • 00:19:07
    Soviet city in Eastern Europe. The scale
  • 00:19:09
    of this growth over on the Chinese side
  • 00:19:11
    of the river can be clearly illustrated
  • 00:19:13
    by these series of photographs showing
  • 00:19:15
    the border between Blashins and China
  • 00:19:17
    back in 1969 and then the same location
  • 00:19:19
    from just a few years ago in the 21st
  • 00:19:21
    century. In a way, the extraordinary
  • 00:19:24
    growth that has taken place in Heiho
  • 00:19:26
    over the past few decades is a sort of
  • 00:19:28
    microcosm of Russia's centuries old
  • 00:19:31
    anxieties and fears along their entire
  • 00:19:33
    border with China in the Far East.
  • 00:19:35
    Today, the entire enormous region of the
  • 00:19:38
    Far East and Russia makes up about 40%
  • 00:19:41
    of the entire country's land and is
  • 00:19:43
    roughly double the geographic size of
  • 00:19:45
    India. And yet, it is all home to fewer
  • 00:19:47
    than just 8 million people. about the
  • 00:19:50
    same number of people as live in tiny
  • 00:19:51
    little Hong Kong. To make matters even
  • 00:19:53
    worse, the Far East has been seeing a
  • 00:19:56
    massive long-term crash in its
  • 00:19:58
    population since the collapse of the
  • 00:19:59
    Soviet Union, owing to huge out
  • 00:20:02
    migration to the European part of
  • 00:20:04
    Russia, aging demographics, and low
  • 00:20:06
    birth rates. When the USSR collapsed in
  • 00:20:09
    1991, the Far East had an all-time high
  • 00:20:11
    population of nearly 10.4 million
  • 00:20:14
    people. But since then it has dwindled
  • 00:20:16
    down to fewer than 7.9 million people
  • 00:20:19
    remaining there today. A net loss of
  • 00:20:21
    about 24%.
  • 00:20:23
    Meanwhile, the Halong Jong province
  • 00:20:26
    alone in China's far northeast
  • 00:20:28
    immediately across from the border is
  • 00:20:29
    home to nearly 32 million people. While
  • 00:20:32
    the whole region of Manuria within China
  • 00:20:34
    today is home to more than 107 million
  • 00:20:36
    people. The former region of outer
  • 00:20:38
    manuria meanwhile that the Russians
  • 00:20:40
    effectively forced from China in the
  • 00:20:42
    19th century that includes blaves is
  • 00:20:45
    only home to about 4 and a half million
  • 00:20:47
    people today. A staggering population
  • 00:20:50
    imbalance relative to Chinese Manuria of
  • 00:20:52
    about 24 to one. The scale of this
  • 00:20:55
    population imbalance between the two
  • 00:20:56
    sides of the Amir River today can be
  • 00:20:58
    clearly viewed in satellite images like
  • 00:21:00
    this one taken further downstream the
  • 00:21:03
    river from Blavishens showing
  • 00:21:05
    substantially more development on the
  • 00:21:07
    Chinese side of the river than the
  • 00:21:08
    Russian side. No matter how close Russia
  • 00:21:11
    and China may grow politically in the
  • 00:21:12
    short term, in the long term, Russia
  • 00:21:15
    will always remain extremely anxious
  • 00:21:17
    over this huge demographic imbalance and
  • 00:21:20
    the region's troubled history. There is
  • 00:21:22
    a conceivable future when at some point,
  • 00:21:25
    perhaps after China settles its more
  • 00:21:26
    pressing disputes with Taiwan and the
  • 00:21:28
    South China Sea first, that Beijing
  • 00:21:31
    eventually returns its attention back to
  • 00:21:33
    outer Manuria again. With the legacies
  • 00:21:35
    of the unequal treaties Russia forced
  • 00:21:37
    upon China when it was weak in 1858 and
  • 00:21:40
    1860, the Russian perpetrated massacres
  • 00:21:43
    and ethnic cleansing of the Chinese
  • 00:21:44
    population in this territory in 1900 and
  • 00:21:47
    the border fighting here in the late
  • 00:21:49
    1960s that killed hundreds of Chinese
  • 00:21:51
    soldiers. If Russia grows further
  • 00:21:54
    weakened by its own war still raging in
  • 00:21:56
    Ukraine, might China one day sense an
  • 00:21:59
    opportunity to address these historical
  • 00:22:01
    grievances in the region sooner rather
  • 00:22:03
    than later? Only time will tell, but for
  • 00:22:06
    now, the balance between Russia and
  • 00:22:07
    China is continuing to hold steady as
  • 00:22:10
    the governments of both countries
  • 00:22:11
    continue seeing it to be more pragmatic
  • 00:22:13
    to cooperate against their shared mutual
  • 00:22:15
    rival, the United States, who stands in
  • 00:22:18
    the way of both of their more pressing
  • 00:22:19
    geopolitical objectives in Ukraine and
  • 00:22:21
    Taiwan, respectively. And so, the most
  • 00:22:24
    ethnically segregated large urban area
  • 00:22:26
    in the world continues to remain as it
  • 00:22:28
    is between Bayinsk and Heiha along their
  • 00:22:31
    border. A bizarre modern result of
  • 00:22:33
    geography and history that has created
  • 00:22:35
    what is perhaps the most visibly sharp
  • 00:22:38
    border crossing anywhere in the world
  • 00:22:40
    today, where simply driving over a
  • 00:22:42
    bridge from one side of town to the
  • 00:22:43
    other takes you from one universe into a
  • 00:22:46
    completely different one, seemingly
  • 00:22:48
    teleporting you from urban Eastern
  • 00:22:50
    Europe to urban China within only
  • 00:22:53
    minutes.
  • 00:22:54
    Meanwhile, in the United States, one of
  • 00:22:56
    the most concerning things about living
  • 00:22:58
    here is that there are pretty weak data
  • 00:23:00
    privacy laws and a ton of personal data
  • 00:23:02
    that gets put out into the public
  • 00:23:04
    record, frequently by local, state, and
  • 00:23:06
    federal governments themselves. It's
  • 00:23:08
    always been like that here, but it
  • 00:23:09
    wasn't really a huge problem before the
  • 00:23:11
    advent of the internet. But these days,
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    it means that people are able to turn a
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    profit off of making it easier for other
  • 00:23:17
    people to get your personal information,
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    and they do. They're called people
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    sites. If you ever want to see for
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    yourself, just search your name and
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    address or phone number and you'll
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    probably come across a bunch of these
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  • 00:23:29
    personal information. But you also have
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标签
  • Blagoveshchensk
  • Heihe
  • Amir River
  • Cultural Differences
  • Ethnic Segregation
  • History
  • Demographics
  • Russia
  • China
  • Border Relations