Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has begun the re-construction of a dismantled 100-kilometer railway to connect with Russian railways in the province's Sino-Russian border areas.

The railway, starting from the province's Suiyang County and running east to Dongning County, is part of the 310-kilometer railway from Hunchun of Jilin Province to Heilongjiang Province's Dongning County, China's biggest highway trade port to Russia.

Dongning Port witnessed 80 percent of the province's highway freight volume in trade with Russia.

Provincial officials said when the railway is finished, Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces will be able to transport goods to South Korea, Japan and the United States via the Pacific ports of Russia, which will shorten the freight distance.

Japanese invading troops built four railways in Dongning County between 1934 and 1940, with a total length of over 400 kilometers.

Together with groups of ground strongholds, those railways formed attack and defense means to target the then Soviet Union.

The four railways were dismantled by Soviet troops when they withdrew from the Chinese border areas.

(People’s Daily 03/05/2001)