In Heihe, just 700 meters across the Heilong River from Russia's Blagoveshchensk, trade and exchanges between the two cities have also grown significantly.

Xin Ying, a representative of the Heihe-based supermarket Epinduo, embodies the upgrade of border trade. The market specializes in Russian goods, ranging from food products to daily necessities.

"Ten years ago, we usually handled 40 to 50 truckloads of goods daily at the port," she said. "Now, we manage a business that seamlessly integrates online and offline sales."

"Consumers pay more attention to the shopping experience, often chatting with us while placing orders," she said.

In the first half of 2025, Heihe's "9610" cross-border e-commerce export model, referring to China's customs code for direct-to-consumer (B2C) parcel shipments, processed 29.6 million outbound parcels, with a year-on-year increase of 4,824.3 percent.

The total weight reached 4,302 metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 482 percent. The export value rose to 2.38 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 1,552.8 percent.

Xie Dan and Gao Ziming contributed to the story.