At the border, a passage of time

Trains roar through the grand guomen, or national gate, in Manzhouli on a daily basis to cross the land border between China and Russia.

A gate has stood on this site since the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and it has long been an iconic image of Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The current guomen was built in 2008 and is the largest of its kind in China, at 105 meters long, 43.7 meters tall and 46.6 meters wide. Passing through it are two Russian-style broad gauge rail lines and a standard gauge line.