Russian customers purchase firecrackers in border city Manzhouli, in northeastern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Sunday, December 23, 2007. [Photo: Xinhua]

As Christmas and New Year's draw near, Manzhouli, a small but modern city in northeastern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is welcoming hordes of Russian consumers, Xinhua News Agency reported.

More than 4,000 Russians cross the border each day to buy popular Chinese goods for the upcoming festivals.

Lying on the Sino-Russian border, Manzhouli is the biggest import/export point between China and Russia. It is also a major stop on the Trans-Siberian railroad that links the two countries capital cities: Beijing and Moscow.

A Russian woman buys a Christmas tree in border city Manzhouli, in northeastern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Sunday, December 23, 2007. [Photo: Xinhua]

(CRI December 24, 2007)