Location Map
The Amur River forms the border between Russia and China. The river flows east, but at Khabarovsk the river turns to the north, and the border turns sharply to the south and runs in almost a straight line to Vladivostok. The Trans-Siberian Railway parallels the Amur River to Khabarovsk, then turns to the south and follows the border to its terminus in Vladivostok.
Vladivostok and Khabarovsk are the two principal cities of the Russian Far East. Vladivostok is Russia's year-round ice-free access to the Pacific Ocean. It was the home of the Soviet Pacific fleet, and was a closed city until the end of the Communist era. Khabarovsk is an industrial city, and a trans-shipment point where lumber and other resources coming down the Amur are transferred onto trains headed to the port of Vladivostok.