1856 is considered the date of the founding of the city, but as early as the 17th century the territory where Blagoveshchensk was located was tried by the detachments of pioneers V. Poyarkov and E. Khabarov. The signing of the Nerchinsk Treaty forced the Russians to leave these places assigned to China. Only two centuries later, the first trans-Baikal Cossacks began to move here, then the landless peasants from different parts of the Russian Empire - after the left bank of the Amur was recognized as Russian territory under the Aigun Treaty.
City at the confluence of two rivers
In those places where the city of Blagoveshchensk is located, a special geography. The successful location at the confluence of Amur and Zeya undoubtedly influenced its development.
Gold mining was added to shipping, fishing, and farming. Of course, trade flourished, not only with China, located on the other side of the river, but also with other regions of the country. For a long time, water transport was the only means of communication with the rest of the world.
Construction of roads was complicated by the area where Blagoveshchensk is located: forests, swamps, long distances to other settlements. Now Blagoveshchensk is connected by passage with the federal highway M58 Chita-Khabarovsk. The railway was built only in 1913. 20 kilometers from the city operates the Ignatievo International Airport.
A neighbor on the other side of the river
From any place on the Amur embankment, where Blagoveshchensk is located, one can not only see, but also make out houses and other objects of the Chinese city of Heihe, because the width of the river at this place is 800 meters. Relations with China developed in different ways. There was a period of active trade, there were Chinatowns in the city, the Chinese, or rather, the Manchus, found work here, sometimes seasonal: they worked as loaders, janitors, handymen, traded in fish and vegetables. But in 1900, China began military operations against Russia, began to shell not only the territory where Blagoveshchensk is located, but also other border regions. At that time, more than two thousand Chinese lived in the city, reprisals began over them. As a result, immigrants were forced to swim across the Amur. The few who sailed to the Chinese coast were immediately beaten by compatriots.
At present, a free trade zone between Russians and Chinese has been created in Heiha; visa-free entry to this city is valid for Russian citizens. Increasingly, Annunciation pensioners are buying apartments in Heihe: life there is cheaper. In Blagoveshchensk, Sino-Russian marriages are not uncommon.
But the deteriorating state of Cupid is alarming. The fact is that the waters of the Amur River, where Blagoveshchensk is located, are polluted from the right bank of the Heihe industrial and food waste. The fish wealth of the river is at stake. Blagoveshchentsy say that even now local fish cannot be eaten without lengthy processing.
