Harbin is not only the capital of Northeast China’s border province Heilongjiang — it is also at the frontier of an online sales boom between China and Russia.

A total of 101 charter cargo flights took off from Harbin to Moscow and Yekaterinburg in Russia in 2014, according to the city's commerce bureau.

To date, the city has opened air routes to a group of Russian cities, including Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Moscow.

With more than 12.14 million pieces of express mail and parcels exporting to Russia, the city aims to be developed into a hub station connecting economic cooperation between China and Russia, and it ranked the first among Chinese cities on e-commerce with Russia.

Buyers in Russia can purchase their favorite goods through e-commerce platforms, enjoying delivery within a week or two.

More than 20 international mail exchange offices and leading domestic e-commerce logistics companies have settled in Harbin.

The construction of a 600,000-square meter cross-border e-commerce trade base has launched to meet the demand of customers in Russia, Northeast Asia and North America.

A group of e-commerce platforms including Foxmail and DHgate, which feature cross-border trade with Russia, have started operation to ensure good online shopping experience for Russian people.

Harbin will focus on establishing bonded zones and central railway container stations, promoting the development of a "cloud valley" as a national demonstration center for e-commerce, and developing international trains to connect with Europe through Russia, said Song Xibin, mayor of the city at a conference in last December.