The marketplaces of Harbin, provincial capital of northeastern Heilongjiang, have become popular haunts for Russian businessmen.

Their purchases in one local market totalled 500 million yuan (HK$467 million) last year, Xinhua (the New China News Agency) said.

The Harbin Non-Governmental Trade Market is used as a sales base by thousands of independently operating Chinese businessmen, but has recently attracted salesmen from state-owned enterprises, foreign-funded firms and private companies.