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Russia’s Arctic: The New Hot Spot for Chinese Couples?

By Héloïse Bargain
Updated:

In the past few years, tourism to Murmansk, a remote Russian city north of the Arctic Circle, has increased dramatically.

According to official estimates, 450,000 tourists visited the region in 2019 — and 40% of these were Chinese.

In Chinese tradition, conceiving a child under the Northern Lights is believed to bring good luck to the baby. We went north to Murmansk to see if this belief is true and see how much the growing tourism industry has transformed the city.

… we have a small favor to ask.

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We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

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