The Amur River by Colin Thubron in pictures

Rising in the Mongolian mountains and flowing through Siberia to the Pacific, the Amur River forms the tense border between Russia and China. This is the most densely fortified frontier on Earth.

In his eightieth year, Colin Thubron takes a dramatic and often treacherous journey from the Amur’s secret source to its giant mouth, covering almost 3,000 miles. Harassed by injury and by arrest from the local police, he makes his way along both the Russian and Chinese shores. By the time he reaches the river’s desolate end, a whole, pivotal world has come alive.

To celebrate the paperback launch of the 2022 Stanford Dolman winning The Amur River by Colin Thubron here are some photographs taken on the journey.

A rare Chinese pleasure craft near the Chinese bank of the Amur.

The author with his Mongolian horse escort.

Mongolia: a votive ovoo, the site of a local spirit.

Mongolian marshlands in the forbidden region by the Russian border.

Village fishermen (and part-time poachers) on the lower Amur.

Komsomolsk-na-Amure. The grave of the Mafia boss Yevgeny Vasin. Such Mafiosi were destroyed by Putin after 2000.

The Amur River by Colin Thubron is now available in paperback for £10.99

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