Russians find a refuge on the beaches of Sanya from sanctions and “sideways looks,” toasting the New Year beside a Chinese nuclear submarine base.

Enhe was once home to thousands of ethnic Russians. Under Xi Jinping’s push for ethnic unity, little remains beyond nostalgia and props for tourists.

Decades ago, a Chinese village became an official symbol of revolutionary “self-reliance.” The slogan hasn’t changed, but nearly everything else has.