Coordinates: Zhenbao Island (traditional Chinese: 珍寶島; simplified Chinese: 珍宝岛; pinyin: Zhēnbǎo dǎo; literally "Treasure Island") or Damansky Island (Russian: о́стров Дама́нский) is a small island of 0.74 square kilometers (0.3 sq mi) in the Ussuri River on the border between Russia (Primorsky Krai) and the People's Republic of China (Heilongjiang Province). It was the subject of a territorial dispute between the Soviet Union and the PRC. On May 19, 1991, the two sides came to agreement that the island belongs to the PRC. Battles with considerable loss of life were fought by the Soviet Union and the PRC over this island during the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969. In total, the Soviet forces claimed that the Chinese suffered 800 casualties while the Soviets only had 60 killed or wounded; the Chinese claim to have suffered only a few casualties, far less than Soviet losses. At the time, there were almost one and a half million troops deployed along the border. A Soviet documentary movie Damansky Island. Year 1969. ("Остров Даманский. 1969 год") was made interviewing participants and leaders from both sides.
External links
- Centuries-old dispute became open combat during Cold War
- Map showing the location of Zhen Bao Island from Wikipedia Chinese .
- Geo Coords: 46°29'8.13"N , 133°50'40.04"E. Google Earth File: [1] Google Maps satellite image: [2]
- Google Earth BBS article: [3]
- Damanski-Zhenbao website
