A boy plays in the snow during Siberia's notoriously cold winter.

Every winter in Russia's east, rivers that vein the enormous open spaces of Siberia freeze solid. Once the cold begins to bite, life for most people in the region turns inward. But for one group ...

Clashes with Russia over northern territories is a constant in the history of the past centuries. But today there is no rush of Heilongjiang province residents to seek a home in Siberia at all.

Temperatures dipped to 5 degrees in Howell early Monday, and the wind chill reached -9 degrees. It's colder than Siberia.