Northeast China cold vortex (NECV) is the major influencing weather system in northern China. Yet the impacts of complex terrain on the evolution of NECV remains poorly understood. This work studies the influence of subgrid orographic drag (SOD) on a heavy‐rain‐producing NECV occurred in July 2011 using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. A series of numerical experiments are conducted with different parameterizations of SOD including turbulent orographic form drag (TOFD), flow blocking drag (FBD), and mountain wave drag (MWD). Results show that the NECV intensity is overestimated in the absence of SOD parameterization, accompanied with too‐low geopotential height (GPH) and too‐strong horizontal winds. The parameterization of TOFD can significantly decelerate the 10‐m winds, whereas the FBD and MWD play a minor role. However, the influence of TOFD is overwhelmed by FBD and MWD in the troposphere, especially the latter. This implies that the breaking of mountain waves play a more important role in weakening the NECV than the low‐level flow blocking. The lower‐tropospheric MWD directly weakens the convergence and ascent motion of the NECV, producing an anti‐cyclonic circulation that uplifts the GPH under the constraint of quasi‐geostrophic vertical vorticity. This MWD‐induced circulation indirectly weakens the NECV in the mid‐upper troposphere by producing a warm advection that counters the low‐level cold advection to the southwest of the NECV. The findings provide useful insights into the impacts of complex terrain on the NECV and highlight the importance of topographic drag parameterization in the simulation and short‐range forecast of NECV.