Longwanqun National Forest Park

Longwanqun National Forest Park is a nationally protected nature area in Huinan County, Jilin, China. Geographically, it is part of the western Changbai Mountains. A notable feature of the park is a group of volcanic crater lakes, which is the biggest in China. Thus came to the name of the park, Longwanqun, means Dragon Bay Group literally. The park is now a national AAAA class tourist scenic area and also a national science base.

                                                                                          

The forecast park takes up 8,133 hectares. Longwanqun (Dragon Bay Group) owns the most volcanoes in Northeast China and is the largest Crater Lake group in China. The park consists of “seven bays, one waterfall, and two peaks”, such as Sanjiaolong Bay (Triangle Dragon Bay), Dalong Bay (Big Dragon Bay), Erlong Bay (Medium Dragon Bay), Xiaolong Bay (Small Dragon Bay), Donglong Bay (East Dragon Bay), Nanlong Bay (South Dragon Bay), Hanlong Bay (Dry Dragon Bay), Diaoshuihu Waterfall (Kettle Hanging Waterfall), Jinlongdingzi Mountain, and Sifangdingzi Mountain.

The cater lakes consist together like the shape of the Big Dipper. The average depth of the lakes is 50 meters, and the deepest up to 100 meters. These lakes, like sparkling pearl, inlaid in the high mountains and lofty hills. It is rare that so many cater lakes gather together, have different shapes and are preserved so well.

The Longwan drifting area is one kilometer away from the east side of Back River Forest at downstream of Xiangshui River, Diaoshihu Waterfall Scenic Area, where supporting services and safety facilities are complete. It is a good place for tourists to have a deep experience of forest tour fun and passion release.

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Chagan Lake Scenic Area

Chagan Lake is a lake in Jilin, China. The name "Chagan" is from Mongolian, meaning sacred, pure or white, so the lake is often referred to as Sacred Lake or Holy Water Lake by local people. Covering an area of 420 square kilometers, it measures 37 km in length from south to north, and 17 km from east to west. Chagan Lake is the largest inland lake in Jilin Province and the seventh largest freshwater lake in China. The scenery here is particularly delightful in the spring and summer. The lake is known for traditional winter fishing that dates back to prehistoric times.

The scenic area is at the mouth of the Songhua River, A magnificent Tibetan lama temple, "Miaoyin Temple" on the Aobao Mountain at the scenic spot, sits on a broad square, where are large activities are held on June 14 and 15 every year. A museum nearby hosts Tahu city relics, stone tablets inscribed with Manchu and Mongolian, and relics unearthed from the Qingshantou historic site.

The scenic spot has pavilions, trees, pathways and sculptures, all scattered across the park like stars in the sky. Evergreens and blooms from a small botanic garden complement the architecture. Sculptures of historical figures, such as Jenghiz Khan, Gada Meiren, and Togtoh and Mongolian warriors, as well as the 12 Chinese zodiac signs, all dot the area.

Chagan Lake is the only place that saves the oldest Mongolia fishing method. It is listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of the People's Republic of China. The annual Winter Fishing Festival is held to remember the old winter fishing tradition. Fishermen first drill many holes through the thick ice and then place net under the ice. The Lake set a Guinness World Record of a single net that yielded 104,500 kg (230,400 lb) fish in 2005, and broke its own record with168,500 kg (371,500 lb) of fish in 2008.

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Yitong Volcano Group

Located in Manchu autonomous county YiTong, just 65 kilometers away from Changchun, Yitong Volcano Group is a national nature reserve consisted of sixteen volcanoes. As a national nature reserve, these volcanoes are attracting geological scientists and visitors by its precious volcanic resources.

Volcanic cluster is constituted by the Yinyi basalt pillars, most sections of pillars are polygon, some are like towers, and some form tower woods. Large-scale rock caves and columns of pagoda-shaped rock scattered around the volcanoes may bring people into exceedingly fanciful land. Relying on its unique volcano landscape resources, Yitong is always attracting frequent influxes of geologists and tourists.

YiTong volcanoes consist of Xijian hill, Dongjian Hill, Tuan Hill, Dagu Hill, Dongxiao Hill, Xiaogu Hill, Nanjian Hill, Mantou Hill, Moliqing Hill, Ma’an Hill, Hengxiao Hill etc. Among them, the geomorphologic landscape of Xijian Hill, Moliqing Hill, Dagu Hill is rare in our country, which worth enjoying. There are also a large-scale volcanoes fracture caves, which are found in China for the first time.

China's first Manchu Folk Museum is also located in YiTong County. After having a taste of the natural charm of the volcano, visitors could also learn about something about Manchu folk museum.

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Songhua Lake

Songhua Lake is in the southeastern part of the city of Jilin, 10 kilometers from the downtown area, with the Fengman Hydropower Station built by the Japanese using a dam built in 1937 on the Songhua River, and is now a National Grade AAAA Tourist Attraction. With a total length of 180km or more, this lake is shaped like a shining dragon lying on the vast land of Jilin Province, from southeast to northwest. Covering a total area of 700 square meters, Songhua Lake boasts eight scenic spots within the lake area, ranging from islets, peaks and ponds to attractive hilly slopes.

Songhua Lake attracts a great number of domestic and foreign visitors based on its profound geographical location, its distinct four seasons as well as the bright and charming scenery of lakes and mountains. Its beauty mainly lies in the broad water, the tranquil mountains and the charming forest. The picturesque Songhua Lake is entitled with elegant environment, in which stones of amazing shapes stand like a forest and steep cliffs become common sights. The thriving trees on the mountains, the clouds in the azure sky are all reflected on the mirror-like lake, making it even more charming. The numerous wonderful sights make up 9 scenery zones, 18 scenic spots and 4 tourism villages.

This lake is surrounded by thick forests that cover 300,000 hectares, or 72 percent of the lake zone. Apart from its picturesque scenery, the lake also abounds in flora and fauna: whitefish, carp and nameless fish as well as over 160 species of herbal medicines. If you are lucky enough, you may also bump into rarer species such as roe deer, black bear and lynx. The lake even has its own myth, in a similar vein to the Loch Ness stories. In 1992 a soldier visiting the lake on leave reported being attacked by a dragon like creature. Truthful or not, the tourism industry here has never looked back.

Songhua Lake not only provides a good place for visitors to go boating, but also serves as an ideal choice for holiday. In the Lake District there are at least 200 farm houses made especially for visitors to spend holidays have been constructed. In the daylight it seems as if the lake extends to the sky, while in the evening the setting sun reddens the clouds on the horizon. Near the banks, grass bloom on the beach, while the water washes the golden sands. It is true to say “the best scenery is at one’s door and the lake is a natural summer palace.”

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Capital Cities and Tombs of Ancient Koguryo Kingdom

Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in and around the city of Ji'an, Jilin province. The site was designated a cultural World Heritage Site in 2004, qualifying as such under the first five of the six criteria for cultural heritage sites. The site contains the archaeological remains of three cities (Wunü Mountain City, Guonei City, and Wandu Mountain City), and forty identified tombs of Koguryo imperial and noble families.

Koguryo was a kingdom that ruled part of northeast China and the northern-half of the Korean Peninsula from 37 BC to 668 AD. The remains we see today are evidence of its once splendid, but vanished, civilization.

Capital cities

Wunü Mountain City was the first capital of Koguryo Kingdom, which was an ancient Korean dynasty. Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City were also capitals of the Koguryo Kingdom. These areas are now part of Chinese territory but during its creation, belonged to Koguryo Kingdom, an ancient Korean dynasty.

Wunü Mountain City is only partly excavated. Guonei City, within the modern city of Ji’an, played the role of a supporting capital after the main Koguryo capital moved to Pyongyang. Wandu Mountain City contains many vestiges including a large palace and many tombs.

The capital cities of the Koguryo Kingdom are an early example of mountain cities, later imitated by neighbouring cultures. The system of capital cities represented by Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City also influenced the construction of later capitals built by the Koguryo regime. The capital cities of the Koguryo Kingdom represent a perfect blending of human creation and nature whether with the rocks or with forests and rivers.

Tombs

There are about seven thousand tombs outside of the mountain city and many of them have exquisite murals, rich in content and color, showing the Koguryo kingdom's culture and daily life. Hunting, wars, religions (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism), and other aspects of life are depicted.

According to archeological research, the General's Tomb--located northeast of Ji'an City--is said to be the tomb of the twentieth emperor. It looks quite like the tomb of the Pharaoh in ancient Egypt and thus was given the name: the Oriental Pyramid.

So far, only three written relics have been found telling of Koguryo's history. Among them, the Hao Tai Wang monument (or stele) has the longest and richest content. The monument was built to commemorate the nineteenth emperor, and the inscription recorded the emperor's merits and achievements as well as the legend of the beginning and development of the Koguryo. Engraved in Chinese characters, the inscription shows the cultural blend of the Koguryo and the Chinese.

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Changbai Mountain

The Changbai Mountain is a mountain range on the border between China and North Korea. In Russia this range is called "Vostochno-Manchzhurskie gory" ("East Manchurian mountain range") and considered as a part of more long Manchu-Korean mountain range, which separates China from Korea and Russian Primorsky Krai. The range extends from the Northeast Chinese provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning to the North Korean provinces of Ryanggang and Chagang. Most peaks exceed 2,000 metres in height, with the highest mountain being Changbai Mountain.

The most beautiful part of Changbai Mountain is undoubtedly Tianchi, or Heavenly Lake. The lake was formed in the crater of the mountain, and it is the source of the Songhua, Tumen and Yalu Rivers. The altitude of the Heavenly Lake is 2,189 meters (about 7,182 ft), and so the average temperature is 7.3C (45.14 F). With clouds everywhere, Heavenly Lake is like a jade in the sky. You can find a very interesting phenomenon while walking along the Heavenly Lake. On many occasions it is common for sunshine and rain to occur at the same time. It may rain very hard one minute, but you may soon find the sun shining warmly the next minute. Sometimes, you can even watch it rain in the west and shine in the east. Besides the wonderful scenery and astonishing climate, many witnesses have claimed that there are monsters in the lake! Some witnesses even took photos as proof, but there is still no conclusive evidence.

To the north of Heavenly Lake there exists an exit for the Chengcha River. Running gently for about 1,200 meters (0.74 miles), the river suddenly becomes a churning rapids and drops from a 68 meters (223 ft) high cliff. This is the famous Changbai Waterfall, the highest volcanic waterfall in the world. Watching it from far away, the waterfall appears like a white ribbon suspended in midair. As you approach it, you can hear the loud roar and feel the chilliness of the waterfall. Another alternative to watch the waterfall is climbing to Heifengkou on the main peak. Gales blow ceaselessly in this col, making it hard for visitors to walk and climb. But it remains the best place to watch the panorama of the waterfall. Apart from Changbai Waterfall, more than ten smaller waterfalls are also available in the mountain. Visitors have to enter the Northern Slope Entrance to see the waterfall.

Less than 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) away from Changbai Waterfall lie the Changbai Hot Springs. With a special chemical composition inside, the rocks around the hot springs have been dyed many bright colors. Most of the hot springs have temperatures over 60 C (140 F); the highest is 82 C (179.6 F). Hot Spring Eggs have become a special local product. Visitors can bathe in the hot springs, which are very effective for some ailments, such as arthritis, dermatosis and exhaustion. ( Tips on Hot Spring for your reference)

Underground Forest, the attraction with lowest altitude on the mountain, is famous for its view of virgin forests. Ancient tall trees, huge rocks, special animals and cliffy canyons have lured many scientists, explorers and photographers in recent years. Twin Lakes and Natural Museum along the Northern Slope are also worth visiting. Additionally, the newly exploited Great Valley, Jinjiang Waterfall, King's Lake, Tiger's Back and Tizi River in the Western Slope also attract many visitors. If visitors want to closely observe the borders of the PRC and the DPRK and enjoy the beautiful alpine flowers, they can climb the mountain through the Southern Slope Entrance.

During the peak seasons, namely June through September, hundreds of flowers blossom on the Southern and Western slopes. It is very cool, so it's an ideal place for escaping from the summer heat. But it is also very rainy in July and August, and visitors cannot watch the Heavenly Lake clearly at that time. The best time to visit the mountain is September. Generally, it snows from October. The best time to view snow and to ski is from November to March. Ice and snow begin to thaw from April, but visitors can still find snow even in May.

Visitors can stay with Korean families to understand the local life, or they can camp in the forest to breathe the fresh air of woods and flowers. There are also top-ranking hotels, such as Heavenly Hot Spring Hotel, Changbai Mountain International Hotel, and Athletes' Village. Changbai Mountain is also a rich area for wild fungus and traditional Chinese medicine materials, such as ginseng and pilose antler. Visitors can find them in local shops.

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Beidahu Skiing Field

Beidahu Skiing Field is located at Beidahu Village, Yongji County, Jilin City, 56 kilometers away from Jilin City urban area and 141 kilometers away from Changchun City. Initiating in 1993, this skiing field is regarded as the largest and the most advanced skiing ground with the most advantageous natural conditions for skiing. Not only a national scenic area, it is also an important arena and coaching grid for winter games.

                                                     

Beidahu Ski Resort possesses unique heaven-bestowed wavy terrain and snow and ice resources. The location is surrounded by mountains in three directions. There are nine peaks with an altitude of 1,200 meters. Blocked by mountains, the wind force is small in winter, there is a good snow condition, and the snow period is long. The snowing starts from every October and ends at the beginning of next April. The effective skiing period lasts over 100 days.

There are 13 alpine ski runs, with a total length of 12.5 kilometers, at the resort. The resort has introduced a 2,200-meter 6-person box-mode high-speed detachable cableway and one 1,000-meter 4-person lift-mode high-speed detachable cableway from world’s top cableway producer Austrian Doppelmayr and a global advanced snowmaking system to increase snowmaking capacity by 32 hectares.

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