By staff reporter YU JIE and JIA LIN

Rafting on the Dafeng River.

AFTER years of booming tourism on the sunny beaches of seaside towns, and within the prosperous modernity of metropolises and coastal cities, many holiday-makers now seek a change, and have set their sights on the bold and magnificent beauty of northeastern China. In recent years Yichun's primitive natural beauty has drawn a steadily increasing volume of visitors.

Yichun is in the hinterland of the Lesser Hinggan Mountains. Half a century ago it was a stretch of primeval forest. Today it is a city hidden in forest. The world's largest Korean pine primeval forest and over 120 conifer and broadleaf species can be found in Yinchun. Every year the forest takes in 24.30 million tons of carbon dioxide and releases 33.41 million tons of oxygen, making the city a natural oxygen tank.

A good ecological environment has provided shelter for over 600 wild plants, many of them of medicinal and therefore economic value. These include ginseng, wild rose, fungus, mushrooms, hedgehog hydnum, and hazel. More than 300 species of wildlife make their home in the Lesser Hinggan Mountains. In recent years, Yichun has developed forest-themed holiday, skiing, rafting, adventure and car rally tours.

A gurgling stream.

Forest

Yichun has a sub-frigid continental monsoon climate. Its unique topography and abundant vegetation clearly distinguish the manifold beauty of the four seasons.

Soothing Streams

When the ice and snow start to thaw in early spring, quiet woods are enlivened by the sound of running streams and chirping birds. The Lesser Hinggan Mountains within the boundary of Yichun have numerous gullies and gorges, with 676 rivers, large and small, providing a wide range of choices for rafting. The 80-kilometer-long Dafeng River in Jinshantun is known as Rafting No. 1 of the Lesser Hinggan Mountains. Floating downstream in a life vest and a rubber dinghy, one can experience both the gentle and violent aspects of the river, from whose banks may be viewed the lush and magnificent Hinggan peaks.

Green and Cool

Silver merriment.

In summer the forest casts a cool shade over the city. The rainy season in Yichun coincides with the growing season, which is ideal for the propagation of vegetation that provides a shield of green from dawn to dusk. The world's largest Korean pine primeval forest is in the Fenglin Nature Reserve in Wuying, where the sight of pillar-like pines towering to the sky is quite magnificent. The area also has some 110 species of tree, including the fir, spruce, birch, bass, elm, and poplar. The mean summer temperature here is 20.7 degrees Centigrade.

Splendid Beauty

In autumn, the Lesser Hinggan Mountains are clad in various colors. Red, yellow and green leaves transform the city mountainsides into a gorgeous oil painting. This is the most beautiful, but shortest moment that nature reserves for Yichun. While enjoying this splendid natural beauty, visitors can also taste wild fruits that nature provides.

Silver Merriment:

In winter Yichun is resplendent in silver beauty. The snow on tree branches makes the forest even more tranquil, but this peace is often broken by laughter from the ski ranges around Yichun. The Meihuashan, Jinshantun and Taohuashan ski slopes provide various ice and snow activities.

Rocks

The Lesser Hinggan Mountains have not only tree forests, but also a stone forest at their summit, in Tangwanghe District of northeastern Yichun.

The stone forest is composed of six large granite rocks, two standing to the south and four to the north. They arise abruptly from the ground and tower to the sky. Standing together, each with a unique shape, they are a spectacular sight.

Rock climbers will find these strange-shaped rocks especially interesting, and may enjoy the challenge they provide to temper body and soul.

The world of snow.

In the Stone Forest Area a holiday resort has been built and several sites of interest have been developed, including a Korean pine park, a botanical garden, a wild animal park and a flower corridor. There is also the opportunity to go rafting, mountaineering and bungee jumping here.

In recent years, the city of Yichun has made good use of its forest and ecological resources to develop forest tours. In addition to policy support, it has strengthened its investment in infrastructure and established modern communication and commercial service networks. In 2001 Yichun was selected by the National Tourism Administration as one of "China's Excellent Tourist Cities."