Baijifeng National Forest Park

Baijifeng National Forest Park lies about twenty-five kilometres southeast of Tonghua and reaches the highest peak in the immediate area at 1,318 metres. The park has near-complete forest coverage with significant populations of native medicinal plants including wild ginseng, and the forest ecology is a genuine draw for those interested in the natural history of the Changbai mountain system.

The hiking is accessible rather than demanding — trails wind through the forest without requiring serious mountaineering. In summer the forest is dense and cool; in autumn it turns in the full palette of the northeastern Chinese forest, with maple and oak providing the colour against the darker green of the pines. The park is popular with Tonghua residents but quiet by the standards of major Chinese nature destinations, and it rewards a half-day visit combined with a trip to Ji'an.

things to do sight
A story
Baijifeng's forests are one of the most intact examples of the temperate mixed forest that once covered much of Manchuria — a zone of Korean pine, Manchurian walnut, and wild ginseng that sustained both the ecosystems and the traditional economy of the region for millennia. The park's near-total forest coverage (98.7 percent) reflects how thoroughly this landscape escaped the agricultural and industrial pressures that cleared most of northeastern China's lowland forests in the twentieth century.