Western Jilin vigorously boosts eco-tourism

In recent years, seizing the opportunities brought about by the building of an ecological economic belt in the west of northeast China and the pursuit of high-quality development by Jilin province, the western areas of Jilin have been vigorously developing ecological tourism with fruitful results.  

At the first Chagan Lake Ecological Tourism Forum held recently in Songyuan city, participants shared their views on how to better integrate ecological preservation and ecological tourism. Songyuan city also released four ecological tour routes at the forum.

In recent years, Songyuan has made constant efforts to enhance the market competitiveness of Chagan Lake as its flagship tourism resources. It has put in place a special plan for ecological tourism development in the Chagan Lake Tourism Economy Development Zone, and launched a number of ecological tourism projects such as the Chagan Lake Ecological Town among other measures.

As a result, Chagan Lake is now better known in China, especially its winter fishing activities. The China Chagan Lake Ice, Snow and Fishing Culture Festival has been held for 19 years in a row and has become a representative event of winter tourism in northeast China. The lake is now becoming a tourism destination with distinct activities on offer in different seasons.  

Zhenlai county in Baicheng city is another good example of balancing ecological conservation and ecological tourism development.

The place is located on one of the eight major bird migrating routes in the world, and is home to the Momoge National Nature Reserve.

However, it once suffered sharp shrinking of wetlands, raging sandstorms and droughts. From 2013 on, Baicheng city took the lead in western Jilin to divert water to its thirsty wetlands and lakes. So far, Zhenlai county has restored and improved 1.1 million mu of wetlands.

Now Benlai county boasts a network of vibrant rivers and lakes.  The Momoge Nature Reserve is home to 298 bird species, 22 species of level-one state-protected animals and 49 species of level-two state-protected animals.

"During the 14th Five-year Plan period, we will make ecological tourism a driver of the local economy. This year, we plan to set up ecology-themed science popularization and learning bases at the experimental zone of the nature reserve to spread knowledge about ecological conservation," said Jiangli, an official of the nature reserve.

In addition to fascinating natural views, western Jilin also has precious cultural resources.

Nenjiang Bay Tourist Area in Da'an, Baicheng is an important stop along the western Jilin tourist loop, and also represents Da'an city's efforts to integrate ecological preservation, ecological tourism and cultural development.

In recent years, Da'an has made high-standard planning for the protection and tourism development of the Nenjiang Bay wetland to give the area a unique charm, according to Zhao Yongji, a tourism official of Da'an.

In 1971, a bronze mirror with Qidan characters on it was unearthed in Da'an. The "Na Bo" culture embodied in the mirror adds to the cultural charm of Da'an ecological tourism. Da'an plans to build the Nenjiang Bay Tourist Area into a national tourism destination of "Na Bo."

"I can not only see beautiful sceneries here, but also learn about the 'Na Bo' culture, which is really interesting to me," said a tourist named Cheng Muchun from Changchun.

(Edited and translated from an article on China Travel News)