Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park

Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park

Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park was originally the largest of the 105 hunting grounds in the Shengjing Hunting Grounds during the Qing Dynasty, known as the "Zhalafen Alpine Hunting Ground" and the famous "Zhalafen Alpine." According to the "Shengjing Tongzhi," the Manchu term "Zhalafen Alpine" translates to the Chinese "Mountain of Longevity," serving both as the name of the hunting ground and the mountain. This area is part of the Dahancongdingzi Mountain range, situated at the junction of Panshi, Yitong, Dongfeng, and Dongliao counties. It was a strategic hub along the ancient post road and a battleground contested by military forces. This was also the ancestral home of Empress Dowager Cixi of the Yehe Nara clan. According to Zhuang Linlin’s book *Research on Yehe*, "The ancestors of the Yehe Nara clan were Mongols, with the patriarch Xinggendalhan originally surnamed Tümed. During the Five Dynasties period, he was adopted into the Nala tribe that had arrived in the area and subsequently adopted the Nala surname. In the 16th century, his descendant Zhukongge moved to the banks of the present-day Yehe River, where this place—also called Zhang City—became the birthplace of the Yehe Nara clan. The exact location was within the Zhalafen Alpine Hunting Ground, near the foot of the Hancongling Mountain."

History

According to the *Diary of the Eastern Inspection Tour* compiled by Qing Dynasty Grand Secretary Gao Shiqi and the *Tartar Travelogue* written by Ferdinand Verbiest, on March 18, 1682 (the 21st year of Kangxi’s reign), Kangxi first visited the Shengjing Hunting Grounds, specifically the Zhalanfen Hunting Ground and Alin Mountain, for hunting and stayed there. He bestowed the name "Mountain of Longevity" upon the mountain, as recorded in Volume 2, Page 1622 of the *Fengtian Tongzhi* and the *Xian County Annals*. During his eastern inspection tour, Kangxi celebrated his birthday here, leaving behind many legends: one is the "Great Mountain of Longevity" near Shoushan Village in Longshan District, Liaoyuan City; another is the "Small Mountain of Longevity" on Fuzhen Street in Longshan District; however, the actual site where Kangxi celebrated his birthday was at the foot of the Great Hancongling Mountain within the Zhalafen Alpine Hunting Ground. This was where Kangxi led 5,000 troops to celebrate his birthday. Since Shoushan Town was also within the jurisdiction of the Zhalafen Hunting Ground, the *Xian County Annals* recording Shoushan in Shoushan Town as the site of Kangxi’s birthday celebration is plausible. Other claimed sites include the Mountain of Longevity near the Shoushan Reservoir in Yingchengzi Town, Yitong County; the Mountain of Longevity in Shoushan Village, Yumujiazi Town, Huadian City; and the Wanshou Mountain near Wanshou Village, Yushugou Township, Shulan City, Jilin Province. In reality, the "Mountain of Longevity" named after Kangxi’s birthday should be the Small Hancongdingzi Mountain. The Hancongdingzi Mountain is part of the branches of the Hadaling Range, narrow in the north and broad in the middle, characterized by low mountainous hills. The mountain ranges undulate and overlap, forming a complex valley with 300 surrounding peaks. The upper and middle parts of the mountain are steep, while the lower parts are gentler, with the highest peak at 620 meters above sea level. It is located in Shahe Town, Dongfeng County, Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province.

In 1754 (the 19th year of Qianlong’s reign), while staying in the Shengjing Hunting Grounds, Qianlong composed the poem *Impromptu Verses* to bestow upon the governors of Shengjing and the two generals: "The Jilin Hunting Grounds connect to the Shengjing Hunting Grounds, where autumn in the heavenly province is high and game is abundant..."

"...The mountains and waters remain vividly remembered. The two generals, leading their troops, served diligently. All were elite offspring, striving bravely to rise with the winds." The emperor’s eastern inspection tours and royal hunting expeditions were, in fact, large-scale hunting activities. At the same time, they emphasized that "our court’s hunting is not for the sake of hunting but for martial training, to familiarize them with archery and horsemanship and to hone their troops." Kangxi explicitly stated: "The Shengjing Hunting Grounds combine hunting for fresh game with archery and martial drills, not merely for the taste of game" (from *The Great Qing Code and Case Precedents*, Volumes 70 and 709).

Culture

Liaoyuan, located in the southeastern part of Jilin Province, is hailed as a pearl on the banks of the Dongliao River. Liaoyuan has a long and storied history. During the Qing Dynasty, it was designated as the royal "Shengjing Hunting Grounds," and Emperor Kangxi once decreed it the "Royal Deer Park." With the rapid development of the national cultural industry, the Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park, created by Liaoyuan Guandong Shengjing Cultural Industry Co., Ltd., has become a prominent cultural landmark for the city.

The project site is located within the Hancongding National Forest Park in Liaoyuan City, at the foothills of the Changbai Mountains, in Group 6, Qingyu Village, Shahe Town, Dongfeng County. The construction covers an area of 15 hectares, with a planned area of 150 hectares. The main components include the Old Guandong City, Guandong Ancient Town, Guandong Ancient Village, Royal Deer Park, Shengjing Hunting Grounds, Folk Museum, Manchu Cultural Street, Performing Arts Training School, the large-scale situational poetic performance *Snowy Changbai*, film studios, post-production centers for TV dramas (digital studios), crew reception centers (hotels combined with the Zhang Zuolin Mansion), and thirteen functional zones. The park is designed to produce 100 TV drama episodes annually and receive 200,000 visitors per year. The total investment is 116,066,300 yuan, with an average annual revenue of 53,204,200 yuan and taxes of 9,420,000 yuan. Upon completion, based on the cultural tourism industry’s ratio of 1:7 in driving related industries, it is expected to create jobs for over 1,000 people and boost seven major related sectors.

Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park is located within the Hancongling National Forest Park in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province. It is a comprehensive cultural industry park integrating film production, folk ecological tourism, and a digital film technology incubation base, highlighting the features of the "Shengjing Hunting Grounds, Royal Deer Park, Guandong Culture, and Manchu Customs." The park was funded and built by Mr. Leng Xuesong, a renowned TV producer and chairman of Liaoyuan Shengjing Cultural Industry Co., Ltd. It aims to become a treasure trove, gathering place, and exhibition site for Guandong folk culture and material cultural heritage, as well as the most influential film production base in northern China.

As of July 2012, the project had been approved and implemented by the Jilin Provincial Department of Culture, Jilin Provincial Tourism Bureau, Jilin Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Jilin Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau, and Jilin Provincial Land and Resources Department. It has been included in the *Jilin Provincial Cultural Industry Plan*, *Liaoyuan 12th Five-Year Plan*, *Liaoyuan Resource-Depleted City Transformation Plan*, and *Liaoyuan Key Projects Acceleration Plan*. It is a key investment-attracting project for Liaoyuan City and has been awarded the "Entrepreneurship Demonstration Base" by the Liaoyuan Municipal Government.

Zone 1: Old Guandong City. Located 150 meters inward (north) from the park entrance into the valley, this is the core scenic area of the park. It showcases the folklore, local customs, and rural culture of the northeastern ancient towns while meeting the filming needs of northeastern-themed TV dramas.

Zone 2: Ancient Folk Village. Situated north of Zone 1, the main attraction is the former Royal Deer Park, featuring the royal hunting grounds and imperial deer reserves.

Zone 3: Manchu Folk Culture Street. Also known as Guandong Ancient Town, this is the display area for Guandong Manchu folk culture, located on the terrace of the valley northwest of Zone 2. The main features include a landlord’s mansion and various scattered ancient folk workshops and residences of tenants and commoners.

Zone 4: Royal Hunting Grounds. Located in the secondary forest southwest of Zone 3, this area has flat terrain with the backdrop of the Shenrongjia Peak, dense forests, and layered peaks. It includes temporary imperial lodging and various large tents for hunting expeditions.

Zone 5: Jurchen Primitive Tribe. Situated deep in the valley north of the Shengjing Hunting Grounds, this area features reconstructed pit houses, log cabins, wooden frame houses, and rammed earth houses, reflecting the living conditions of the Jurchen tribes and primitive inhabitants of Guandong.

Zone 6: Temporary Set Construction Area. Located on the terrace west of Zone 5, this area is used by other production crews to build temporary sets based on different plot requirements.

Zone 7: Ancient Temples and Pavilions. This religious culture zone is located on the hillside directly north of Zone 6. It is one of the park’s iconic landmarks and a key filming location.

Zone 8: Forest Folk Culture Area. Located north of Zone 1 and east of Zone 2, this area features various forms of forest architecture and showcases forest folk culture, offering leisure tourism activities such as "Forest Joy."

Zone 9: Ethnic Minority Culture Area. Situated on the upper terrace of the valley east of Zone 8, this area reconstructs early Korean ethnic folk buildings and can also build other minority group settlements based on different Guandong filming needs.

Zone 10: Rare Plant Conservation Area. Focused on the propagation and conservation of Hancong (Allium victorialis), which has medicinal value comparable to ginseng and was once a tribute ingredient, this area provides a specialty base for visitors to admire, pick, and use these plants.

Zone 11: Forest Ecological Conservation Area. This protected area surrounds the ancient city and all functional zones, utilizing the natural forest to artificially cultivate valuable northeastern medicinal herbs such as ginseng, eleuthero, fritillaria, gastrodia, lingzhi, lily, and boschniakia. It combines conservation with multi-resource development.

Zone 12: Reception and Service Center. Located east of Zones 1 and 9, this area serves as the main reception hub, including guide services, business information, indoor film studios, and office facilities.

Zone 13: Other Areas. This includes a leisure plaza at the park entrance connecting to the ancient city gate, used as a grassy square for leisure and as a battle scene for filming; the Moonlit Lotus Pond west of the Guandong Ancient City, featuring multiple interconnected ponds along the water system with small bridges; the Wild Fruit Picking Area on the eastern ridge of Shenrongjia and along the park’s main loop, offering wild fruits, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs; and the Folk Culture Shopping Street within the main scenic area "Guandong Ancient City," lined with Ming and Qing-style shops serving as both filming locations and retail spaces.

Base

Zhalanfenwei Folk Culture Park, produced by renowned filmmaker Leng Xuesong and other prominent domestic film and television creators, has made over ten TV dramas depicting the heroic stories and figures of Guandong, including *Military Songs Ring Loud*, *Gold King of Guandong*, *Fish King of Guandong*, *Small Town Traffic Police*, and *Hillside Reds* (originally titled *The Performer*). These works have aired during prime time on CCTV and won numerous awards, including the National TV Drama "Flying Apsaras Award," the PLA TV Drama "Golden Star Award" (First Prize), the Northeast Three Provinces TV Drama "Golden Tiger Award" (First Prize), the Jilin "Changbai Mountain" Literary Award, and the China Planning Conference Film and Television Works Gold Award.

The park will highlight the cultural characteristics of Jilin—"Shengjing Hunting Grounds, Royal Deer Park, Guandong Culture, and Manchu Customs"—to create a comprehensive cultural industry park integrating pre- and post-film production, folk culture displays, film distribution, derivative product sales, folk ecological tourism, and a digital film technology incubation base. It will become a treasure trove and exhibition site for Guandong folk and intangible cultural heritage, aiming for national 4A-level tourist attraction status. Additionally, the base will fill the gap in late Qing and early Republican-era historical film production in China, producing 100 TV drama episodes annually. Upcoming productions filmed in the new park include *Deer King of Guandong*, *Ginseng King of Guandong*, *Medicine King of Guandong*, the 30-episode *The Great Kiln Master* showcasing China’s mining industry, and the 20-episode *Colorful Fields* celebrating the spirit of contemporary Chinese farmers. These Guandong series will promote Jilin’s history, culture, customs, and specialties to the nation through the screen.