Alpine Garden

Alpine Garden

Alpine Garden

Travel is not just about hiking and sightseeing or admiring flowers — it’s a unique kind of enjoyment. Visiting Changbai Mountain in summer without seeing the Alpine Garden would be a great pity. In mid-July last year, my friends and I climbed Changbai Mountain again. This time, it wasn’t to see the Heavenly Lake but to go to the Alpine Garden.

I had long heard that above an altitude of 1,800 meters on Changbai Mountain, within the alpine tundra zone, there are not only vast areas of moss and other low-growing, cold-resistant plants but also large expanses of wildflowers. This time, my eyes were truly feasted. Among these naturally growing flowers, there were not only the fiery Alpine Azalea, the graceful Changbai Poppy, the crystal-clear Ice Flower, the golden and brilliant Globe Thistle, the bright red Lily, and the purple Gentian, but also tiny Lycopodiums no more than two inches tall and the famous Immortal Grass. These wild alpine flowers and countless unnamed small plants form seas of blossoms for visitors to enjoy.

Every July and August is the peak blooming season for these flowers. To fully develop the tourism resources of Changbai Mountain, the Baishan City Tourism Bureau has held the Alpine Flower Festival here for two consecutive years. The scale has grown larger each year, and the creativity has become more innovative year by year, offering visitors a new scenic experience. In fact, such expansive alpine gardens can be found not only on the western and northern slopes of Changbai Mountain but also on the southwestern slope. Visitors who ascend the mountain from Changbai County on the southwestern slope will be treated to an even more spectacular sight — not only vast fields of flowers but also the chance to see floating stones, submerged wood, and upside-down root grass.

The flowers and plants growing in the Alpine Garden are not only pleasing to the eye; many are also valuable medicinal herbs. For example, the Ice Flower contains various cardiac glycosides and is used to treat heart failure, cardiac edema, and pulmonary edema. Alpine Sedum not only has tonic effects but also treats elderly heart failure, and it shows good efficacy against diabetes, tuberculosis, and anemia. The leaves of the Alpine Azalea can be used medicinally, offering astringent, antibacterial, diaphoretic, and cardiac benefits. The Snake-Cutting Herb is notably effective in treating snakebites, which is why locals have a saying: “Meet the Snake-Cutting Grass, fear no snake bite.” The Upside-Down Root Grass is not only ornamental but also medicinal, showing excellent therapeutic effects for uterine bleeding, tracheitis, and anorectal diseases...

There are hundreds of varieties of traditional Chinese medicinal herbs on Changbai Mountain, with over a hundred species growing in the alpine tundra zone. Growing alongside the vast fields of wildflowers, they form a unique and stunning landscape, becoming an important and unforgettable attraction in the Changbai Mountain tourist destination. After returning from the Alpine Garden, I was still enveloped by the beauty of those magnificent flowers. I felt incredibly fortunate to have had the chance to be among them. Their beauty reminded me that they are not only the wealth of the people of Changbai Mountain, but also the treasure of the entire nation, and indeed, the world.