Greater Khingan Mountains

　　　　　Beautiful, rich, simple, and natural—the Heilongjiang Greater Khingan Mountains forest region is entirely unpolluted. Located at the northernmost frontier of our country, it connects eastward to the thousand-mile-long Lesser Khingan Mountains, borders west on the vast Hulunbuir Grassland, reaches south to the fertile and prosperous Songnen Plain, and faces the Russian Federation across the river in the north. The area features rolling mountains and vast forests, covering a magnificent expanse of 80,000 square kilometers with a rugged grandeur.

　　 The Greater Khingan Mountains is the most northern and largest modern state-owned forest region in China, spanning a total area of 84,600 square kilometers—equivalent to the size of one Austria or 137 Singapores. Its timber volume amounts to 501 million cubic meters, accounting for 7.8% of the national total. With a total area of 84,600 square kilometers, a population of 510,000, and a border line stretching 791.5 kilometers, it administers three counties (Tahe, Mohe, and Huma), four districts (Jiagedaqi, Songling, Xinlin, and Huzhong), and ten forestry bureaus.

　　 Majestic Khingan Mountains, lush with green forests. The forested area of the Greater Khingan Mountains covers 7.3 million hectares, with a forest coverage rate of 74.1%. Within this vast green ocean, over 400 species of rare birds and animals thrive, including cold-temperate species such as red deer, reindeer, moose (known locally as "Ardahan"), sika deer, brown bears, sables, hazel grouse, pheasants, capercaillies, swans, roe deer, roe, wild boars, and snow hares. There are also more than 1,000 species of wild plants, making it a rare paradise for wildlife and flora in China’s high-latitude regions. More than twenty rivers of varying sizes, such as the Gan River, Durbuk River, Naduli River, Huma River, and Emur River, flow through the rugged terrain before finally joining the Heilongjiang River, the mother river of the borderland people. The area is abundant with valuable cold-water fish such as sturgeon, hucho taimen, lenok, and Amur icefish. It is no exaggeration to describe its wildlife resources with the saying, “Beat the bushes for roe deer and scoop fish with a ladle; pheasants fly right into your cooking pot.”