On December 21-22, 2019, the 2019 China Hiking - National Hiking Conference Wudalianchi Scenic Area Station commenced in temperatures below minus twenty degrees. At that time, Wudalianchi Scenic Area was a snow-blanketed ice and snow kingdom. Over three hundred hiking participants set off in the national key scenic spot known as “admire ice and snow in the dog days, view warm ponds in the coldest days” and “famous mountains like painted screens, a string of pearls around five clear lakes” — Wudalianchi Scenic Area — to experience the wonders of ice and snow together and enjoy the boundless fun of winter fitness. This was also the closing station of the 2019 National Hiking Conference.
This event was jointly organized by the Chinese Mountaineering Association, the Heilongjiang Provincial Sports Bureau, and the People's Government of Heihe City. It was hosted by the Wudalianchi Scenic Area Management Committee, the Heilongjiang Provincial Social Sports Guidance Center, and the Heihe Municipal Sports Bureau, with strong sponsorship from Heihe Rural Commercial Bank and Beijing Skyleader Brand.
A total of over 300 participants from the Wudalianchi Scenic Area Station came from 19 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions including Beijing, Henan, Hebei, Ningxia, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Shaanxi, as well as friends from South Korea.
Wudalianchi is located at the northernmost part of Heilongjiang Province. For over two million years, multiple volcanic eruptions have occurred here, forming 14 independent volcanic cones and a series of shield volcanoes. The most recent volcanic eruptions took place in 1719-1720 AD at Black Dragon Mountain and Fire Mountain. The lava flows from these eruptions blocked the Shilong River in four places, creating five volcanic barrier lakes, which ultimately formed Wudalianchi. The Wudalianchi Scenic Area has successively been awarded titles such as UNESCO Global Geopark, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, International Union for Conservation of Nature Green List, National Nature Reserve, National Forest Park, One of China’s Top Forty Tourist Attractions, Hometown of Chinese Mineral Water, Hometown of China’s Famous Volcanoes, National AAAAA-level Tourist Attraction, National Forest Park, National Natural Heritage, and the National Intangible Cultural Heritage title for the Shengshui Festival (Medicine Spring Gathering).
The hiking route for the Wudalianchi Scenic Area Station of the 2019 China Hiking - National Hiking Conference was completed over two days. The first day’s route was “Shengshui Square – Warm Pond – Lotus Lake – Yan Mountain Lake – Fire Mountain – Final Stop Farm Team Five,” with a total length of 24 kilometers. The second day’s route was “Longmen Stone Fortress Square – Scenic Area Trail – Lakeside Park – White Dragon Lake – Final Stop Farm Team Five,” with a total length of 21 kilometers. On the first day, participants passed through birch forests rich in northeastern characteristics, admired the beautiful and varied rime frost, and took photos in front of the ancient Black Mountain volcano crater. The second day’s route focused on the theme of “geological wonders.” The starting point, Longmen Stone Fortress, consists of vast lava flows from the first eruption of the shield volcano at Longmen Mountain, which erupted 280,000–340,000 years ago. As the upper part solidified, the lower lava flow advanced, broke into chunks, and after multiple eruptions and major earthquakes, numerous stones and pillars were pushed up. The most majestic and spectacular sights are the high piles resembling ancient fortress walls, appearing like collapsed ancient ramparts—hence the name Longmen Stone Fortress. The large and small stone fortresses are about a kilometer apart, covering a total area of nearly fifty square kilometers.
The trails for both days were entirely covered in ice and snow. In temperatures below minus 20 degrees, participants experienced their heads steaming with “fairy breath” and their eyelashes freezing. They also witnessed a winter landscape completely different from that of the south and got up close to the spectacular scenery created by past volcanic eruptions. “This is my first time here, and I’m so excited. Where I come from, it’s still all green, with yellow flowers on the mountains. I came to Wudalianchi Scenic Area just to experience extreme cold. This hike gave me a unique feeling — initially excitement, because I’d never seen snow this thick before. Climbing Black Mountain volcano felt different too, the rocks are all black, and the trees around are similar in height to those in Guangxi, but everything here is covered in snow. I took a lot of photos to share with my friends back home,” an excited hiking participant from Guangxi told reporters.
A local hiking enthusiast from the northeast had prepared professional cold-resistant gear well in advance. His professional equipment allowed him to handle the low temperatures with ease and walk comfortably. He told reporters, “I’ve lived in the north since childhood, so today’s cold isn’t much for us. But the winter fishing I saw today is something I’ve never encountered before. I’d always heard about winter fishing elsewhere but never gone or knew what it was like. When I reached the Wudalianchi wharf and saw piles of nets with fish being hauled up, I was really curious — how do they get the nets down through such thick ice?”
In recent years, the Wudalianchi Scenic Area has leveraged its rich cultural and tourism resources to vigorously develop sports tourism. This has not only effectively promoted local tourism resources but also greatly boosted the rapid development of fitness-for-all initiatives in the region. At the same time, it has played a significant role in helping local residents alleviate poverty, increase income, and achieve economic transformation and upgrading.