Hailin

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Hailin is a county-level city in Heilongjiang province, China. It is under the jurisdiction of Mudanjiang city and lies in the southeast part of the province, near the border with Jilin. The area is about 8,800 square kilometers and has around 420,000 residents, mainly Han Chinese with communities of Manchu and Koreans.

The name Hailin comes from merging two old counties, Xinhai and Wulin. It is often described as the “forest sea” and the “snow plain.” Hailin is known as the hometown of Manchurian tigers and of traditional Chinese north medicine, and it features in stories about revolutionary hero Yang Zirong.

History and sites: People have lived in this region since ancient times. Notable historic sites include Qunli rock paintings, Jin dynasty cemeteries, the Ninguta (Ninggu Ta) relic, a wooden Russian Orthodox cathedral, and the depot of the Chinese Eastern Railway built in 1903. The Yang Zirong martyrs’ cemetery honors the hero’s legacy. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan built a military airport in Hailin.

Administration and geography: Today Hailin has 8 towns and 123 villages. About 71% of the area is forested, with mountains such as Shen Mountain and Qian Mountain, and many rivers that feed the Mudanjiang water system. The region is known for its forests and natural resources.

Economy: Key products include timber, medicinal herbs like ginseng and eleutherococcus, and forest foods such as edible mushrooms.

Tourism and wildlife: Winter skiing is popular. Two national forest parks—Roaring Tiger Mountain and China Snowland—are major attractions, along with Lotus Lake, the largest artificial lake in northeast China. Hengdaohezi Northeast Tiger Center, near Hailin, is the country’s largest Siberian tiger breeding center, established in 1986 and housing hundreds of tigers.