400 million hectares of vast forest, with each cubic centimeter brimming with over 35,000 negative oxygen ions, is our warmest greeting to our guests.

In early October, suspected tiger footprints were discovered in the jurisdiction of Lang乡 Forest Bureau in Yichun City, Heilongjiang Province. After expert investigation, it was confirmed that the footprint "owner" is a mature male wild Northeastern tiger, measuring between 2 to 3 meters in length!

Zhang Yingshan can't recall exactly how many trees he has planted in the Xiaoxing'an Mountains over the past nearly 40 years. "At least a million, I would say?" Zhang Yingshan laughed heartily, spreading his arms and gesturing with those calloused hands to the reporter, "The ones I planted early on must be this thick now!"

No longer can excessive deforestation be regarded as a "treasure mountain"! In the 1990s, the Yichun Municipal Party Committee and City Government implemented measures to accelerate the transformation from a single "wood economy" to a comprehensive "forestry, agriculture, diversification, and processing" economy, reversing the trend of excessive forest resource consumption. In 2011, despite a decrease of 7 billion yuan in timber revenue, Yichun made a decisive cut, being the first to halt the main forest logging in state-owned forests. In 2013, it further ceased commercial logging, laying down axes and saws.

The forest gives back to the land in its own way. In 2007, the Yichun forest resources achieved a historic milestone with "growth" exceeding "consumption." Over the past few years, the forest stock has seen an average annual net increase of 10 million cubic meters, reaching 320 million cubic meters in 2017. The forest coverage rate has also increased from 78.4% during the implementation of the Natural Forest Resource Protection Project to 84.4% today.

Reap where you don't plant, shift towards economy and tourism under the forest.

How can one get rich without cutting down trees? The city of Yichun, after halting logging, is not without its dilemmas. A single tree cannot support the entire sky; where to find more "trees that support the heavens"? With dependencies on the path, isn't it difficult to nurture new development momentum?

A set of data reflects the impact of the logging ban on Yichun: In 2014, the logging ban in Yichun City reduced the added value by approximately 1.5 billion yuan, and the local fiscal revenue dropped by 17.4%.

Forest dwellers, tired of poverty, catch a whiff of opportunities from the outside world: clean air, the world's largest original Korean pine forest. Yichun, relying on the forest, no longer consumes the forest, but shifts to consuming the forest floor and the scenery.

The Xing'an Mountains hold countless treasures, and wealth can be achieved without cutting down trees! Now, with the support of 261 scattered forest-underground planting and breeding bases, the forest food industry has become the towering giant supporting Yichun's green transformation and development. It is expected that by 2020, the output value will exceed 10 billion yuan.

"This summer, we welcomed 130,000 visitors!" Although the peak season has passed, Wu Xue, the manager of the Yichun Jiufeng Mountain Nourishing Valley Scenic Area, still couldn't hide her joy, "Our attraction focuses on forests and leisure vacations. Visitors can not only breathe fresh air and stroll by the lakeside, but also learn Tai Chi here."

"The city of Lin Du welcomes guests without the need for wine, as the greenery itself is intoxicating. '400 million hectares of vast forests, with every cubic centimeter rich in over 35,000 negative oxygen ions, is our best gift to our guests,' said Wang Xinhong, Director of the Tourism Development Committee of Yichun City. In 2017, Yichun hosted 12.58 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 25.4%."