China’s coldest village sees tourism heat up amid forest safety efforts

A visitor smiles in Lengji Village in Genhe, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of northern China, on Jan. 17, 2021.[Photo/CFP]

China’s Lengji Village, the coldest village in China, has become a thriving tourist destination attracting numerous visitors to take in the breathtaking winter scenery.

The village is also known as the “Cold Pole Village” because it is located in Genhe, a town known as the “Pole of Cold” of the country on the northernmost tip of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Tourists have come to experience rural life in the village of Lengji, where temperatures often drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius. You will also have the opportunity to watch the villagers who work in the cold winter to protect the natural environment.

To protect the snow-covered forests, the villagers work in various professions on a local forest farm as part of environmental protection projects. Among them is Daxing’anling Forestry Department’s Jinlin Forest Farm ranger Cheng Shanzhong, who patrols 100 acres of forest, a 40-minute drive from the village.

“We patrol the forests every day. The forests of our motherland need to be protected,” said 51-year-old Cheng. “The forest has been protected, not only enlarged, but also more lush and dense as we can see. Protection has also brought more wild animals.”

After completing his routine patrol, Cheng returned home and cooked typical local dishes called “eight large bowls” to treat around a dozen tourists who visited his village.

In 2015, Jinlin Forest Farm implemented a series of reforms that stopped commercial deforestation as part of conservation efforts to preserve the natural landscape.

Former factory buildings were offered to forest workers with entrepreneurial ideas and zeal. Some of them have developed family tours in the region to promote the development of the scenic location “China’s Cold Pold Village”.

The local tourism industry boomed after ski facilities, horse-drawn carriages, ski rings, snow sculptures, snowmobile activities, and other projects were introduced.

Lengji Village recorded 36,000 trips in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, which also saw Cheng’s income rise to an average of more than 5,000 yuan (around $ 722) every month.

“Through our efforts, we will definitely make China’s Lengji Village a more famous landscape,” said Cheng.