Bayinchaolu (2nd R) visiting Jilin AoDong Medicine Industry Group, in Yanji, on June 6. [Photo by Song Kai/ chinajilin.com.cn]

Jilin province is keeping a close eye on major development projects and on June 6, the third day of its green ecology project, authorities visited the Changbai Mountain scenic area and ecology projects in the Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture.

Bayinchaolu, the provincial Party head, began the group inspection at the Erdao Baihe River at the foot of the mountain, where they said they were impressed by the stunning landscape and virgin forest and saw bicyclists using the track around the mountain area here and there. The scenic area uses a slow traffic system, including a 57-km footpath and a 59-km cycle path with 27 service spots, as well as six bus stops for a healthy recreational area that is low-carbon, environmentally friendly, and totally green.

The team also visited a new shopping area near the mountain consisting of brown cottages with sloping roofs, befitting the environment. A local official, Chen Weijun, explained that all the building materials were local, to reflect Changbai culture and customs, and that 80 percent of the commercial area was backed by investment. Work on a green industrial park is also underway, which will become a green industrial area for Changbai, with the focus on ecological conservation and forestry. In commenting on this, Huo Jianjun, deputy-head of the scenic spot, said, that "ecology" and "culture" were the key development words and that he was confident that Changbai would be a leader of Jilin's tourism industry.

The officials arrived at a folk-customs village in the city of Helong, in Yanbian, later that day, where the culture is Sino-Korean and the group was invited to take a look at a factory and kimchi cellar that produce native products that sell across the province and are destined for international markets. One kimchi producer, the Yanbian Jingangshan Food Co, in the industrial zone, is China's largest Korean kimchi producer and does business with shopping malls and supermarket chains like Carrefour and Walmart, and has at least 500 outlets. Zhao Yongzhe, its manager, said they took advantage of the fact that Korea imports 1.5-billion-yuan ($242 million) worth of kimchi from China each year, so he went to study advanced kimchi making and management in South Korea, to get his company into the international market. Later this year, he said, their sauces, rice cakes, and noodles will all be available and that future plans call for 20 factories in China and abroad. The next stop for the group was the city of Hunchun, in Yanbian, and its Hunchun International Logistics Park, which has several areas for trade and business, residences, cargo and logistics, and a direct link to overseas ports in Zarubino, Russia and Pusan, South Korea, and is looking for connections in other countries. Gao Yulong, the Hunchun Party head, told the team that the city focuses on attracting foreign investment and encouraging its enterprises to do business overseas, with seafood as an emerging industry, the result of their effort to open business ties with overseas ports. It has 83 seafood trade companies in the logistics area and expects to earn 4 billion yuan from seafood by 2025.