Lesser Khingan Range: Hometown of the Korean pine
CGTN
02:53

Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, and to the east of the Greater Khingan Range, is the Lesser Khingan Range.

It covers an area of nearly 78,000 square kilometers.

The history of the range can be traced back to about 600 million years ago, when it was originally an ocean.

Trilobite and dinosaur fossils have been unearthed all over the mountains.

Being an important base of timber forest, the Lesser Khingan Range has a wood stock volume of about 450 million cubic meters.

Korean pine, or Pinus koraiensis, is often referred to as red pine.

With Korean pines of 43 million cubic meters in stock, it owns more than half of the country's total stock of Korean pines, gaining it the name: "hometown of the Korean pine."

The pine wood is light, soft and rot-resistant. Its pine nuts are edible and can be used to make oil.

More importantly, its ecological value is outstanding.

Every hectare of the Korean pine forest can absorb 13 tonnes of carbon dioxide and emit 9.5 tonnes of oxygen every year.

A variety of precious wildlife live in the forests, such as sable, Eurasian lynx and Ural owl.

Squirrels like to store their favorite pine nuts in different places as they prepare for the winter.

Having poor memory, however, they often forget where the deposits are.

The leftover pine nuts sprout in the spring, thus further expanding the Korean pine forests.

(Cover image a screenshot from the video)

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