Bird’s-eye China: Heilongjiang, the northernmost province

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CCTV's groundbreaking documentary series, "Bird’s-eye China", is the first Chinese program to have been produced using drone technology. Each episode in the series celebrates the history, culture and natural beauty of a different area of China. Spanning 34 vastly different provinces and regions, this series is the most difficult and expensive documentary that CCTV has ever produced.

Join us in this unique journey across the sky, as CGTN looks at the best of China’s breathtaking scenery.

Heilongjiang, the northernmost province

Where China reaches its northernmost point, lies Heilongjiang province. The Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains are covered by an ocean of trees. The Heilongjiang River waters two vast alluvial plains, helping to make the province “China’s largest granary.”

Beiji Village, Mohe County is located in the northernmost part of China. It’s called Beiji, or Arctic Village – even though the Arctic Circle is 1,500 kilometers away. That said, it certainly conforms with most people’s idea of what Arctic scenery looks like. One of the coldest places in China, it holds the national record for the lowest-ever recorded temperature, of minus 52.3 Centigrade.

Harbin first staged its famous Ice and Snow World in 1999, to greet the new millennium. It has been held every winter since. Even in winter, snowmakers are needed to help create this famous world of ice and snow. Ice becomes bricks, and snow, walls. In this way they have created a winter kingdom like something out of a fairy tale.

Flying to the southernmost point in Heilongjiang brings us to China’s “Snow Town.” The annual snowfall here is heavier than anywhere else in the country. The snow can stay on the ground for more than 200 days of the year.

Only by flying over the Greater Khingan Mountains do you get a real feel for just how vast the range is. This 73,000-square-kilometer forest covers one-sixth of Heilongjiang Province.

Siberian Tiger Park is home to 500 Siberian tigers. Descended from just eight purebreds, they’ve lived in this specially-created reserve since birth. Until recently, Siberian tigers were on the verge of extinction in China. Breeding bases were established to protect them.