Lindian County 林甸县

Setting and landscape

The county government describes Lindian as a plain 142.7 to 172.4 metres above sea level, higher in the northeast and lower in the southwest, shaped like a shallow dish, with no mountains and no natural forest. The Wuyur River crosses the northwest and spreads out downstream into the Jiudaogouzi (九道沟子) channels; the Shuangyang River (双阳河) enters from the northeast and feeds Heiyu Pao (黑鱼泡) and Jiudaogouzi. The mean annual temperature is 4°C.

What to see

Lindian is an important core area of the Zhalong national nature reserve, and the county government counts more than 190 species of rare birds living there, among them red-crowned cranes, Siberian cranes, common cranes, white storks and mandarin ducks.

The county also sits on a geothermal field. The government puts the geothermal field's static reserve at 181 billion cubic metres, with water at 40 to 60°C at the wellhead from depths of 900 to 2,400 metres, rich in selenium, silicon, iodine and other trace elements. The China Mining Association named Lindian a "Hometown of Hot Springs in China", and the county has three 4A-rated scenic areas. Geothermal bathing and spa tourism grew after large-scale development of the resource began in the 1990s.

History

In 1912 a land-reclamation bureau was set up at Daqijiadian (大戚家店) to open the land to farmers; a Lindian administrative bureau followed in November 1914 and became a county in July 1917. Lindian fell under Manchukuo in 1932, was taken by the Northeast Democratic United Army on 21 March 1946, and was transferred to Daqing on 21 August 1992.

Food and local products

Farmers grow maize, rice, soybeans, potatoes and sunflowers on chernozem soils, and the government promotes the county's rice as weakly alkaline. Reservoirs such as Dongsheng (东升水库) and Sihe (四合水库) supply crucian carp, catfish and grass carp. The grasslands produce sheep grass and wild medicinal herbs including gentian, bupleurum and saposhnikovia, and the county is an important dairy base for the province.

Getting oriented

The county seat is Lindian town (林甸镇), and the county government puts Lindian 230 kilometres from Harbin. The G10 national route crosses the county. Neighbours are Fuyu (富裕县) and Yi'an (依安县) counties to the north, Dorbod County (杜尔伯特蒙古族自治县) and Daqing to the south, Qiqihar to the west, and Anda (安达市), Qinggang (青冈县) and Mingshui (明水县) to the east.

Highlights

• Zhalong National Nature Reserve (Lindian section) 扎龙国家级自然保护区: Lindian is an important core area of the reserve; the county counts more than 190 rare bird species, including red-crowned cranes.
• Lindian geothermal field 林甸地热田: A large medium- to low-temperature field; Lindian is named a Hometown of Hot Springs in China.