Baiquan County 拜泉县

Setting and landscape

The county is a landscape of long, gentle ridges and low hills. On the east the Tongken River (通肯河) forms its boundary with Bei'an (北安) and Hailun (海伦); Mingshui County (明水县) lies to the south, Yi'an County (依安县) to the west, and Kedong (克东县) and Keshan (克山县) counties to the north. Other waters include the Shuangyang River (双阳河) and the Sandao town reservoir (三道镇水库). The climate is continental and monsoonal, with about 122 frost-free days a year.

The name comes from a local spring. The old name, Babai Bulake (巴拜布拉克), is Mongolian: babai means "treasure" and bulake means "spring".

History

Baiquan County was set up in 1906, the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign. The county government notes that it was named a national advanced county for farming in 1958. From the 1980s it pursued ecological farming and built up 71,343.9 hectares of planted forest, and the county government says that in 1992 it became the first county on China's plains with a million mu of planted forest. In 2001 the United Nations Industrial Development Organization named it an international green industry demonstration zone.

Food and local products

Baiquan lies on black soil, and maize, soybeans, wheat, potatoes, rice and kidney beans are its main crops. It has been named China's home of kidney beans and of yellow beef cattle, and in 2016 the China Wildlife Conservation Association named it the home of sika deer. Local products listed by Chinese Wikipedia include grass and willow weaving, flax wadding, Sandao town garlic (三道镇大蒜) and Limin green onions (利民大葱). The county also has large bentonite deposits.

Getting oriented

The county seat is Baiquan town (拜泉镇). National road G202, the Harbin–Heihe road, runs through the county from south to north.

Highlights

• Sandao town garlic 三道镇大蒜: Listed among the county's local products.
• Kidney beans 芸豆: Baiquan has been named China's home of kidney beans.