探访中朝边境小城，仅1步到朝鲜！看朝鲜省委书记家啥样

探访中朝边境小城，仅1步到朝鲜！看朝鲜省委书记家啥样

When talking about Changbai, many people’s first thought might be Changbai Mountain. At the foot of the southern slope of Changbai Mountain. There is also a county named “Changbai”. It is China’s only Korean Ethnic Autonomous County. There is no railway access or highway here. Only two national highways lead to it. Yet it undertakes trade between China and North Korea. On an area of over 2,500 square kilometers. More than 70,000 people live here. Among them, 16.8% are of Chaoxian (Korean) ethnicity. It is also the largest settlement area where the Chaoxian (Korean) ethnic group resides in China outside Yanbian Chaoxian Autonomous Prefecture. Where are you from? From South Korea. Korean ethnicity. Our ancestors were from South Korea. Changbai County is located at the source of the Yalu River. Facing North Korea across the river. It is not only the county in Jilin Province with the longest border with North Korea, but also the only county in China that is adjacent to a neighboring country’s provincial capital with zero distance. Located in the hinterland of Changbai Mountain, it is rich in natural resources. Changbai County has the high-grade diatomite resources which is second-largest in the world and the largest in Asia. It is also home to one of the world’s three major mineral water sources. It has long been known as “The first county at the foot of Changbai Mountain and the first county at the source of the Yalu River”. We originally planned to visit the Southern Scenic Area of Changbai Mountain, which is only open for 4-5 months a year. But we unexpectedly discovered this mysterious border town. What does this border county adjacent to North Korea look like? What’s it like to overlook North Korea from Changbai County? What folk stories about North Korea are there here? This time, we come to Changbai to take a look. I’m afraid North Koreans will shoot you. –Wow, they can even shoot us? –What do you think? This is also a filming location for “A Lifelong Journey”. Even the Provincial Party Secretary is under your surveillance. We are all friends. Let’s ask about the housing prices in North Korea. Just now, we stood by this river, and saw a soldier coming out on patrol with a gun on his back. Can these tree leaves also be sold? I carried a bag of rice, but the rice disappeared right after one meal. We are going to have lunch now. In this small town of Changbai County. I noticed there is a street. The entire street is full of places to eat. So we plan to go and try some local specialty foods. Border cities like these along the North Korean border are basically areas where the Chaoxian (Korean) ethnic group lives in concentration. So the roadside billboards or street signs here are basically in two languages: Chinese and Korean. I think this ceramic shop must sell very well. It’s Dajiangjun Ceramics(In Chinese, Dajiangjun means General, “General” is also an official title for North Korea’s top leader). Friends, we will have lunch on Xinshi Street. Xinshi Street is also a relatively important street in Changbai County. And on both sides of this street, there are all kinds of dining places, and places for consumption. At the entrance of this Xinshi Street, the front side is in Chinese, and the back side is in Korean. The street is very well-built. It looks very nice. There are some lanterns by the roadside. It should look very beautiful at night. There are many small taverns on this street. As well as restaurants and massage parlors. Anyway, the whole street feels like a commercial street in Changbai County to me. It’s a place for consumption, eating, drinking and entertainment. But why are there so few people on this commercial street in Changbai County during the day? Maybe everyone is at work. I searched online. The total length of Xinshi Street is nearly 600 meters. The overall design of this street is modeled after the architecture of the Tang Dynasty. So we can also see on this street, many architectural elements from the Tang Dynasty. Such as this gate, and the lanterns by the roadside. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, the area of Changbai County belonged to Goguryeo. Later, after the Tang Dynasty joined forces with Silla to destroy Goguryeo, the Bohai Kingdom was established on this land. At that time, the Bohai Kingdom was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. So at that time, the cultural exchanges and communication between the Bohai Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty were relatively close. Therefore, the culture of the Tang Dynasty also had a relatively profound influence on the Bohai Kingdom. I think this may have influenced the construction of this street to a certain extent, with some architectural elements from the Tang Dynasty incorporated into it. Hahaha. There’s a Niuniu Store across the street. Let’s take a photo with this Niuniu Store. Dear friends, we’ve found our people here. Niuniu Store. Later, we’ll eat at this Haitanghua Snack Bar. It’s a highly recommended spot we found online. Let’s go in and see what delicious food they have. The Top 10 Famous Catering Stores in Changbai Korean Ethnic Autonomous County. Friends,we finally get to have lunch today. Since there are no two-person tables inside we’ll have our lunch outside today. Beef Pan Grill. There are some beef inside, as well as beef tendons and some onions. Actually, they gave us a whole plate of raw beef and you cook it on this hot plate by yourself. I think it should be cooked now. Let me have a taste first. It’s good. The meat has a little bit of chili, but I think I can handle it. It’s a spicy and fragrant flavor, and I think this beef cooked on this hot plate is still quite tender and elastic, so it’s very chewy and it doesn’t taste dry at all. For the beef tendons, you shouldn’t cook them too long, I cooked them for about 5 minutes and they’re basically ready to eat. Actually, before we came to Changbai County, I had been looking forward to this beef hot plate for a long time. When I was checking travel guides, almost every guide post recommended that when you come to Changbai County, you must try this beef hot plate. I wonder if you’ve heard of Yanbian yellow cattle meat. I think this might be Yanbian yellow cattle meat. It should be among the best and most delicious yellow cattle meat in China. And this hot plate isn’t very big overall. It’s just… this size, a small flat pan. So with such a big plate of meat they served, you can’t cook it all at once. You need to cook it in several batches, and just sit here, cooking and eating slowly, enjoying this kind of slow small-town life. I really think coming here is wonderful. This is the second dish we ordered. Cold Tossed Pollock Shreds. As for pollock, it mainly lives in the cold deep seas of the North Pacific Ocean, such as the Sea of Japan or the Bering Sea. Pollock grows in these sea areas. Basically, most of the pollock in China is imported, because China doesn’t have territories adjacent to the high-latitude cold deep sea areas of the North Pacific. That is to say, in Northeast China, the pollock we eat near the North Korean border is mostly imported from North Korea or Russia. Let me taste this pollock first. Hmm. I think the texture of this pollock meat. It is a bit like squid shreds when you bite. I wonder if you’ve ever tried that kind of shredded squid that’s dried in the air or roasted dry with a slight salty taste. It has a texture similar to that. And the sauce has completely soaked into the pollock meat. So when you pick up a piece of meat and put it in your mouth and start chewing, the sauce inside will slowly seep out as you chew with your teeth. The meat is still quite tender and it’s very chewy too. Not the kind of dry and tough meat. The taste of this dish combines three flavors: sweet, salty and spicy. Of course, the chili in Korean-style specialty dishes like kimchi or some other dishes with chili added, it’s actually not very spicy, I can handle it. The flesh of pollock is stringy, so it’s actually easy to break it into shreds. If you tear it like this, it comes apart into strips. Some fish flesh just can’t be torn this way. It feels like pollock has a filamentous texture， unlike certain other fish, which fall apart or mash when you try to tear them. The last dish we ordered is called Black Bun. This Black Bun is also one of the local specialty foods here, its overall appearance is black. So I think that’s probably how it got the name “Black Bun”. As for this Black Bun, I feel it looks like an extra-large boiled dumpling. It’s really big. I have to show you, this is my palm and this Black Bun. It is about half the size of my palm. Its overall appearance is a relatively coffee-like dark color and the outside is also shiny. About this Black Bun, we just asked the boss that the wrapper of this Black Bun is made of potato starch. In the past, due to material scarcity, the local Korean people to save wheat flour, chose to use flour ground from potato starch. Someone also used rotten potatoes or frozen potatoes. After thawing, peeling, cleaning and drying, then ground them into powder to replace wheat flour. The filling inside the Black Bun is chives with eggs and meat. It’s quite to my taste. When you first bite into it the outer layer made of potato starch is very elastic and also very smooth. You can feel it sliding on your tongue, if you’re not careful, it slips down in a flash, just like… a couple in a passionate relationship breaking up suddenly, it makes you feel… a kind of regret of not chewing it thoroughly enough. So when eating this Black Bun, if you really enjoy that chewy texture you must chew it more. Otherwise, it slips down along your tongue, right into your stomach. For today’s lunch, we ordered three dishes and two bottles of Dayao soda. We have both fish and meat, it costs 134 yuan in total. I think that’s quite reasonable, because two of the dishes we ordered, one is beef, and the other is imported pollock, the price is quite reasonable. It’s less than 70 yuan per person for two people and we even couldn’t finish the pollock in the end. If everyone manages to finish all the food per person, actually 50 yuan per person is about enough. And just along this street where we’re having meals, keep going straight, when we’re almost at the end, there’s a building that’s quite distinctive. It looks very much like the White House. I think it’s quite normal for Changbai County to have a “White House”. This building right next to me now. This one. Oh，Yes. But actually it’s the Tax Bureau of Changbai County. I think this Tax Bureau building is… Quite nice-looking. It really looks like the White House. What else do you want then? You wanna fight (This is a joke)? Haha. Friends, on my left is the Yalu River and over there is North Korea. Changbai County is separated from North Korea by a single river. It’s really, really close. The post-dinner entertainment of the elderly in Changbai County. Wow, they can even fish here. Wow, this is the first time I’ve been so close to the Yalu River. Wow, did you catch all these today, uncle? Another fish is on the hook. What kind of fish is this? This is Liugenr (willow root fish). –Liugenr (willow root fish)? –Yes. You guys do self-media? Yes, we do self-media. Oh. We’re just here to travel. How many people have come? Huh?? Are you a self-media group? No, just the two of us. Me and my wife. –Just the two of us. –I thought a group was coming. Haha, no, it’s not. I was thinking a group was coming to boost Changbai County’s GDP. What kinds of fish are there in the Yalu River? There are quite a… quite a few fish species in the Yalu River. But this is the upper reaches. Oh, here is the upper reaches. –Right. –Oh. If you go to Dandong, there are all kinds like “Three Huas, Five Luos and Eighteen Zis” (local fish varieties). But here, near us. What kinds of fish have you caught? Well… We commonly call this one “Sha Li Pa Zhe” (In Chinese, literally translated, it means “lies in the sand”). What’s that? This one. “Shan Li Pang Zi” (In Chinese, literally translated, it means “fat guy in the mountain”)? It lies in the sand. Oh, “Sha Li Pa Zhe” (In Chinese, literally translated, it means “lies in the sand”), right? Yes, yes, yes. This one is Qinglinzi (green-scale fish) and Beiji Hui (Arctic catfish). Oh, this one is quite big. Hey, another one is on the hook. That one is Liugenr(willow root fish). –Liugenr(willow root fish). –Huh. –Liugenr(willow root fish) is a kind of… here? –It’s a cold-water fish. Oh. Is it a local dialect name for the fish here? –No, it’s called Liugenr all over the country. –Wow, consecutive catches. It’s commonly called Liugenr nationwide. Nice! You got two with one hook, uncle! Hmm. <(￣︶￣)> Can I pick this up to have a look? Go ahead and look. Wow, so many fish. When you take these fish back… –Do you just fry them and eat? –Yes. I need to squeeze them. I have to wash that… I have to wash them. Squeeze out the dirty stuff inside their bellies. Oh. Braise them with sauce. Stew them in Korean-style sauce soup. Oh~~ Mm! Oh wow. Then you can drink half a catty of liquor with them. How long did it take you to catch all these today? It took… more than half an hour. More than half an hour for so many fish?! Mm. Wow, that’s great. –Three people (caught these). –Oh. So do you guys come here to fish every day? We grew up here since we were kids. We’re also guarding the border, in a way. Without people like us, who would keep an eye on the border? We keep an eye on every move of North Korea. Hahaha. —Otherwise, the North Koreans might… –That’s good Well… Otherwise, you wouldn’t know their movements. That’s good. Wow. This one… It’s really big. Wow, if you fry this whole plate, it must be delicious. A restaurant would charge at least 80 yuan for a plate of this. So catching this many fish, you must be going to drink until you’re tipsy tonight. Of course we will. Drinking without getting tipsy is a waste！ Hahahaha. Drinking without getting hammered is no fun！ So here, by the Yalu River. You can’t do ice fishing in winter, right? You can do ice fishing, but you’re not allowed to go near the riverbank. The only thing to worry about is getting shot by North Korean troops. –Wow, they can even shoot us? –What do you think? Then they don’t care if we fish here? Because there are many people here. If you were alone, they would probably shoot you. Oh my god！ Huh?! What do you think? I don’t even see where their people are. –Where would they shoot from? –They’re hiding over there. They’re hiding in the grass on the other side?! Yes. Wow, that’s too dangerous. They’re watching every move you make. So if we were here alone, coming to fish at night. WTF… they would really shoot you. So that means every time we come to fish by this river, we have to come in a group like this, right? Yes, only in a group. Why are their chimneys smoking nonstop? What kind of factory is that over there? It’s an asphalt factory. They don’t care about environmental protection. The smoke is drifting over to our side. Oh shit, it was really bad a while ago. We couldn’t even breathe while sitting here fishing. Oh my god. –I’ll leave first, uncle. –Okay. Bye. Bye. Do you live around here, uncle? Yes, I’m a local. Wow. Are you of Korean ethnicity? I’m Han ethnicity. –Han ethnicity. –The Korean ethnic people are here. You’re of Korean ethnicity. This uncle is of Korean ethnicity. Have your family lived here for generations? Yes, my ancestors are buried here. A lot of people in Northeast China came from Shandong during the “Chuang Guandong(Braving the journey to the Northeast)” period, right? Yes, about 90% of them. So your ancestors weren’t from Shandong? My ancestors were from Shandong. Also from Shandong. My grandfather was from Shandong. So he also came during the “Chuang Guandong(Braving the journey to the Northeast)” period? Yes. Our ancestors aren’t from Shandong, though. Yes, you’re from the other side of the river. I’m not from there. Where are you from? South Korea. –Then you should leave quickly. –Hahaha. –Korean ethnicity… –Our ancestors were from South Korea. –That’s true. –They also migrated here. Yes. Is that an industrial area in North Korea over there? Yes, it’s an industrial area. No wonder I don’t see many people there. There used to be more people. Now they aren’t allowed to come out. Is that area in North Korea a city, a village or a suburb? A city. It’s Hyesan City. Is Hyesan a major city in North Korea? Yes, it’s their third-largest city. You could go there in 1994? We just had to go through the procedures. What was it like over there back then? It was during a time when they were short of food. You had to carry a bag of bread over there. I didn’t. I carried a bag of rice, but after one meal, it was disappeared. I have no idea where it was, probably hidden by those relatives. Oh, I see… We are now at the entrance of Changbai Port Scenic Area. It seems like we need to buy tickets. Okay. Payment done. I need to keep this ticket, right? Thank you. We bought two tickets. The ticket for Changbai Port is 30 yuan each. There are also some steps here. Oh. There are a few lines of words printed on the ground. Changbai, China. The First Port at the Source of the Yalu River. China-North Korea Border. The Most Beautiful National Highway G331. China-North Korea Border Commemoration. Friends, the long bridge on my left is the Changhui International Bridge. One end connects Changbai County in China, and the other end connects Hyesan City in North Korea. That’s why it’s called Changhui Bridge. The total length of the bridge is 148 meters. This bridge is still in use today. We enter from here. Right across the river on the other side, over in North Korea… there were people playing volleyball, though I had no idea what they did for work. Look. A serve! Oh no, it went into the net. That truck is carrying cabbages and there are many people standing on it. Do you see that? Friends, the line in front of us now is the “No Entry for Tourists” line at Changbai Port Scenic Area in China. This side is North Korea and this side is China. You can see there is Korean writing on the ground in North Korea. And on our Chinese side, there are actually four characters “中国长白” (Changbai, China) printed on the ground. So right now… If I, hey~ come over here to take a photo around both sides of this “No Entry for Tourists” line as a souvenir. It’s like I’ve been to North Korea, more or less. But why am I allowed to come here? Because there are still staff members of the scenic area here. So, hey~ I am back in China again. This Changbai Port in China actually still have trade exchanges with North Korea. Because we only stayed on this Changhui Bridge for about half an hour, and 5 trucks passed by back and forth. I don’t know what goods are under the tarpaulins. They are transporting a steady stream of goods back and forth. Wow, as soon as that truck passes, I can clearly feel the bridge shaking up and down. There’s a slight vibration. It’s quite shocking. Friends, that tall building on my left is in North Korea. There’s an observation deck ahead or a small pavilion, I think. Let’s go over there to take a look what that tall building looks like. The water area in the camera is the Yalu River. And over there, there are two white buildings, right? Both of those buildings are more than ten stories high. The white building on the left, I just counted, it has a maximum of 12 floors. And the white building on the right, I just counted too, it has 19 floors. These tall buildings all have elevators inside. And in this yellow-and-white building, there are still many people living here. The homes of these residents all have lights on. And one household has even installed an air conditioner. This household’s living conditions should be quite good. I read some news materials before that some buildings in North Korea don’t have central heating, so residents need to burn firewood by themselves or burn coal to keep warm. Therefore, the rooftops of some buildings have chimneys and we can see smoke coming out of the chimneys. But I think these buildings don’t need to burn firewood for heating unless they use air conditioners or central heating, because there are no chimneys on their rooftops. On the small slope between the buildings and the river on the opposite bank, they have built a tall wall. Ordinary people can’t walk to the riverbank, because there are border sentries by the river. There’s a small white tower over there, in that location. That’s a border sentry post. Just now, when we stood by this river, we saw a soldier come out on patrol with a gun on his back. This building is still under construction. It should be built taller than the one on the right side ahead. Let’s take a look how far along its construction is. There are still people working on it. It’s already past 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Aren’t they off work yet? Hmm, they’re… Are they building a balcony? They’re pouring cement upwards. Contributing to the construction of the motherland. Actually, just from what we can see looking towards North Korea from Changbai County. I think the houses they built are actually quite good. There are tall buildings and also rural areas. In rural areas, many houses have small yards. This also has a Northeast Asian idyllic rural style. And there are also many tall buildings standing. Overall, I think it looks quite nice. Let me show you the blue hour of the Yalu River. It’s 17:04 in the evening now. This is the Yalu River in autumn. Hello, North Korea. Friends, it’s 6:30 in the evening now. It’s completely dark outside. We plan to show you the night view of Changbai county town. The night view of the county town is really beautiful. Both sides of the street are full of colorful lights and neon lights. And on the wall of every residential building, there are such very ethnic-style patterns made of colorful lights. And none of these patterns are the same. Some show people dancing, some show people watering flowers, and there are other movements and scenes. Wow, it’s really beautiful here at night. On this wall, there are Korean girls playing musical instruments (in the light pattern). Kitty Kitty. Because Changbai County is extremely close to North Korea, so it’s not allowed to use drones for filming here. We’re now going to a higher place to show you all the full view of Changbai County. Friends, we’ve now arrived at a relatively high hillside in Changbai County. This hillside is actually a park. It does have street lights installed, but none of them are on. So there’s no one else in the entire park right now, just the two of us. Friends, this is the night view of Changbai County. It’s really quite beautiful. All lit up with lights. And on the opposite side of Changbai, there are some scattered lights over there, not many though. That side is North Korea. The brighter side here is China. The contrast feels quite strong. Hyesan City is just a border city. But for a border city to be built like this, I think it’s already very good. Do you think people in North Korea can also see the night view of Changbai County? Of course they can. Changbai is so close and so bright. It’s probable to see it. Their side is all mountains. Standing on the mountains, they must be able to see it. Changbai Korean Ethnic Autonomous County gives me the feeling that it’s very similar to Mohe County(Another border county in China) at night. If it snows a little more and there’s snow on the roads, it would be even more similar. Friends, because on this observation deck, there really isn’t a single light on in this park. We’ve been filming in the dark here for half an hour. So now we plan to take a photo with the night view of Changbai County behind us. This scene is really rare. Coming here late at night to take a photo with the beautiful night view of Changbai County. Sharpening scissors~ Sharpening kitchen knives~ Sharpening scissors~ Sharpening kitchen knives~ This inside is the small market. Let’s see what’s being sold in this market. Over here, they’re selling some mountain products. I see there are mushrooms, wood ear fungus. What’s this? Is this ginseng? I think it should be something that grows in the soil. Like the root of something. Nanguo pears—10 yuan for 3 jin (1.5 kilograms). Taro here—2.9 yuan per jin (0.5 kilograms). “Super Delicious”(advertising slogan). Hehe. Big hazelnuts. These hazelnuts are really big indeed. Bright yellow. Oil chestnuts here—4.9 yuan per jin (0.5 kilograms). Wow, are these chestnuts this big? These chestnuts are huge. Super big. They’re grown right here in the mountains? Yes. So this is genuine ginseng grown in Changbai Mountain? Yes. How much does this cost? 210 yuan per jin (0.5 kilograms). 210 yuan per jin (0.5 kilograms)? –Can this single ginseng root weigh 1 jin? –No. Some of them, a few, can be 1 jin. That one is 1 jin. Wow. How long does it take to grow this big? About seven or eight years, maybe ten years. Ten years? Wow, that’s impressive. Ganoderma lucidum (lingzhi mushroom). And all kinds of mushrooms. All sorts of mushrooms. I can’t even name some of them. I’ve barely seen these things before. Can I ask you something? Go ahead. I’m just traveling here and taking some videos. –To promote this place a bit. –Yes. What kind of mushroom is this? That’s nián mó (sticky mushroom). Mucous membrane? (mishearing, sticky mushrooms and mucous membrane are pronounced the same in Chinese.) This mushroom smells really good. Is this the kind used in… –the “braised chicken with mushrooms” dish? –Yes, exactly. Which one? This one? Shenjing tea (Kidney Meridian Tea). Oh, this is Shenjing tea (Kidney Meridian Tea). What effects does it have? It reduces inflammation, relieves internal heat, and diuresis. It also nourishes the kidneys and invigorates yang. Oh, invigorates yang(To be a better man)? Invigorates yang(To be a better man). Can these tree leaves also be sold? This is yinyanghuo (Epimedium). Yinyanghuo? Yinyanghuo. Yinyanghuo can be used to infuse white liquor. Used for infusing white liquor. What effects does this one have? This one also nourishes the kidneys. Also nourishes the kidneys. Drinking it is good for the kidneys. If I drink these two together, I think it would be… They probably shouldn’t be consumed together. Would they be extremely effective? If you drink them together. It should be fine. I’ve never drunk them together. They’re not poison or anything. So it should be okay, right? Is this a local specialty here? It grows on top of rocky cliffs. –It grows on rocks? –Yes. Look at the video I took. Okay, okay. It grows right here. On rocky cliffs. All rocks. On top of big rocky cliffs. It grows in places like this. We use sticks to knock it down when we can’t reach it. Use sticks to knock it down? Yes, knock it down with sticks. On the highest mountains. The top places. –Growing at the highest points? –Yes. Is it hard to climb up there? Oh wow, climbing really high places, if you’re not careful, you could easily fall and die. They are so high. Some are low though. Some are really high. Are all these wild? Yes, all wild. Growing on top of rocks. This market besides daily necessities like fruits and vegetables, also sells all kinds of mountain products. Because there are many forests here, so it’s rich in various mountain products. We just bought four bundles of Shenjing tea (Kidney Meridian Tea) to taste what it’s like. Friends, we’re now heading to Tashan Park in Changbai County. This park is on a high slope. So we can not only overlook the entire view of Changbai County in Tashan Park, but also look far across to North Korea on the other side. There’s also an ancient building in Tashan Park, called Lingguang Pagoda. Let’s go take a look together. As soon as we enter the gate of Tashan Park, there’s a house with strong Korean ethnic characteristics The weather in this area of Changbai County is really unpredictable. Sunny one moment, cloudy the next and raining after that. I think this also reflects to some extent why it’s said that Tianchi (Heavenly Lake) can only be seen in its true form 30% of the time in a year, because the weather here is really changeable. The weather forecast said it would be sunny today, but as you can see, it’s actually cloudy today. These houses closer to the camera are all on Chinese territory, this is Changbai County. While the houses closer to the hillside, especially those at the foot of the mountain, that side is Hyesan City in North Korea. In fact, we can also see that on the hillsides in North Korea, many trees have been cut down, especially a section of forest on the opposite side which has been cut down very neatly and regularly. It seems that there are very few plains suitable for growing crops, so they have to cut down trees on the lower and gentler hillsides to use those areas for growing crops. There’s a sign by the road in Tashan Park. It turns out this is also a filming location for “A Lifelong Journey”(a Chinese TV drama). It was used in Episode 57 of “A Lifelong Journey” The classic scene includes Zhou Rong’s daughter Feng Yue returning to the place where Zhou Rong taught in Guizhou and having a conversation with Principal Gong on a tree-lined path, marveling that “a natural chasm has turned into a thoroughfare”. “Thousands of rivers in the south of the Yangtze River.” “Ten thousand layers of mountains in Yunnan and Guizhou.” “In five hundred years, Yunnan and Guizhou will surpass the south of the Yangtze River.” In fact, this scene was filmed on the tree-lined path of Tashan Park in Changbai Korean Ethnic Autonomous County. There are mushrooms growing on the trees. Look, on this branch, there are also mushrooms growing. I don’t know if these are edible, because I can’t recognize them. ♪My home♪ ♪My hometown♪ A winding path leads to a secluded spot. We came across a small forest. No one comes here. The fallen leaves on the ground have piled up thickly. We’re taking a walk in this small forest. This place is really beautiful. And the forest is covered with these small pine cones. They’re everywhere on the ground. Like little bugs. That building ahead is the Lingguang Pagoda from the Bohai Kingdom period. There are two steles here, marked in both Chinese and Korean, stating it’s a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit. Erected in 1988. This pagoda has a history of more than a thousand years. It’s one of the few remaining ancient buildings from the Bohai Kingdom period in China. Going down one flight of stairs from Lingguang Pagoda area, there’s a platform here from which we can overlook North Korea opposite. We can see further from this spot. I can even see a bend in the Yalu River over there. There’s still smoke rising beside the Yalu River. What you’re seeing in the frame now was shot through an ultra-powerful telescope belonging to an uncle here. Let me show you this. Directly in the frame right now is a famous university in North Korea. It’s an agricultural and forestry university. The uncle is now adjusting the telescope to show me a North Korean women’s artillery regiment. Hopefully you can see some beautiful women there. Let’s see if there are any. The beautiful women haven’t come out yet. What time do they usually be active? I haven’t kept track of the exact time. Hahaha. Uncle, you’re not being responsible here. You need to keep an eye on that. Well… keeping… no… I can’t keep constant watch. I see something. You should check in from time to time. Like keeping track of when they get up, when they’re active and when they eat. This is the women’s artillery regiment. The thing covered with white cloth in the frame now is their artillery. Where is the uncle aiming now? The Provincial Party Secretary’s home and its surroundings. The Provincial Party Secretary’s home?! Wow, Uncle, you really… Did you bring two bottles of liquor and go visit him? Even the Provincial Party Secretary’s home is… Oh wow. That blue house. It’s a standalone house with a courtyard. A standalone house with a private courtyard? Hey, this doesn’t seem like socialism(Just a joke). How can the Provincial Party Secretary live in such a luxurious house? Provincial Party Secretary? But this is Hyesan City, right? It’s Yanggang Province. Equivalent to Changchun City in our Jilin Province. That’s what it means. Oh~~ It’s Yanggang Province, Hyesan City. I see a car driving on the road. –Is there a dog at the Provincial Party Secretary’s door… –Any dogs? No dogs… Wait, there are dogs. A person is walking a small white dog. Maybe a police dog. There are two or three police dogs. Police dogs? –Can’t really tell. –They look like Labradors.. Big dogs anyway. Big dogs. You have such a great “job”. Come on~ Even the Provincial Party Secretary is under your “surveillance”. –We’re all friends. –Hahaha. We’re all friends. –Bingo! That’s the core of it! –Nice, nice. We’re all friends. There’s also the provincial government and municipal government. Come on~ Friends, take a look first. The one above is the provincial government. The one below is the municipal government. Why don’t they hang the current leader’s portrait there? They only hang his grandfather’s and father’s. Maybe his rank isn’t high enough yet?(A joke) He’s still alive after all. Uncle, how do you know so much about the situation over there? We have connections with related units. You know it like the back of your hand,hahaha. The provincial governor is his friend, so he just… I’m promoting the beautiful scenery of North Korea. Wouldn’t he be happy about that? Did you just have 2 liang (100ml) of liquor and come from his home? I drank it at noon and came back in the afternoon. Did you just come from his home? –Can we take a look at those buildings over there? –Sure. Okay. You even want to see the layout inside their homes. Haha. Let’s ask about house prices in North Korea. These newly built high-rises are all elevator buildings. This one is for sale to the public. 3,500 yuan per square meter (RMB). They even sell to Chinese people? You even know the price per square meter. Chinese people can’t buy them, only for North Koreans. These are North Korean high-rises Who said there are no high-rises in North Korea except in Pyongyang? There are high-rises here. See? Crystal clear, friends. The average monthly income (in North Korea) is about 200 yuan. –Is that RMB or another currency? –RMB. Here in Changbai County. Are all taxis in the county priced the same? There’s a mortuary over there. 10 yuan (for a taxi ride there). There’s a hospital over by the hospital, 7 yuan (for a taxi ride there). 5 yuan for all other places. Wow, that’s really cheap. Cheap indeed. It used to be 2 or 3 yuan before. When was it still 2 or 3 yuan? During the pandemic. It was 2 or 3 yuan during the pandemic?! It didn’t go up then. Wow, so that means the taxi fare here only increased to 5 yuan in recent years. During the pandemic, pork prices rose to 20 yuan per jin (0.5kg). Back then, the taxi fare only went up by 2 yuan. –Before the pandemic, it was always 3 yuan. –3 yuan. 3 yuan. This must be the cheapest taxi fare I’ve ever heard of in China. Oh, people even went to the government to complain about it. Complained about us taxi drivers. But the complaints were useless. With prices rising across the board,how could taxi fares not go up? In the past, the county had over 70,000 people. Now it doesn’t. Now there aren’t even 10,000 people left. Less than 10,000 people in the county town? Mm, yes. That’s why there are so few people on the streets. Mm, almost everyone left. There are plenty of empty houses—whole buildings are empty. Young people went out to work elsewhere. Yes. Many cities are facing this kind of predicament. –Young people… –It’s the Northeast… All the young people have left. What the taxi driver said filled us with a touch of melancholy as we prepared to leave. When a generation chooses to head far away, there are still people measuring their hometown with 5-yuan taxi rides. Changbai County, this small border town hides a faint sadness left by population migration. But looking back at its past, every inch of land here is engraved with a vivid history of population changes. As early as the late Neolithic Age, humans lived and thrived here. The Lingguang Pagoda from the Bohai Kingdom period of the Tang Dynasty has stood firm for over 1,200 years despite wind and rain. It stands as enough witness to the prosperous scene of tens of thousands of people building the pagoda back then. After the Qing Dynasty lifted its ban on the region (following a period of closure), people from inland areas and Northeast China moved here one after another. North Korean border residents also crossed the Yalu River to settle here and gradually became Chinese citizens. From over 3,000 people when the county was first established in the late Qing Dynasty to steady growth after the founding of New China, various ethnic groups took root and integrated here, forming a pattern of multi-ethnic coexistence. Nine ethnic groups, including Han, Korean, and Manchu, live together on this land. In their daily lives where two languages are used, lie cultural genes passed down from generation to generation. The ancient pagoda tilts slightly among the autumn leaves, quietly watching over the daily life and twilight of the world. On this side are Korean dances woven by lights. On the other side is the gentle, dotted night view of Hyesan. The Yalu River still flows, carrying the stories of the fishing elders, carrying the ruts of cross-border trucks, carrying the daily scenes of mutual gaze between the two banks. Perhaps population migration has changed the appearance of this small town, but those marks spanning thousands of years and the scene of multi-ethnic coexistence, have long been deeply integrated into Changbai’s blood, becoming its warmest and most touching essence. That’s all for this video, If you like it, thank you for your likes, shares, comments and subscription. In the next video, we will explore with you “China’s most dangerous volcano” and the small town at its foot. See you in the next video. Bye.

我们原本计划去中国长白山南景区——那里每年只开放四五个月，游客也少得多——结果却意外发现了距离长白山南景区50公里的中朝边境小镇——长白县。它与中国最著名的活火山长白山同名。

距离长白县最近的中国城市也在200多公里之外。虽然官方登记人口超过7万，但据当地人说，实际居住人口不足1万。

我们很高兴能如此近距离地了解朝鲜，这个世界上最神秘的国家之一。我们从当地人那里听到了许多关于朝鲜的故事——希望也能与你们分享！

❤ 您可能感兴趣的部分 ↓↓↓

00:00 开场白
02:50 朝鲜民族特色美食
13:39 朝鲜当地故事
20:16 一步之遥，直抵朝鲜
24:29 朝鲜民居
27:22 中朝边境夜景
31:34 长白市场令人惊叹的山货
35:44 长白县立公园
40:37 用高倍望远镜眺望朝鲜
44:05 结尾

#中国 #中国美食 #朝鲜 #旅行