The city of Songyuan (sōng yuán 松原) lies in the south of Songnen (sōng nèn 松嫩) Plain, in which the quality of the soil is fertile and the typography plain. The forest on the plain is prosperous. The grassland there is broad. The agricultural resources there are very rich. It is well-known in and abroad for its high yield of crops, such as high-quality corn broomcorn, soybean, rice, sunflower, sugar beet, etc. The one district and four counties administrated by the city of Songyuan are all the national and provincial basis of foodstuff. There are rich varieties of minerals in the City of Songyuan, where large amount of minerals are yield. The main minerals which have been discovered now are petroleum, natural oil, oil shale, etc. Rivers run across all over Songyuan City and lakes distribute here and there in the city. Therefore hydraulic water resource of the city is extremely affluent.

 

Located in the central west of Jilin Province, the city of Songyuan has an area of 22,000 square kilometers and a population of 2.62 million. It is richly endowed by nature and has always been known as "an oil city, a grain store, a meat store, a sea of forest and a fish producer." The Songhua, Second Songhua, Nenjiang (nèn jiāng 嫩江), and Huolin (huò lín 霍林) rivers flow through the city. Songyuan enjoys convenient transportation and prompt communications facilities. Urban construction has changed the city's outlook with each passing day, while people's livelihood has improved year by year. At present, the overall economic strength of Songyuan holds the fourth place among cities in the province.

It is one of the rare cities which do not lack of water in China. It is famous for its three large rivers, one river and one lake. The well known Songhua River, Second Songhua River, Nenjiang River and Huolin River all run through Songyuan City. Chagan (chá gàn 查干) Lake in the northwest of the city is one of the ten great lakes of fresh water in China. Songyuan City not only boasts tourist resources of natural sceneries, cultural relics and humanistic sights, but is also in possession of tourist resources of sera scenery, folk custom, industry scenes, agricultural scenes and urban sceneries, etc. The sera scenes, grasslands, wet lands, and forests in Songyuan City are widely regarded as excellent tourist resources in the world.

In the city, there are several ancient relics, ancient mausoleum, steles with carvings of the old time and post roads of Ming (míng 明) Dynasty and Qing (qīng 清) Dynasty which leading to Central Plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Huang (huáng 黄) River). Of all the ancient relics, such as Tahu (tǎ hǔ 塔虎) Town Relics are national key relics units under state protection.

The natural sights in Songyuan City are especially charming. In the mouth of Sanjiang (sān jiāng三江) River, the waves are as great as if thunder is coming and the water is very broad. Besides, the tide there is as active as to strike the bank in a big way and frequently. In Chagan Lake, fishes swim here and there, up and down. Sometimes they jump out of the water, and sometimes they dive down to the bottom of the lake. Qian'an (qián ān 乾安) earth forest is as magic as it is built by god. The earth forest is constructed as if by superlative craftsmanship.

 

Even though the present city of Songyuan is predominantly modern, the area has a long history dating back to the Neolithic age. The city was part of the ancient state of Fuyu (fú yú 扶余) 2000 years ago, as well as the state of Bohai (bó hǎi 渤海) in 1000 years ago. And there was the militaristic state of Jin founded by the Jurchen (nǚ zhēn 女真) tribe after their victorious arms conquered the state of Liao.

It is authorized by the national government; Songyuan was founded as a prefecture-level city in 1992. Since then it has undergone rapid modernization, thanks in part to the area's profitable oil companies.

In 2007, it was chosen to be one of the cities for the 2008 Olympic torch relay, and was the first relay stop of the province, on which occasion more than 300 media companies, domestic and international, reported on the city. The National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy named a meteor after Songyuan, an honor bestowed only on eight cities in the nation. This series of newsworthy events increased the renown and influence of the city.

 

Songyuan's topography is mainly alluvial plains and mesas. Its terrain is flat and broad and the land slopes gently. The altitude of the city varies between 130 to 226 meters.

The city has four clearly defined seasons - a dry spring; a torrid summer; a cool autumn and a long a chilly winter. It usually rains during July and August. Its average annual temperature is around 4.5 (40.1).

 

Chagan Lake Nature Reserve (chá gàn hú zì rán bǎo hù qū 查干湖自然保护区)
The name "Chagan" is from Mongolian, meaning sacred, pure or white, so the lake is often referred to as Sacred Lake or Holy Water Lake by local people. Chagan Lake is the largest inland lake in Jilin Province and one of the ten largest freshwater lakes in China. The lake water extends 40,000 hectares in northwestern Qianguo County, with Qian'an (qián ān 乾安) to the west and Da'an (dà ān 大安) City to the north. The spindle-shaped Chagan Lake is 37 kilometers from south to north and 17 kilometers from east to west, and its circumference zigzags for 128 kilometers. It presents and enchanting scenery with a vast expanse of water grown with reeds, in which birds find their homes and fish swim leisurely. Chagan Lake is a noted fishing ground, a production base of reeds, and a natural tourist attraction in Jilin Province.

Location: in the northwest of Qianguoluosi Mongolia Autonomous County (qián guō ěr luó sī méng gǔ zú zì zhì xiàn 前郭尔罗斯蒙古族自治县)

Transportation: take bus to Qianguo County at Songyuan Bus Station

Admission Fee: CNY 20

 

Tahu Town is one of the ancient town relics in Liao Dynasty. In Chongxi (chóng xī 重熙) Eighth Year (A.D.1039) of Liao (liáo 辽) Dynasty, a town of the prefecture was set here. The town is square, the perimeter of which is 5,181 meters. It was constructed by use of earth. The town is 6 meters high with four gates. Only the west gate is well preserved. Tahu Town was originally the imperial palace for short stays away from the capital for emperors in Liao Dynasty and the place where the royalties stayed during their spring outing and hunting. At that time not only officials and soldiers of Liao Dynasty stayed in Tahu Town, but also it is the holy place of Buddhism and trade center. Many cultural relics dating from Tang Dynasty to Liao Dynasty have ever unearthed here.
Location: in the north of Qianguoluosi Mongolia Autonomous County (qián guō ěr luó sī méng gǔ zú zì zhì xiàn 前郭尔罗斯蒙古族自治县) as opposed to Chagan Lake

Transportation: take bus to Da’an County at Songyuan Bus Station

Admission Fee: CNY 10

 

The fresh fish used to make the dish is usually the black fish of more than one kilogram. Carps and green pikes can also be chosen.

When making Pou Sheng Yu, one would take away the bowels and shave the scales. Pull the fish skin first and then put it into the boiling oil to fry to be crisp. Chop the crisp fish skin into pieces to be used later. Then cut the meat on the back of the fish and chop into filaments. Put the fish filaments into vinegar and stir.

When the vinegar turns thick, filtrate the vinegar and add new clear vinegar. Stop stirring until the vinegar never turns thick but keeps white. The blending of the dish is bean sprouts, spinaches, and fried fish skin pieces

 

There is no airport in Songyuan City. Tourists can either travel to the south for 157 kilometers to reach Changchun Airport or travel to the north for 207 kilometers to Harbin Airport.          

The traffic in Songyuan City is very convenient. The four railways, Beijing –Harbin, Jingqi (jīng qí 京齐), Changbai (cháng bái 长白) and Tongrang (tōng rang 通让) all run through the city.                    

The five national and provincial highways, Jingha (jīng hā 京哈) Highway, Tuwu (tú wū 图乌) Highway, Shenming (shěn míng 沈明) Highway and so on, run across in the city of Songyuan. The total length of highways in Songyuan city amounts to 4,058 kilometers. Six national and provincial highways, that is, highways of Beijing to Harbin, Tumen (tú men 图们) City to Ulan Hot City, Baicheng (bái chéng 白城) City to Changchun City and so on, then all run through the city of Songyuan.