Heilongjiang Tourism: Exploring Harbin Northeast Tiger Forest Park (Photo)
I had long heard that Harbin has the world's largest wild Siberian tiger nature reserve. On the morning of April 9, 2021, the journalist, along with other media reporters participating in the "Shengshi Aurora" Mohe Connected Destination Special Train Launch Event hosted by Harbin Railway International Travel Service and co-organized by Huayun Cultural Tourism Group, had the opportunity to explore this place as the first stop of the one-day Harbin cultural tour on the second day of the event.
Harbin Airport (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Early in the morning, a bus departed from the Harbin Sunac Wanda Vista Hotel where they were staying, heading towards the Northeast Tiger Forest Park located on the north bank of the Songhua River. The tour guide Hongyan from Harbin Longlv Group vividly introduced the diverse tourism resources of Harbin along the way. Suddenly, the journalist noticed a uniquely shaped architectural complex on the banks of the Songhua River. Hongyan explained that it was the Harbin Grand Theater.
Harbin Grand Theater (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
After about 20 minutes of driving, we finally arrived at the Northeast Tiger Forest Park. Looking around, the park was filled with various tiger-themed decorations. The journalist took his first photo here in front of a sculpture of a tiger pulling a cart.
Photo at Tiger Forest Park (Photo by Hao Jiaxiang)
After entering the scenic area, we boarded a sightseeing bus enclosed by double-layer wire mesh on all sides and began our tour. The park had layers of wire mesh and iron gates like a prison. At each area, the iron gate would automatically open, and once the bus entered, it would close immediately.
Sightseeing bus at Tiger Forest Park (Photo by Hao Jiaxiang)
Hongyan introduced that the Northeast Tiger Forest Park, covering an area of 360,000 square meters, is a park established to rescue and protect the endangered Siberian tigers. The park currently has an adult tiger area, a cub area, and a science education exhibition hall. Thirty wild tigers roam freely, and visitors must take a special tour bus to wander among the tigers.
Entering Tiger Forest Park (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
It is particularly worth mentioning that for the purpose of training the tigers to be wild, the park prepares a series of animals ranging from chickens to cattle. Visitors can choose to purchase one or several types according to their preference and financial situation, and these are released into the tiger groups by a work vehicle. The scene of a group of tigers hunting is absolutely unique in the world.
Tiger resting in the park (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Passing through different types of tiger areas, some big and small tigers circled the bus, while others lay on the ground, completely ignoring the sightseeing bus. It was quite amusing.
Glaring fiercely (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
The most thrilling sight was the feeding of live prey to the tigers. A group of tigers competed for the food, a scene both dangerous and interesting, unforgettable.
Free-roaming tigers (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Exploring the Northeast Tiger Forest Park reminded the journalist of a series of idioms starting with 'tiger', and he felt a personal connection. Especially witnessing the tigers fighting for food: when a chicken was thrown into the enclosure, a group of tigers immediately rushed to compete, and after it was finally caught by one tiger, the others voluntarily left. This truly illustrated the meaning of the idiom 'the tiger eats alone' (meaning one person takes all the benefits).
The tiger eating alone (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
Currently, the Harbin Northeast Tiger Forest Park has a science education exhibition hall for educational purposes, and 11 viewing spots for visitors, including the wild training area, adult tiger area, growing tiger area, breeding tiger area, tiger-lion area, African lion area, tiger king area, cub area, walking area, and tiger viewing platform. Visitors can see over 100 purebred Siberian tigers, 8 white tigers, 1 snow tiger, 2 white lions, 2 ligers, 3 black jaguars, and 20 African lions.
Walking tiger viewing area (Photo by Feng Ganyong)
In the morning, besides taking the bus to several tiger areas to search for tiger tracks, the journalists also entered the circular walking area and the tiger viewing platform to see the various rare tigers and lions mentioned above, which was truly eye-opening. Exploring the Harbin Northeast Tiger Forest Park was well worth the trip. (Text and photos by Feng Ganyong)
