Zhuxing Korean Ethnic Town in Bei'an City, Heihe

Zhuxing Korean Ethnic Township is situated in the southern part of Bei’an, Heihe, on the alluvial plain fed by local river systems. It is a typical compact Korean settlement in central Heilongjiang, with generations of Korean residents settling here to develop cold-region paddy farming. Ethnic Korean population accounts for a large proportion of local permanent residents. Relying on tens of thousands of mu of irrigated rice fields, intact traditional Korean folk customs and pastoral countryside scenery, the township develops featured rural tourism integrating ethnic experience, ecological agriculture and leisure sightseeing.

I. Korean Ethnic Cultural Background

1. Immigration and Farming History

From the mid-20th century onward, numerous Korean families migrated to Zhuxing from Yanbian, Mudanjiang and other traditional Korean inhabited areas. They transformed low-lying marshland into fertile paddy fields by diverting river water, pioneering rice cultivation in the Bei’an hilly plain area. For decades, Korean and Han villagers have lived in harmony, inheriting mature cold-water rice planting techniques unique to northeastern Korean farmers. Zhuxing organic rice gradually becomes the landmark agricultural product of the township. During the Anti-Japanese War, local Korean villagers actively supported the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, leaving precious red ethnic integration history.

2. Intangible Heritage and Seasonal Folk Festivals

Traditional folk crafts including hand-pounded rice cake, cellar-fermented kimchi, glutinous rice makgeolli brewing and handmade rice sausage have been passed down locally for decades. Folk art troupes regularly stage long-drum dance, nongak farming dance, swinging, seesaw and Korean wrestling.

Annual Featured Folk Activities

• Spring Sowing & Apricot Blossom Festival: Apricot flowers bloom around courtyard houses; villagers hold traditional sacrificial rituals for farming alongside costume parades and folk performances.
• Midsummer Korean Food Carnival: Open-air barbecue feasts, group rice-cake pounding experience and all-day folk singing and dancing shows.
• Autumn Kimchi-making Festival: Local Korean households gather to pickle cabbages and seal homemade rice wine jars, the most representative seasonal folk custom.
• Winter Rural Hotpot Festival: Tourists taste traditional Korean hot pot amid snow-covered villages and experience indoor handmade snacks.

Dwellings and Traditional Etiquette

Core villages preserve rows of grey-tiled white-wall Korean-style courtyard residences equipped with traditional heated ondol floors. Local people fully retain classic Korean etiquettes including hwagap (60th birthday grand banquet) and distinguished guest reception rituals, which can be experienced at rural homestays.

3. Featured Korean Cuisine

Recipes combine homegrown rice and freshwater aquatic products from surrounding rivers:

• Signature dishes: stone-grilled beef, glutinous-stuffed chicken, soybean paste hot pot and spicy marinated river fish;
• Daily staples: handmade cold noodles, bibimbap, rice sausage, perilla leaf wraps and homemade fermented kimchi;
• Special local products: home-brewed makgeolli, Zhuxing organic rice and dried wild mountain vegetables.

II. Four Major Tourism Sections

1. Korean Folk Experience Tourism (Core Project)

• Korean Folk Exhibition Hall: Displays antique farming implements, old ethnic costumes and daily necessities, documenting the local Korean migration and rice cultivation history, serving as popular study-tour spot for primary and middle schools.
• Folk Commercial Street: Concentrates Korean catering stores, ethnic costume rental shops and handcraft workshops; tourists can rent traditional Korean clothes for photoshoots and join DIY kimchi or rice-cake making.
• Featured Korean Homestay Cluster: Multiple courtyard inns with traditional ondol rooms; visitors stay overnight in farm households and join bonfire parties with folk performances in the village square at night.

2. Ecological Paddy Field Sightseeing

Large contiguous rice fields form vast pastoral landscapes. Sightseeing plank roads stretch across paddies with viewing platforms for overlooking layered green or golden rice waves. Colorful crop paintings themed on Korean folk culture are planted in the core rice field zone. Tourists can participate in seedling transplanting in spring and rice harvesting plus field crab catching in autumn.

3. Rural Ecological Leisure & Mountain Picking Tourism

Surrounding hills are covered with natural secondary forests abundant in black fungus, wild mushrooms and various wild vegetables. From late spring to early autumn, mountain picking activities become a popular tourist item. Countryside orchards and flower belts near villages form casual walking routes for family travelers.

4. Red Culture Study Tour

Based on preserved Anti-Japanese Allied Forces related sites within the township, scenic spots showcase stories of local Korean people’s contribution to anti-Japanese resistance, forming a combined “red culture + ethnic customs” study route.

III. Classic Travel Itineraries

One-Day Self-Drive Route

Visit Korean Folk Museum → DIY rice cake & kimchi experience → Ethnic costume photography → Paddy field plank road sightseeing → Lunch with authentic Korean dishes → Mountain wild vegetable picking → Evening bonfire folk performance.

Two-Day In-depth Tour

Day 1: In-depth folk experience in core Korean village, rice field activities and overnight at characteristic homestay.

Day 2: Red revolutionary site study tour → Farmhouse river fish feast → Purchase local specialties before departure.

IV. Optimal Travel Seasons

• May–June (Spring): Apricot blossom viewing, spring ploughing experience and the annual farming-themed festival.
• July–August (Midsummer): Lush green rice paddies, cool mountain climate and full-schedule food festivals and folk shows.
• September–October (Autumn Harvest): Golden rice fields, centralized kimchi pickling and fresh rice purchasing season.
• November–February (Winter): Snow village scenery, indoor handmade snack experience and warm Korean hot pot feast.

V. Featured Tourist Souvenirs

1. Agricultural goods: Zhuxing organic rice, dried wild mushrooms, black fungus and packaged wild mountain vegetables;
2. Edible specialties: Boxed cellar kimchi, handmade rice sausage and bottled home-brewed makgeolli;
3. Handicrafts: Korean fabric ornaments and folk painted crafts.