Hailar: Tale as old as the grassland (2)

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Hake Cultural Relic attracts visitors with its Neolithic relics. (China Daily/ Wang Kaihao)

As the rain reduces to drizzle, I immediately ask the driver to stop the car so that I can feel the grass.

Unnamed yellow flowers have just begun to bloom. It is hard to walk across the high grass. A large herd of cows rest in the cool weather, oblivious to my presence.

Grass is not the only natural wonder of this place. Hills in the west of Hailar offer a national forest park, covering an area of approximately 150,000 hectares. Pines spread restlessly on the slopes and valleys.

Men and women of the Mongolian ethnic group twist colorful khatag — blessing silk piece — on the branches of a 500-year-old plant, nicknamed "God of Tree".

The air is extremely fresh after the rain. I climb up to the highest point of the park, 664 meters above sea level. The scene of Hailar's downtown looks like a mirage.

If I had not read the tourists' brochure, I would not have guessed the many legends buried under the marvelous landscapes.

Hake Cultural Relics, located 30 km to the east of Hailar, is the site where nine Neolithic relics were discovered in 1985.

I wander into the 1,500-square-meter museum, which exhibits items including jades, daily articles and weapons, from 4,000 to 5,500 years ago.

There are more than 280 Neolithic relics around Hulunbuir, considered by archeologists to be the origins of many nomadic civilizations in northern China.

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