Jilin province has a varied polymorphous landforms and physiognomy, generally sloping downwards towards the northwest, the character is high in the southeast and low in the nothwest. The Dahei Mountain divides the province into hilly and mountainous areas in the east part and plains in the central and western parts. The former is further divided into the Changbai Mountains and their foothills; and the latter can be divided into high plains in the middle, and grassy marshlands, lakes, ponds and wet sandy soils. There are a variety of landforms – volcanic and eroded landforms, flood plains and alluvial plains. Mountains make up 36% of the land; plains,30%; tablelands and others, 28.2%; and hilly areas, 5.8%.

The local ecological environment is diverse and relatively integral. What’s more, it is highly renewable and well preserved. In terms of eco-regional distribution, the province , from the east to the west is divided into four ecological areas – primitive forests stretching in the Changbai Mountains, secondary vegetation covers in the hilly central and eastern part, the SongLiao Plains in central part, and grasslands and wetland in west Jilin. With a high forest cover rate, an intact ecological system, rich fauna and flora, and abundant precipitation, the Changbai Mountains in east Jilin forms a major protection screen for the eco-environment of Jilin province and of the entire northeast China as well. Dense secondary woods and man-made forests cover the hilly east and central Jilin, endowing a major section of the Songhua River with rich water and mineral resources. With its flat and fertile land protected by a complete chain of shelter forests, and with all the fine conditions for the cultivation of quality farm produce, the Songliao Plain in the central part is a major grain producing centre nicknamed “Golden Corn Belt” and “homeland of Soybeans”. As extensions of the Horqin Grassland, the grassland and wetland in the west are vast and abound in subterranean and passing water, form an ecological transition belt between a moderately moist forests-grassland and a semi-arid grassland-desert area, and provides a major passageway for migrating birds. The low-lying terrain of Jilin receives plenty of sunshine and solar heat, and has vast potentials for developing agriculture and animal husbandry.(The Information Office of the People’s Government of Jilin Province)