It's home to 25 ethnic groups, including Koreans, Mongolians and Hui, and is celebrated as the cradle of the Manchu ethnicity and their ancestors, the Sushen people.

"People in Yanbian love rice, ginger soup and pickled vegetables, and cold noodles and rice cakes are ethnic Koreans' favorites," Zhang says.

The prefecture is also a summer getaway since temperatures hover around 22 C from June to August.

The Changbai Mountain nature reserve, the Tumen River and the former site of the ancient Bohai Kingdom (698-926) are must-sees for visitors.

The prefecture has agreed upon strategic cooperation with China Youth Travel Service, which will tap its cultural and tourism resources to develop more products and services for travelers, the travel agency's vice-president Xu Xi says.