Fangchuan Dragon-Tiger Pavilion (防川龙虎阁)

The Dragon-Tiger Pavilion is a viewing tower in the Fangchuan scenic area of Jingxin Town, Hunchun City, in the far east of Jilin province, where the borders of China, Russia and North Korea meet. The pavilion was built as a modern lookout, in traditional multi-storey style, to allow visitors to see the lower Tumen River, the Sea of Japan coastline and the three countries in a single view. It stands near Changgufeng, known in Russian as Zaozernaya and in Chinese as Zhanggufeng, a low hill that was the scene of the Changkufeng Incident of July and August 1938. In that clash, Soviet and Japanese forces fought for several days over the contested border height, with significant casualties on both sides, and the episode is regarded as a precursor to the larger Khalkhin Gol fighting of 1939. The Fangchuan area lies in a tightly controlled border zone, and entry is regulated, so the pavilion is the main public point from which this landscape can be seen. From the upper levels, visitors look south to North Korea's Tumen River bank, east toward the Russian railway bridge and the Russian Khasan area, and out to the river mouth. Exhibits at the foot of the pavilion and nearby display boards explain the border geography, local history and the 1938 clash, along with markers of the border points. The area also contains a border-marker stone and a small park. The pavilion is a modern construction rather than a historical building, and its significance is in the view and the interpretive material. A visit takes about one to two hours, and checkpoint procedures at the entry make a passport essential.