About 6,000 years ago, human beings started to live in this area. It is the cradle of China's northeast ethnic minority group Gaojuli and Manchu culture. In the Western Han Dynasty (260BC-24), it belonged to the Zhenfan Shire. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) government firstly set up county there formally. In 1985, it became a prefecture-level city in the approval of the State Council. Most of Tonghua's land is covered with mountains and hills which incline from high south to low north. Tonghua enjoys typical temperate continental climate. It is dry and windy in spring while hot and rainy in summer. Winter is quite long and cold. Autumn is a good tourism season due to the pleasant weather.