About 800 km to the south, the culture of the European vine ("V. vinifera") is possible in the region of Beijing only if the vines are buried under a thick layer of earth in winter to protect them from extreme cold. Faced with this difficulty, the Japanese tried to take advantage of high resistance to cold of the wild vine in the region to produce wine. In 1936 the Changbaishan Winery Ltd was created and Tonghua Winery Ltd 1938. in the region of Jilin, west of Changbai Mountains near the North Korean border. The climate of this region can be characterized by long, cold winters and short, warm summers, with average January temperatures ranging from -14 to -20 °C. At the time, the basement of Changbaishan produced 40 tons of wine.