Jilin City (jí lín shì 吉林市) is the second large city in Jilin Province and also the only city that has the same name with its province. Jilin was originally called "Jilin Wula (jí lín wū lā 吉林乌拉)", means "the city along the river" in Man language. It total area is 27,120 square kilometers and has a population of 4,514,000, the mainly Nationalities is Han and Man. Jilin City is rich in its tourism resources. Songhua Lake is recognized as the national tourist zone, the Jilin Rimed Trees are praised as one of the four nature wonders in China, and the Deer Farm is ranked as the national scenic spots in China. The Beidahu (běi dà hú 北大湖) Ski Resort is regarded as the largest and most advanced skiing ground with the most advantageous natural conditions for skiing. The Meteorite Museum has on display many samples of iron meteorites and stony iron and well as one of the largest stone meteorites in the world.

 

Jilin City is located on the Songnen (sōng nèn 松嫩) Plain at the end of the Changbai (cháng bái shān 长白山) Mountain Range, the east of the central Jilin Province. With the topography that is high in the southeast and low in the northwest, the Songhua River goes through the whole province. Bordering with Yanbian (yán biān 延边) Korea Nationality Autonomous Region to the east, Changchun, Siping (sì ping 四平) City to the west, Bai Mountain (bái shān 白山), Tonghua (tōng huà 通化), Liaoyuan (liáo yuán 辽源) City to the south and Heilongjiang Province to the north, Jilin City has a population of more than 4 million.

Jilin City is abundant in resources and products, such as: land, water conservancy, mine, forest and wild plants and animals, which are all much high than the national average level. It has an especially large storage of water resource which is one of the unwonted cities that is not short of water in China. After 50 years development, Jilin City has evolved into a modernized and industrialized with a complete array of industrial departments, a abundant foundation, setting up such leading industries as chemical, electric power, etc.

 Jilin City is also one of the main the marketable grain bases in China which has a total grain output as much as 2.61 million tons. 

 

 

Jilin is short for Jilin Wula, a Manchu word meaning "a city along the river". Before the Qin (qín 秦) Dynasty (221BC-206BC), the ancestors of the Man ethnic minority lived there. It was brought into the territory of the Jurchen (nǚ zhēn 女真) Jin Dynasty in 1115. In late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it became a part of the Manchu Khanate (Kingdom), which later took over as the Qing (qīng 清) Dynasty (1644-1911) in 1644.

Jilin was established as a fort city in 1673 to keep out foreign and domestic invaders. While it was established in the fear of attack, the city remained relatively peaceful until World War II when the city suffered heavy damages and was looted by Russian troops. After the Communist victory, Jilin's fortunes improved as the city transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse. Today it specializes in the manufacturing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and machines, as well as electricity from its hydroelectric power plant. Jilin is now the second largest city in the province, with a population of a 1.3 million people.

 

 

Jilin belongs to a temperate continental monsoon climate. Located at a high altitude, the city has four distinct seasons, among which the winter is especially long and chilly. Due to the terrain, the temperature drops accordingly with increasing heights from the northwest to the southeast.

Jilin has long, cold winters and short summers. Between July and September, the city has average temperatures of 20 ºC (68 ºF). With the winter's heaps of snow, temperatures plummet as low as -40 ºC (-40 ºF); snow starts as early as November and the coldest month is January. However, the winter months are a great time to visit, when the city is transformed into fantastic world of snow and ice.

 

Beishan Park, located in the southwest of the city, consists mainly of hills rising to a height of some 200m. In the eastern part are the Temple of Guandi (guān dì miào 关帝庙) and Pavilion of the Jade Emperor. These temples and a viewing pavilion provide a fine panorama of the city. It was set up in 1924 which is the important scenic spot in Jilin Province. The array of ancient temples in the North Mountain characterized by a blending of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, lie in the upside of the North Mountain Park. The kiosks, bridges, corridors and water garden sprinkled among the verdant forests and serene mountains.

 

Jilin Beidahu Ski Resort is an important ski sport base and tourist resort in China. Beidahu's advantageous location surrounded by mountains on three sides guarantee a comfortable weather conditions with very little to no wind in winter. The resort has two slopes with ski runs from the two peaks that head into the valley of the resort. The highest peak is 1357 meters high, or about 4450 feet. The base of the ski resort that includes the hotel is at the bottom of a valley at an elevation of about 537 meters. There are 6 trails and 6 lifts. It was opened in 1996. Because it is in the northeastern tip of China, the weather is usually cold enough for skiing. It is an out of the way and uncrowned ski resort that is fairly inexpensive to visit especially if you dine and lodge offsite, with good skiing in a scenic.

Location: Wuheli Town (wǔ lǐ hé zhèn 五里河镇), Yongji County (yǒng jí xiàn 永吉县), 56 kilometers away from Jilin City in northeastern China's Jilin Province.

Transportation: take minibus to Beidahu Skiing Resort which has 5 times a day and ticket is CNY 20 at Jilin City Bus Station

Tel: 0432-4202168

Admission Fee: CNY 20 (Rental with lift ticket is RMB360/4 hours or RMB400/day on the weekend)

Tips: because of the colder weather, the best time to ski is 10:00-14:00.

 

The water of Songhua Lake is derived from the second Songhua River of Changbai Mountain. It is formed by the water which is held up by the Fengman (fēng mǎn 丰满) water power dam. Songhua Lake is as wide as 480 square km and as long as over 200 km. The lake has a narrow and long shape which is 10 km wide upside and only half a km downside, winding along the mountains all the way.  The Songhua Lake is as deep as 70 meters which can hold 1.1 billion cubic meters water. It is also reputed as one of the biggest manmade lakes in China. The best travel time is summer. When you go upstream by boat, you can feel the gentle breeze kiss your face. Except summer, you can enjoy different kinds of beautiful sceneries in different seasons. Eating the fish dish, traveling the Songhua Lake, drinking the fish soup will be a big enjoyment.

Location: Jiaohe City (jiāo hé shì 蛟河市)

Transportation: take 30 to 40 minutes special line bus at the Jilin City Bus Station

Opening Time: 8:00-17:00

Tel: 0432-7160198

Admission Fee: CNY 40(including the boat ticket)

 

Lafashan National Forest Park is located in 17 kilometers north of Jiaohe (jiāo hé 蛟河) City, which a mountain is standing, east-west, 886.12m above the sea level, covers an area f more than 20 thousand hectares, and its water area is reached over 300 square kilometers. Lafashan is a mountain which is said that it is a place for Taoist to practice austerities in the ancient time. There are old and big trees which shade blocks out the sun, dozens of species of birds which thrive in the forest, and many famous strange rocks. Lafashan Mountain National Forest Park is a national AAAA-class tourist destination, there are six scenic areas, including the Lafa Mountain, Qingling (qìng lǐng 庆岭), Laoye Hill (lǎo yé lǐng 老爷岭), Red Valley, glacial trench (bīng hú gōu 冰湖沟), Songhua Lake.

Location: Lafa County (lā fǎ zhèn 拉法镇) and Qingling County (qìng lǐng zhèn 庆岭镇), Jiaohe City

Transportation: take the travel bus at 6:30 AM. at Jilin Bus Station

Tel: 0432-72229192

Admission Fee: CNY 50 (Lafa Scenic Area) and CNY 100 (Qingling Scenic Area)

 

Museum is located in the south bank of the Songhua River in Jilin City meteorite, Jilin, near the bridge. IT is the first meteorite shower as a special exhibit of the museum. The world's largest museum collection of meteorites - One of China Jilin meteorite and sent a dozen countries around the world all kinds of meteorite specimens.

In March 1976 a heavy meteorite shower hit the area around Jilin. This shower reputedly originated in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.
After the 1976 shower, local astrologers took action to preserve the 138 pieces of meteorite they found. Many of these pieces can be seen in the Meteorite Museum today. The heaviest piece weighs a hefty 1,775kg and it is said to be the largest extant meteorite in the world. Scientific analysis determines the meteor fragments to be 4.6 billion years old, about the same age as the earth.

Address: No.100 Jilin Avenue

Transportation: take bus No.3, 103

Opening Time: 8:00-18:00

Tel: 0451-87681919 

Admission Fee: CNY 80

 

Strange in such a small and comparatively insignificant city, the Confucius Temple in Jilin is a grand and stately structure. The temple was built in 1909, just two years before the collapse of the last of the Chinese dynasties, the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).  The south-facing complex is 221m by 74m large, surrounded by walls on four sides that rise as high as three meters. You will see most of the standard buildings here: the Hall of Great Achievements, the Hall of the Relics of the Sage and various periphery structures. Exhibited in the temple are pictures and literature portraying and depicting the life and accomplishments of Confucius. In addition, the Forest of Steles is also a good place for those fascinated by Chinese calligraphy.

The highlight here is probably the statues, one of Confucius, and another of his student, Mencius, who was one of the disciples who was to spread Confucianism after the sage, had died.

Address: No.2 Wenchang (wén chāng 文昌) Road

Transportation: take bus No.3, 59

Opening Time: 8:30-17:30

Tel: 0432-2459630

Admission Fee: CNY 15

 

With the beautiful scenery, Longtan Deer Farm is a national corporation that integrate feeding deer, trading and touring together. With its advantaged geographic location and convenient transportation, it covers an area of 380 hectares. Longtan Mountain Deer Farm has an amount of over 1000 deer stock on hand with an annual production of deer antler of about 750 kg.   The deer farm service department mainly sells the antler series production that is produced by this factory branded as "Longtan Mountain", Such as: the antler of the spotted deer, three forks deer antler, beheaded deer antler; different specs antler pieces, deer antler powder, deer heart, common red ginseng; different kinds of ginseng pieces, frog oil, Changbai Mountain never old grass; glossy series of cordial wine and cosmetics.

Address: No.7 Luchang Road (lù chǎng lù 鹿场路), Longtan District (lóng tán qū 龙潭区)

Transportation: take bus No.43, 45, 12, 30

Admission Fee: CNY 10

 

 

White Pork and Blood Large Intestine (bái ròu xuè cháng 白肉血肠):The sliced white pork is as thin as a piece of paper, with its fine and tender meat and a savor of being fat but not greasy. The blood large intestine is tender and tasty. 

          

Qingling Active Fish (qìng lǐng huó yú 庆岭活鱼): The way of doing it: kill the fresh carp and wash it clean, after fry it, add some local "Bahao" as its main seasonings, boil it with big fire, and braise with slow fire.

 

 

Jilin Ertaizi (èr tái zǐ 二台子) airport is located in the northwest of Jilin City which is 33km away. There are regular flights to Beijing, Shanghai Pudong (pǔ dōng 浦东), and Guangzhou every week.

It has a history of over 80 years which is the hinge of the material communication of the east of Jilin Province. The railway is 1400.8 km long, extended from the Jilin City to the direction of Shenyang, Changchun, and Harbin.

It will take you only one and half an hour to get to Changchun City by Changji (cháng jí 长吉) freeway. The Jihui (jí huī 吉珲) super highways to Yanbian and Changbai Mountain had also been constructed. The No.202 national highway goes through Jilin, stretching to Harbin in the north and Shenyang in the south.