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Home Travel in Jilin Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
Travel in Jilin

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

Yanbian (yán biān 延边) is an autonomous prefecture with a population of 2.2 million and covers a total area of about 43,000 square kilometers which is located in the Changbai Mountains (cháng bái shān 长白山) in southwestern Jilin Province, the prefecture borders Russia in the east and is separated from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by the Tumen River (tú men jiāng 图们江) in the south. Yanbian is a renowned tourist zone. Changbai Mountain Natural Reserved Area, which was authored by UN as "Human and Ecosphere" ; the unique scenery of Tumen River Area, which extends as long as one thousand mileages, the scenery of border, the precious site of ancient Bohai Kingdom (gǔ bó hǎi wáng cháo yí zhǐ 古渤海王朝遗址), and the social customs of Korea nationality attract and enchant a great number of tourists form all over the world.
 
History
Yanbian Old Great WallBefore the Tang (táng 唐) Dynasty (618-907), this region once belonged to the territory of Bohai Kingdom and Koguryo Kingdom (gāo gōu lì wáng cháo 高句丽王朝) successively. It was not until the early Qing (qīng 清) Dynasty (1644-1911) that the court decided to seal the vast land north of Tumen River off from the external world because Changbai Mountain and its neighboring place are the birthplace of Manchu..          
 
Geography and Climate
Geography Yanbian lies at the northern foot of the Changbai Mountains, with mountainous region occupying about seventy-eight percent of prefecture's territory. The terrain of the prefecture slopes downward from the west to the east, and mountains, hills and basins are hierarchically distributed.   
Bearing a temperate humid monsoon climate, Yanbian is characterized by four clear seasons. It is dry and windy in spring, while the autumn is cool and the winter is chilly. June to August is the rainy season of Yanbian. Its annual average temperature falls around 2-6 (35.6-42.8).   
 
People and Culture
Korean PeopleIt is the largest region where Korean nationality lives in compact communities and one of the earliest areas implemented the system of regional autonomous prefecture of China. Nineteen nationalities live there such as Korea nationality, Han nationality, Man (mǎn 满) nationality, and Hui (huí 回) nationality etc, of which the ethnic minorities account for 43.9% of the total population.
The prefecture, a land of songs and dances known in and outside of China, has green mountains and clear waters. Buried underground everywhere are precious mineral deposits. The Koreans are an ethnic group good at singing and dancing. They are enthusiastic, bold, and unconstrained.
 
Attractions
Changbai Mountains Scenic Area (cháng bái shān fēng jǐng qū 长白山风景区)
Changbai MountainsChangbai Mountains (cháng bái shān 长白山) is named so because its main peak, the White-head Mountain is covered with white rocks and thick snow. It is the highest hilly area in the Northeast of China. The highest peak in the mountain range is as high as 2691 meters. It starts with An'tu (ān tú 安图) County in Jilin province in the north, originates from Fusong (fǔ sōng 抚松) County in the west and extends to the realm of Korea in the south. The Changbai Mountains Scenic Area (cháng bái shān fēng jǐng qū 长白山风景区) is a national 5A scenic tourist area which is covered in Antu, Fusong and Changbai Korean Autonomous County (cháng bái cháo xiān zú zì zhì xiàn 长白山朝鲜族自治县). Changbai Mountains North Slope Scenic Area is located in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture (延边朝鲜族自治州). This scenic area is open up earliest and the infrastructure is much better. The best spots in this area are included Heavenly Lake (tiān chí 天池), Jiechuo River (chéng chá hé 乘槎河), Changbai Waterfall, and Heifengkou (hēi fēng kǒu 黑风口) and so on.
Location: Erdao Baihe (èr dào bái hé 二道白河) Town, An'tu (ān tú 安图) County, Yanbian (yán biān 延边) City
Transportation: take train or bus to An'tu County at Yanbian City and then take special tourist minibus to Erdao Baihe Town.
Admission Fee: CNY 168 (including the bus ticket in the Scenic Area)
 
Fangchuan Village (fáng chuān zhèn 防川镇)
Fangchuan VillageSeventy kilometers south of Hunchun (hún chūn 珲春) City is Fangchuan, a village at the foot of Zhanggu Peak (zhāng gǔ fēng 张鼓峰) in Jingxin County. Several kilometers further ahead is the marker erected on the border between China and Russia in 1886 under the supervision of Wu Dacheng (wú dà chéng 吴大澄), the imperial envoy of the Qing Dynasty, and the representative of tsarist Russia. The village is merely 15 kilometers from the Tumen River. From the lookout tower on top of a hill in the vicinity, one can have a blurred vision of the mist-shrouded Japan Sea (rì běn hǎi 日本海) extending to the horizon in the distance and the scenes along China's border with the D.P.R.K. and Russia.
Location: Jingxin County (jìng xìn zhèn 敬信镇), Hunchun (hún chūn 珲春) City
Transportation: take train or bus to Hunchun City at Yanbian City and then take special tourist minibus to Fangchuan Village
Admission Fee: CNY 20
 
Maor Mountain National Forest Park (mào ér shān guó jiā sēn lín gōng yuán 帽儿山国家森林公园)
Maor Mountain National Forest ParkMaor Mountain National Forest Park is covered with varied pines, elms, poplars, and various bushes. A great many wild animals like pheasants, hares etc inhabit here. Different kinds of mushrooms exist in the dense meadows. The traffic of Maor Mountain and forest is convenient. The mountain has many various Korean folk parks that used to live in, from which it is a good way to get knowledge of Yanbian customs. The folk park has numerous entertainment programs like circus performances. The atmosphere is so joyful when Koreans wear Sunday dresses and thread their way among the throngs of people on holidays or festivals.
Location: Yanji City (yán jí shì 延吉市)
Transportation: take bus to Yanji City at Yanbian Bus Station
Admission Fee: CNY 10
 
Tumen Port (tú men kǒu àn 图们口岸)
Tumen PortTumen, an important arterial railway line of the east of Jinlin Province, has the passenger trains destined for Jinlin, Changchun, Mudanjiang (mǔ dān jiāng 牡丹江), Shenyang (shěn yáng 沈阳), and Beijing etc. Tumen is also the biggest border city of Jinlin Province. Tumen River Bridge, administered by China and DPRK, is the boundary of these two countries. You can stand the side of the river and enjoy the views of the alien river and country. The bridge was divided into two parts and was painted two colors. The side of the bridge that was painted in red belongs to China; the blue is DPRK.
Location: Tumen City (tú men shì 图们市)
Transportation: Take bus to Tumen City at Yanbian Bus Station
Admission Fee: CNY 20
 
the Ruins of the Ancient Bohai Kingdom (gǔ bó hǎi wáng cháo yí zhǐ 古渤海王朝遗址)
The Ruins of the Ancient Bohai KingdomIt was the ruins of Tang Dynasty (táng dài 唐代) (618-907AD) and Five Dynasties (wǔ dài 五代) (907-960AD). Balian Town (bā lián chéng 八连城) is the residence of the ruler of Bohai Kingdom of Tang Dynasty .Balian Town was the capital of Bohai Kingdom from 785 to 794AD and was known as the second largest town in the Asia. The surface of the town is square. The town has double city walls. There is a door in every external wall. There are the ruins of the moat outside the city wall. The length of the north and south walls of the internal wall is 218 meters. There is a door in the every middle of wall in the south, east, and west respectively. Eight architecture relics still remain in the internal city wall. The town excavated many kinds of tiles like panties, board ones, tiles with green and yellowish ones etc. Many tiles are engraved with words.
Location: Hunchun (hún chūn 珲春) City
Transportation: Take bus to Hunchun City at Yanbian Bus Station
Admission Fee: Free
 
Xianjingtai National Scenic Area (xiān jǐng tái fēng jǐng míng shèng qū 仙景台风景名胜区)
Xianjingtai National Scenic AreaSituated in the southeastern part of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, 130 kilometers from Helong City, the scenic area stretches for 499 square kilometers, and the main peak stands 920 meters in elevation. The mountain peaks present a unique topographic feature be cause of the crevices in the granite rocks and spherical weathering. There are more than 300 man-made landscapes and scenes on the other side of the border in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The scenic area is of great value for scientific research and tourism development.
Location: Dehua County (dé huà zhèn 德化镇), Helong City (hé lóng shì 和龙市)
Transportation: Take bus to Helong City at Yanbian Bus Station
Opening Time: 7:00-18:00
Admission Fee: CNY 50
  
Local Food
Korean Roasted Beef (cháo xiān kǎo niú ròu 朝鲜烤牛肉)
Roast BeefGet out of the muscle and membrane of the fresh beef, slice into pieces, and add the mixture of the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic end, white sugar, pepper, monosodium glutamate, and balm. Put catsup wine, capsicum power, white sugar, white vinegar, caraway power, garlic etc into the small bower. Put the charcoal stove in the center of the table and set Bizi above the charcoal stove. Then nip the meat in the Bizi to roast. You can eat it after dipping some flavorings. It tastes soft, fragrant, salted, and hot with burnt meat outside.
 
Muffin (sōng bǐng 松饼)
MuffinMuffin is similar to dumpling. Please roll the rice and flour that have been mixed into small covers and put the stuffing into the inside made by sesame, jujube, and sugar. Then put it in the leaves of pine and steam it.
 
Pickles (yān cài 腌菜)
PicklesPickles are also called hot Chinese cabbage and kimchi in Korean. It is the most distinguished diet in the Korean nationality. Pickle can be made all the year around. Select some first-class cabbages (the cabbages with core are fine) and fresh cucumber and radish etc, put in the light brine to ferment. Then add the pepper, ginger slices, garlic, and caraway seeds. It is edible several days later.
 
Da Cake (dǎ gāo 打糕)
Da CakeDa Cake is made by thumping the glutinous rice that is cooked. It should be sliced into blocks. It tastes delicious if you dip some sugar or honey etc. Therefore, Korean nationality has been considering Da Cake as the first-class dainty. Da cake is the essential food in the festivals and marriages and receiving the honorable guests.
 
Transportation
By Air
Yanji (yán jí 延吉) Airport, which can bear the medium-sized airplanes, has flights destined for large and medium-sized cities of China like Changchun, Shenyang, Tianjin (tiān jīn 天津), Dalian (dà lián 大连), and Beijing etc. It will have non-stop flights destined for some countries and RoadDistricts, such as Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, etc before long.
By Train
Every city and every county has railways in Yanbian. The railway Tumen-Huichun has been completed. The over 160-km-long Sino-Russian Port Railway enters Russia through Hunchun. It is the second important one in Yanbian linking railway lines with the foreign country. The annual railway passenger traffic volume is 13,400,000 persons. The freight transportation of railways is 14 million tons.
By Long-Distance Bus
The autonomous prefecture has 274 highways of different levels, which has a total mileage of 3875 kilometers. Two national highways and three provincial ones are main arteries spreading the whole autonomous prefecture and linking with the highways of Russia and DPRK. The annual Passenger Traffic Volume is about 26 million passengers. The freight transportation of highways is 18,790,000 tons.
Yanbian Scenery