Living in Jilin |
[Above: Time lapse photo downtown]
|
J
[Above: narrows at Songhua Lake ]
Jilin City (Chinese: 吉林市; Pinyin: Jílín Shì), is located in Jilin Province in China, situated in hilly area near the Songhua river. Jilin is a very popular destination for Japanese tourists who come each winter to view the spectacular ice-rimmed trees on display along the banks of the Songhua River.
Ice-rimmed trees are a natural phenomena that take place every year during January and February, and occur when warm Songhua River water rise up to meet the cold -20 degrees night air.
When this happens ice crystals form on the beautiful pine trees, making for excellent winter scenery. Ice-rimmed trees in Jilin are one of the four natural wonders of China.
Jilin is a small city by Chinese standards, about one million people. Jilin is unique in that a beautiful river (the SongHua) runs through the city center and it is surrounded by mountainous foothills.
While Jilin is a Northeastern city, and it does get cold in the winters, it also has beautiful warm weather recreation too.
The Songhua river is fed by a huge dam. Behind the dam is the vast Songhua lake. The lake has many islands and is surrounded by mountain peaks. Its a great day trip.
[Above: Jilin Catholic Church, est. 1907]
The people of Jilin are friendly (and a bit curious) to foreigners. Because there are few foreigners in Jilin, you will draw a bit of attention when you go about, but you'll get used to it.
Unlike the several bigger, more westernized cities in China like Beijing or Shanghai, living in Jilin provides a more authentic China experience.
For a collection of photos of Jilin city, visit our photo gallery titled Around Jilin .
