Things to do in Jilin
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Jilin
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Rime season and peak skiing, with January the coldest and most reliable month for rime, viewed early in the morning.
Rime ends and skiing winds down, with 8 March the anniversary of the 1976 meteorite fall.
Dry, windy spring turning pleasant, parks greening up and the lake summer programme reopening from late April.
Summer lake season, with Songhua Lake boating, Five Tiger Island and green mountain walks at their best.
Crisp autumn window, with foliage walks on Zhuque Mountain and Longtan Mountain and National Day crowds in early October.
The hinge month, ski resorts opening from mid November and the first unreliable chances of rime late in the month.
What's on
- Jilin Rime Ice and Snow Festival mid December to end of February
Running since 1991, with rime viewing, winter sports and programming across the resorts and the river.
- Chinese New Year celebrations Lunar New Year, late January to February
The peak price and crowd period, with shazhu cai banquet season and a city in holiday mood.
- Beishan Park National Day performances 1 to 7 October
Evening traditional culture performances and immersive shows in Beishan Park during the National Day holiday.
Best things to do in Jilin
Wusong Island
A river island where fog off unfrozen water coats willows in thick rime, best seen at dawn in deep winter.
Ashihada Rime Scenic Spot
A riverside tree corridor that catches rime on many cold mornings, with easier transport than Rime Island.
Songjiang Middle Road
The city riverfront promenade where rimed willows line the Songhua on winter mornings and lights reflect at night.
Century Square
The big south bank square by the museum cluster, useful as a riverfront base and a sunset photo stop.
Beishan Park
A 300 year old temple hill in the city centre, with pavilions, ponds, local life and a panorama from the top.
Jilin Meteorite Museum
China only meteorite museum, built around the 1976 shower and the largest single stony meteorite known.
Jilin Catholic Church
A Gothic brick and stone church from 1917 to 1926 with a 45 metre spire, a landmark by the riverfront.
Wulajie Manchu Town
An old Manchu garrison town with mansions, an old office, folk museums and the home of Ula hotpot.
Where to stay in Jilin
Central riverfront
first trip, rime mornings and city eating
The best city hotels, the rime promenade, the church and Henan Street dining, with taxis for dawn trips.
Century Square and Fengman south bank
museums, families and quiet evenings
By Century Square and the Meteorite Museum cluster, calm and newer, a short bridge from the old town.
Lake Songhua Resort
ski days and summer mountain stays
A self contained resort village at the lake, right for the resort and wrong as a city sightseeing base.
Beidahu
a ski block of two days or more
A purpose built ski base about an hour out, superb for skiing and poor for rime mornings and the city.
Hantun Village
one dawn rime night
Manchu farmhouses by Rime Island, so the rime is a walk at dawn rather than a pre dawn taxi race.
Think twice about
- Longtan industrial north bank
The chemical industry zone has almost no visitor hotels, thin evening dining and long taxi rides to everything except Rime Island.
- Jilin Railway Station immediate perimeter
Noisy and transient, fine for a one night rail connection but a poor front door when the riverfront is ten minutes away.
Best restaurants in Jilin
Peng Da Shi Hot Pot
The flagship hotel hotpot, the city top table for private rooms, better cuts and an Ula style spread.
Jilin Wula Manchu Hot Pot
The namesake Ula copper hotpot, with pickled cabbage, white pork, blood sausage and thin cut meats for groups.
Songhua Lake Fish Street
Lakeside restaurants cooking Songhua Lake fish straight from the water, steamed whitefish above all.
Full House
Proper Korean cooking in the Korean district, galbi, bibimbap and bulgogi, with English speaking staff.
Qingxiangyuan Restaurant
A long listed Manchurian restaurant by Yuhua Garden, for boiled pork, blood sausage and cold dressed vegetables.
Friends Restaurant
The city best Western table, pizza, steaks and carbonara in a second floor corner room made for people watching.
Xin Xing Yuan Dumpling House
The century old dumpling institution on Henan Street, a time honoured brand in a Republic era building.
Hanshiguan Korean Noodles with Fried Sauce & Bibimbap
Cheap, fast Korean Chinese staples in one room, cold noodles, fried sauce noodles and bibimbap.
Outdoor things to do in Jilin
Beidahu Ski Resort
The 2007 Asian Winter Games mountain, with long tree lined runs, modern lifts and a quieter midweek feel.
Lake Songhua Resort
The closer ski resort to the city, with night skiing, a real base village and summer mountain sports.
Zhuque Mountain Forest Park
The city backyard forest hike, with stepped trails to lake views and a small ski field in winter.
Longtan Mountain
An easy stair climb through forest on the north bank, with the Songhua River bend from the top.
Five Tiger Island
The summer boat outing on Songhua Lake, with a pavilion panorama and a forest boardwalk at Wolong Pool.
Daqing Mountain
Ride the gondola above Lake Songhua Resort for the lake panorama, and in winter for rime on every branch.
Best hotels in Jilin
World Trade Winning Hotel
The city flagship riverfront hotel, with big river view rooms, a large breakfast and the best desk English in town.
Club Med Beidahu
The all inclusive ski in ski out splurge at Beidahu, with passes, lessons, kids clubs and meals bundled.
Lake Songhua Seibu Prince Hotel
The five star ski in ski out heart of Lake Songhua Resort, with pool, spa and three restaurants.
Ramada Hotel Jilin Purple Garden
The dependable mid range city hotel, praised for breakfast and easy transport in every direction.
Puyue Hotel Jilin Museum Century Square Branch
A small, newer south bank hotel by Century Square and the museums, often the best value per yuan in the city.
JI Hotel (Jilin Wanda Plaza)
A clean, modern budget chain hotel at Wanda Plaza, with plenty of cheap food in the mall district around it.
Hantun Village
Manchu farmhouse homestays on heated kang beds by Rime Island, so you can walk into the dawn rime.
Is Jilin expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥300 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥650 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥1,800 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Beidahu Ski Resort: weeks ahead
- World Trade Winning Hotel: weeks ahead
- Club Med Beidahu: weeks ahead
- Lake Songhua Seibu Prince Hotel: weeks ahead
- Hantun Village: a few days ahead
- Peng Da Shi Hot Pot: a few days ahead
- Book Club Med Beidahu and the Seibu Prince weeks ahead for ski season weekends and Chinese New Year.
- Arrange a Hantun Village homestay days ahead in peak rime weeks, when photography groups fill the good houses.
- Book your dawn Rime Island car the night before, every time.
- Groups of six or more should phone for a hotpot private room on weekend evenings.
Is Jilin safe?
- Cold is the main hazard, with January averages near minus 18 to minus 20 C, so dress for expedition weather.
- Keep phones and camera batteries against your body, as they die fast at minus 25 C.
- Walk slowly on clear riverside ice, which is the main injury risk on rime mornings.
- Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before arrival, as cash and foreign cards go a short way.
- Emergency numbers in China are 110 for police and 120 for ambulance.
Jilin travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- A single morning rime trip is the central trap, as rime is never guaranteed, so build in two or three mornings.
- Songhua Lake cruises are a summer product and do not run as a winter boat trip.
- Packaged rime tours that leave too late arrive as the rime falls, so a hotel car by 05:30 to 06:00 beats any coach.
- Do not judge the Meteorite Museum by its dated outer galleries and leave before the meteorite hall.
- Beishan Park and Zhuque Mountain are good local hills, not major sights, and are priced accordingly.
Getting around Jilin: public transport and more
- Fly to Changchun Longjia Airport, then walk to Longjia Station for the 30 to 40 minute intercity train to Jilin Station.
- There is no metro, so Didi and metered taxis are the city system, cheap and warmer than buses in January.
- Arrange Rime Island and Beidahu cars through your hotel the night before, with the dawn departure agreed explicitly.
- Resort shuttles run in ski season from the city, but confirm current times at your hotel as schedules change.
Who Jilin suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Jilin your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store