Jilin
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Northeast China (东北) » Jilin (吉林) » Jilin (吉林)
[edit] Overview
Jilin was formerly called "Jilin Wula", which means "along the river" in the Manchu language. Jilin is referred to as a river city because of Boat Sailing on the Songhua River, a verse composed by Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty during his inspection tour of the east. It is surrounded on all sides by the offset of the Changbai Mountains, and the Songhua River that flows in a S-shaped course through the urban area looks like a blue ribbon.
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Beishan or Northern Hill Park (Beishan gongyuan) is a quiet and large park, situated rather bizarrely in the west of Jilin. The park has many interesting features, and is considered an optimum venue for its summer lotus flowers and winter rimy pines. Originally the park was established in 1927, but has undergone renovations and expansion many times since then.
The park is reminiscent of many of the similar areas in Suzhou and Hangzhou, with pavilions, bridges, corridors and terraces well designed and scattered about among the hills. Three small linked lakes run along the foot of the main mountain (Taoyuan Mountain in the west of the park), and it is possible to take a boat out here to the islet and pavilion in the center of the lake. In the northwestern corner of the park is a Mausoleum for Martyrs who died during the early Communist years, and the memorial hall in here has epigraphs by Chairman Mao and other high profile cadres.
The park is also famed for it many holy features. The religious and cultural atmosphere here is in obvious existence, with Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples and halls all around. Temples here include the Three Emperor Temple (San Wang Miao), the King of Medicine Temple (Yaowang miao), the Sky King Temple (Tianwang miao) and, probably the best of the lot, the Guan Emperor Temple (Guan di si). If you are in town in March, the annual temple fairs on April 18 and 28 of the traditional Chinese calendar have Dongbei (northeastern China) folk dancing, called Yange, and many local traditions.
Though Jilin is not outstanding as a tourist city, its name spreads among travelers nationwide because of the rime. The rime on the Songhua River is one of four natural wonders in China, enjoying equal fame as Guilin Mountains and Streams, Yunnan Stone Forest and the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River do. The rime, also called "snow willow", "tree hanging", "ice flowers", "water vaporized flowers", "silver flowers", is a kind of phenomenon, in which winter fog condenses on the branches and leaves of trees to form separate, white ice crystals, according to metrology.
Besides the banks of the Songhua River, the Songhua Lake, located beyond the Fengman Power Station nearby Jilin City is another good place to enjoy the beautiful rime. In winter, the ice on the lake is over a meter thick, but the water underneath the ice is not below freezing. In fact, the turbines of the power station make the water flow fast and this raises its temperature to 5 C degree even if the outside temperature is 30 C degree below zero and the water within 50 kilometers below the dam is not iced over. This causes fog during the day. But when the temperature drops during the night, rime and icicles form on the trees around the lake. When the sun rises the next morning, it turns the area into a crystal fairy world, with trees glistening in every shape. Willow branches become silver bands and pine trees turn into whilte chrysanthemums. "A sudden visit by the spring breeze," a poem says, "brings white pear blossoms to thousands of trees." Around noon, the white frost melts away, dropping on the people below. A fairy funland.
The rime appears from about mid-December to the first half of March and is best seen from the dam and along the shore.
Strange in such a small and comparatively insignificant city, the Confucius Temple (Wen miao or Kong miao) in Jilin is a grand and stately structure. This temple is ranked as one of the four largest of its kind along with the Qufu, NanjSing and Beijing temples. The layout here is in a similar style to the Nanjing Confucius Temple. In terms of sheer size the Jilin temple is second only to that in Qufu, Shandong Province, home to the great philosopher and educator himself.
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.
Dongbei has seen a few mysterious happenings in its time. In the early 1900s a huge explosion in Siberia rocked the area and rumors circulated of UFO activity, meteor strikes and even early Russian nuclear testing. In March 1976 a heavy meteorite shower hit the area around Jilin. This shower is reputed to have been thrown from the planet strip between Jupiter and Mars.
After the 1976 activity, local astrologers took action to preserve the 138 pieces of meteorite that they could find, and many of these pieces can now be seen in the Meteorite Museum (Jilin yunshi bowuguan). The heaviest piece weighs a hefty 1,775kg and it is said to be the largest extant meteorite in the world. After further scientific analysis the pieces here were found to be around 4.6 billion years old, about the same age as the earth.
Songhuahu (Songhuahu fengjingqu), 24km east of the city center, is a popular tourist magnet out of town. This is an attractive location, the long narrow lake is surrounded by forests and pretty hills and it is easy to get lost, boating on the lake or strolling along leaf strewn paths.
Looked at from above, the lake resembles a string of shining pearls set in-between heavily vegetated mountain peaks. Covering a total area of 700 square meters, Songhuahu boasts eight scenic spots within the lake area, ranging from islets, peaks and ponds to attractive hilly slopes. It is possible to pay a visit to this area in all four seasons - outings in spring when the lake is at its highest, boating and bathing in summer, angling in the autumn and of course, skiing in winter. Boating on the lake is quite inexpensive at about RMB5 an hour.
Apart from its picturesque scenery, the lake also abounds in flora and fauna: whitefish, carp and nameless fish as well as over 160 species of herbal medicines. If you are lucky enough, you may also bump into rarer species such as roe deer, black bear and lynx. The lake even has its own myth, in a similar vein to the Loch Ness stories. In 1992 a soldier visiting the lake on leave reported being attacked by a dragon like creature. Truthful or not, the tourism industry here has never looked back.
In recent years, thanks to this booming travel industry, the lake has reaped in considerable revenue with the completion of the Songhuahu Ski Resort. For detailed information, check the entertainment overview. Tours can also be arranged here from an office at 105 Jilin Street.
- Jilin Confucian Shrine Museum (吉林市文庙博物馆)
- Longtan Mountain Park of Jilin (吉林市龙潭山公园)
- Xingguang Korean Folk Custom Village of Yongji Town (永吉县兴光朝鲜族民俗村)
- Gold Toad Island (Jinchan Dao) of Jiaohe City (蛟河市金蟾岛)
