Eastern Jilin

The Changbai Mountains area made up of Yanbian, Tonghua and Baishan, with Heaven Lake's volcanic scenery, Korean ethnic culture, Goguryeo World Heritage sites and snow-and-ice resorts.

Eastern Jilin is the Changbai Mountains area in Jilin Province's official division, including the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Tonghua City and Baishan City, and the Changbai Mountain Protection and Development Zone also lies within it. The top highlight is Changbai Mountain itself: the north, west and south slopes offer different vantage points on Heaven Lake, the crater lake; the north slope also has Changbai Waterfall and hot springs, while the west slope has the alpine garden and the Jinjiang Grand Canyon. In winter, the area around the Changbaishan International Resort is an important ski destination in Northeast China. Yanji is the center of Korean culture and draws many visitors with its food, folk customs and trendy streets, and you can extend your trip to the banks of the Tumen River and Fangchuan in Hunchun, the border point of China, Russia and North Korea. The Goguryeo royal cities, royal tombs and noble burials at Ji'an are a World Heritage Site; Dunhua has the Liudingshan Cultural Tourism Zone; Songling Snow Village in Linjiang, Baishan, and the Longwan Group National Forest Park in Huinan, Tonghua, are known for a winter snow village and a group of crater lakes respectively. A classic route enters and exits via Yanji: spend one to two days in Yanji, then one day each on the north and west slopes of Changbai Mountain, adding Ji'an or the snow village as interests dictate, for five to seven days. For transport, Changbai Mountain Airport, Yanji Chaoyangchuan Airport and Tonghua Airport all have flights, the Changchun–Hunchun intercity railway links Changchun, Jilin, Dunhua, Yanji and Hunchun, and the Dunhua–Baihe high-speed railway runs directly from Dunhua to Changbai Mountain. Weather on the summit is changeable, so bring a jacket even in summer; whether you can see Heaven Lake depends on the weather, and in winter some scenic areas and mountain roads open for limited hours or close.

Destinations

Itineraries