Jilin is the smallest of the three provinces in northeast China, covering an area of just 180,000 square kilometers. The province, bordering North Korea to the southeast, Liaoning to the south, Inner Mongolia to the west and Heilongjiang to the north, has a population of 25 million people.

The province is abundant in its agricultural output. In the mid and northern part of the province lies a wide expanse of plain, containing some of northeastern China's most fertile soil. The most frequently grown staple plant is maize, which accounts for half of the nation's export despite the severe winter.

The most noteworthy attraction is definitely The Heavenly Lake (Tianchi) in Changbaishan. In addition, some of China's best winter sports and the Ice Lantern Festival draw throngs of people to Jilin in the winter months.

Jilin Province, lying on the eastern part of the Eurasian continent, belongs to a temperate zone, although in winter people will fail to tell the difference between here and Russia. Although an inland province, Jilin is not far from both the Japanese and the Yellow Seas, and these are the causes of the frequent rain in summer.

In winter, the province is affected by prolonged cold fronts from Siberia. The average annual temperature is about 5 degrees C.. In January, the coldest month, the average temperature hits -18 degrees C. while the temperature rises to 20 degrees C. in the hottest month, July. Snow appears in October and lasts until April, and this is the optimum time for winter sports at some of the best Skiing Resorts in China.

Due to sharp climatic differences between summer and winter, any itinerary here is highly dependant upon when you are in the province. In this set itinerary, there is more flexibility than in other provinces for doing what you want dependant upon the season of your visit. The following itinerary starts in Changchun, the capital of the province.

Day 1: Take bus No.10 from the railway station to the Puppet Emperor's Palace & Exhibition Hall and go back in time to China of the 1930s and 1940s. In the afternoon, take a bus to the People's Square and visit the Banruo Temple. If you start your Jilin tour on Monday or Tuesday, you will have to spend the afternoon in the Changchun Film Studio, for the temple stays closed on these two days. Stay in a Changchun Hotel.

Day 2: You can spend the next day enjoying yourself at the Jingyuetan Ski Resort (take a mini bus from the People's Square or a taxi). If you prefer, you may even stay here overnight, otherwise head back to Changchun. If you come in winter you may wish to spend longer here, since one days skiing may leave you unfulfilled (and since the Heavenly Lake in Changbaishan may not be worth a visit in the deep midwinter).

Day 3: Take a long-distance bus (see Changchun Transport for details) at 9am and arrive in Jilin City about half an hour later. Have a good lunch at one of the local restaurants near the bus station. In the afternoon, take bus No.3 to the Confucius Temple. Stay in a Jilin City Hotel.

Day 4: In the morning, take bus No.3 from the railway station to go to the Meteorite Museum and take a look at the allegedly largest extant meteorite on earth. In the afternoon, take bus No.7 from the railway station and get down at the terminus--Beishan Park.

Day 5: In the morning take a bus from the People's square that goes to Songhua Lake Area. Since this place is too large to cover within half a day and there are virtually no restaurants around, you are advised to bring along some solid food. In winter, it is also an ideal place to practice skiing. If you prefer, you may stay at the resort for the night and have a good time the next day.

(The rest of the tour is really for those visiting in summer or autumn, since Changbaishan in the winter is a cold and inhospitable place. You should always check out the weather report before you go and bring along a supply of food from Jilin City).

Day 6: Take a bus from the long-distance bus station (see Jilin City Transport for details) at 9am and you can expect to arrive at Changbaishan in 7 hours. Check in at a hotel on the mountain slope or, if you are on a budget, try one at the foot.

Day 7: Get up early in the morning and head directly to The Heavenly Lake (Tianchi). After having a brief lunch, you may head to the different scenic spots scattered around the lake, including the Changbai Waterfall, the Hotsprings and the "Below Gound" Forests. For sport fans, there is the Changbaishan Plateau Winter Sport Training Area, but for this you will have to stay at your hotel for one more night.

Day 8: Take the first bus (see Changbaishan Transport for details) that leaves the mountain at about 7am to Antu, from where you may catch train No.556 for Beijing at about 11:50am.

By plane: Although Jilin is an outlying province in the northeastern part of China (Dongbei), it is still fairly easy to access by plane. The easiest point to enter and leave the province is by Changchun, the capital, which is linked with major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai by daily flights and others including Qingdao, Xiamen and Chengdu. Also, if you can arrange visas in advance, a trip to Vladivostok is also possible. In winter, throngs of people opt to skip Changchun and fly straight to Jilin City to enjoy the Ice Lantern Festival.