Jilin Transportation, China Travel Guide

Jilin city is a prefecture-level city located in Jilin Province in China,situated in hilly area near the Songhua River. It has a population of 1,985,000 (metropolitan 4,514,000) and a metropolitan area of 27,120 km². Jilin is the only major city with a homologous name to the province which it is located.Jilin City is also called River City, which was originated from one sentence, of a poem written by Kangxi Emperor when he was visiting Jilin City in 1674. The alias name is also because of the Songhua River surrounding almost the whole city.

Jilin City is a popular destination for tourists to come each winter to view the magnificent rime iceon trees along the banks of the Songhua River, (the river is the only river in the region that doesn´t freeze in winter). The rime ice is a natural phenomenon that occurs every year during January and February.The Goguryeo sites and tombs found here.

Although not as well served as the capital Changchun, Jilin City still has a fairly good transport links with most parts of Dongbei (northeastern China) and beyond.

By Plane The city can be reached by air from many major cities in China including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Harbin and Shenyang. The airport is 25km west of the city, a seemingly short distance but will cost you as much as RMB50 by taxi. A cheaper choice is to take a private minibus, which leaves the airport after flights arrive. However, when leaving the city these minibuses are not reliable. Instead, you may take the shuttle bus that leaves from the CAAC office at 1 Chongqing Jie, next to the Dongguan Hotel. As an alternative, bus No.38 goes to and from the airport in the northwest of town to the railway and bus station.

By Train Railway lines link Jilin city closely with other major cities in Donbei like a cobweb, including Changchun, Shengyang and Harbin. Besides these, there are also express trains to further destinations including Beijing, Tianjin, Dalian, Tumen (via Dunhua) and Ningbo. You are advised to book several days in advance to ensure getting a sleeper. You could first take a train to Changchun, where there are more rail destination choices. The train station is to the north of the long distance bus station, in the north of the city.

By Bus Traveling to and from Jilin by bus is also fairly convenient, thanks to the completion of the Changchun-Jilin Expressway (1 hour) and the Changchun-Beijing Expressway (13 hours). The long-distance bus station is one block west of the railway station, where there are daily buses to Changchun every 20 minutes. In addition, there are less frequent buses to Shenyang and Harbin and a daily bus to Tianchi in Changbaishan at 9am.