4Sleeping
The best area to stay in is within a few blocks of the commercial district – along Guangming Lu near the corner with Renmin Lu – though it can be noisy from 8am till 9pm. It quickly gets quieter towards the river, yet the north bus station is within walking distance. There are a few budget hotels around the scruffy train station. Isolated Yánjí West train station has nothing built-up nearby.
Green Tree InnBUSINESS HOTEL$
(格林豪泰时代广场酒店 %0433 253 2998; 56-1 Jiefang Lu, 解放路56-1号 d & tw ¥138-258, tr ¥288; W)
Occupying three high floors in the handy commercial district, this business hotel branch is a mixed bag with some tired but good-value rooms that face a shopping square and can get noisy from 8am to 9pm. Dearer rooms have small sitting rooms, newer furnishings and feel more professional.
Baishan HotelHOTEL$$$
(白山大厦, Báishān Dàshà %0433 258 8888; www.baishan-hotel.com; 66 Youyi Lu, 友谊路66号 d & tw ¥888-1088; aiW)
Just a stone's throw away from the river, the Baishan Hotel is an imposing piece of utilitarian architecture with large, comfortable rooms and friendly, efficient staff. The attached ground-floor restaurant has a large selection of excellent Korean and Chinese dishes (from ¥10). Ask for a river-facing room. Discounts knock prices down to the ¥438 range.
5Eating
Head to Guangming Lu near the corner of Renmin Lu for a busy pedestrian street with plenty of restaurants and a street market. Excellent Korean food can be easily found in the surrounding streets and alleys for blocks around. Plenty of cool Korean-run coffee shops line Aidan Lu near the corner of Juzi Lu or Renmin Lu, around the north bus station (客运北站; kèyùn běi zhàn), with decent Western food and wi-fi.
Quánzhōu Bànfàn GuǎnKOREAN$
(全州拌饭馆 142 Shenhua Jie, 参花街142号 mains ¥22-46; h24hr; paW)
A large, well-regarded restaurant for its excellent options – mainly jiàngtāng (酱汤; a bubbling pot of pork and potatoes in a miso broth), or bànfàn (拌饭; bibimbap; rice, vegetables and eggs served in a clay pot). Sit at tables or on a heated-floor booth, with good service either way. Off Renmin Lu, west riverside. Picture menu.
Rotti BunCAFE$
(2nd fl, 696 Aidan Lu, 爱丹路696号益华广场2楼 coffee ¥18-26; h9am-midnight; aW)
A lovely, modern cafe with a Korean, designer slant. There are spaces, mezzanines and closed-off rooms galore, making for a comfy place to spend hours writing postcards, social-media posts or memoirs on the free-use Macs or wi-fi. You'll need as much time to get through the bucket-sized, sweet Korean desserts.
Sān Qiān Lǐ Cold NoodlesKOREAN$
(三千里冷面部, Sānqiānlǐ Lěng Miànbù 56 Xinhua Jie, 新华街56号 cold noodles ¥15; h9am-8pm)
One of the best places to slurp down a Yánjí Korean speciality, lěng miàn (冷面; cold noodles). Order and almost immediately a large bowl of chewy bean thread noodles is served in a cold beef broth that is addictively savoury and sweet with a fresh topping of shredded cucumber and cabbage.
6Drinking & Nightlife
Nàjiā CoffeeBAR
(那家咖啡, Nàjiā Kāfēi %0433 256 1859; 2nd fl, 696 Aidan Lu, 爱丹路696号益华广场2楼 h9am-midnight)
A trendy cafe with a smoky bar side. Nàjiā is an impressive, large space with huge curved windows and a mezzanine, great for watching the well-dressed sip imported beers, or the blinking of traffic and neon outside.
8Information
ATMs are all over the city, including a 24-hour ATM at the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC; 中国工商银行; Zhōnguó Gōngshāng Yínháng) three blocks up from the train station at the corner of Changbaishan Xilu and Zhanqian Jie.
8Getting There & Away
The Yánjí train station and Yánjí long-distance bus station are south of the river, while the commercial district and north bus station are near each other north.
Buses to Chángchūn (¥116, 5½ hours, hourly, 6am to 5pm) leave from in front of the train station or north bus station.
The Yánjí long-distance bus station (延吉公路客运总站; Yánjí Gōnglù Kèyùn Zǒngzhàn 2319 Changbaishan Xilu; 长白山西路2319号 ) serves the following destinations:
AÈrdào Báihé ¥45, four hours, six daily (6.40am to 2.30pm)
AHúnchūn ¥30, two hours, every 30 minutes (7am to 3.50pm)
AMǔdānjiāng ¥74, 4½ hours, four daily (6.30am, 9.50am, 12.10pm and 4.30pm)
Yánjí’s north bus station (延吉客运北站; Yánjí Kèyùn Běi Zhàn 743 Aidan Lu; 爱丹路743号 h5.30am-6.30pm) serves the following destination:
AMǔdānjiāng ¥74, five hours, four daily (6.50am, 10.20am, 12.40pm and 4.50pm)
Train service includes the following:
AChángchūn Hard seat/sleeper ¥70/129, eight to nine hours, five daily
8Getting Around
Shared taxis outside Yánjí West train station will take you to Yánjí train station or commercial district for ¥10 per passenger. Bus 4 (¥1) also runs to Yánjí train station. Taxi fares start at ¥5; most rides around the commercial district cost less than ¥10.
Bus 60 (¥1) links the train station, commercial district and two bus stations.
Jí'ān 集安
%0435 / Pop 240,000
This small city, just across the Yālù River from North Korea, was once part of the Koguryo (高句丽, Gāogōulì) kingdom, a Korean dynasty that ruled areas of northern China and the Korean peninsula from 37 BC to AD 668. Jí’ān’s (集安) extensive Koguryo pyramids, ruins and tombs resulted in Unesco designating it a World Heritage Site in 2004. Archaeologists have unearthed remains of three cities plus some 40 tombs around Jí’ān and the town of Huánrén (in Liáoníng province).
With a drive to capitalise on its Korean heritage’s tourism potential, modern-day Jí’ān has transformed itself into one of northern China’s more pleasant towns, with well-tended parks, leafy streets and a renovated riverfront area where you can gaze across to North Korea. Add in the town’s mountain backdrop, excellent Korean food, friendly locals and scenic train or bus rides getting here, and it’s a great little stopover on a loop through Dōngběi.
1Sights
The main sights other than the river park are scattered on the outskirts of the city and you'll need to hire a taxi. Expect to pay at least ¥100 for a three-hour circuit. You'll need to negotiate further if you want to linger at the sights.
The Unesco World Heritage site, Koguryo Mountain Cities, is a collection of tombs and the archaeological remains from three main fortress cities. The site is spread around the very lovely green hills surrounding Jí’ān. Despite their historical significance, most of the city remains don’t have a terrible amount of detail to examine. Many of the tombs are cairns – essentially heaps of stones piled above burial sites – while others are stone pyramids. But there is something magical about the open fields and high terraces they were constructed on that makes you want to linger.
The most impressive fortress city, Wándū Mountain City, is enough to give an idea of what is on offer. It takes two hours to wander the expansive grounds.
If you are keen to explore more, a ¥100 combo ticket gets you into the three most important mountain cities and a tomb site; you can also buy separate tickets for each sight for ¥30.
oWándū Mountain CityRUINS
(丸都山城, Wándū Shānchéng Shancheng Lu, 山城路 ¥30)
First built in AD 3, this city became capital of the Koguryo kingdom in 209, after the fall of the first capital, Guonei city (on the site of present-day Jí’ān). There’s little left of the original buildings, but the layout has been cleared and it’s immensely enjoyable scrambling about the terraces and taking in the views that surely must have been a deciding factor in establishing the capital here.
Down on the plains below the city, on a large shelf above the river, sits Jí’ān’s largest collection of giant stone cairns. Erected after the destruction of Wándū, this vast
cemetery for the city’s noblemen is so far unaffected by mass tourism. The sight of the massive rock piles in fields of Spanish needle (Bidens pilosa) is probably the most photogenic in all Jí’ān.
Wándū is a 6.5km drive west of the train station.
Cemetery of Noblemen at YǔshānTOMB
(禹山贵族墓地, Yǔshān Guìzú Mùdì ¥30)
Scattered about a small gated park lie the stone crypts of various Koguryo-kingdom noblemen. You can enter and explore Tomb No 5 (wait for the guide) via a creepy descent underground. As your eyes adjust to the light in the chilly stone chamber, look for paintings of dragons, white tigers, black tortoises and lotus flowers on the walls and ceilings.
Jí’ān MuseumMUSEUM
(集安博物馆, Jí’ān Bówùguǎn Jianshe Jie, 建设街 ¥30; h8.30am-4pm)
The sleek museum sports a brown stone base and a glass top with sails that open up like leaves. It features a small display of artefacts from the Koguryo era with good English captions. A lovely park with stone fountains, landscaped gardens, cobbled walkways, lotus ponds and statues is located just next to the museum.
Riverside PlazaWATERFRONT
This lively modern waterfront park features riverside decks where you can view North Korea across the Yālù River. You can also take a boat ride along the river (¥50, 40 minutes). The park is stretched out along Yanjiang Lu, south of the main Shengli Lu.
Hǎotàiwáng SteleTOMB
(好太王碑, Hǎotàiwáng Bēi ¥30)
Inscribed with 1775 Chinese characters, the Hǎotàiwáng Stele, a 6m-tall stone slab that dates to AD 415, records the accomplishments of Koguryo king Tan De (374–412), known as Hǎotàiwáng. The surface is blackened from a botched restoration effort when it was rediscovered in 1877: to remove the moss covering the surface, locals smeared it with cow dung and set it alight. Tan De’s tomb (labelled ‘Tàiwáng Tomb’) is on the same site.
Jiāngjūnfén (General’s Tomb)TOMB
(将军坟 ¥30)
One of the largest pyramid-like structures in the region, the 12m-tall Jiāngjūnfén was built during the 4th century for a Koguryo ruler. The nearby smaller tomb is the resting place of a family member. The site is set among the hills 4km northeast of town.
4Sleeping & Eating
There are a dozen guesthouses with very basic rooms for ¥50 to ¥80 and a couple of better business-hotel options that are more likely to accept foreigners for ¥170 to ¥200 on Shengli Lu (outside the bus station) and on Yanjiang Lu (outside the train station). Chinese chain-hotel options are at the northern, river-park end of Liming Jie.
Head to the markets east and west of Liming Jie for fruit, dumplings, bread and barbecue. Tuanjie Lu (the parallel road north of Shengli Lu) is home to Chinese greasy spoons, while Liming Jie offers a number of hotpot and barbecue spots. Jianshe Lu near Shengli Lu has several clean Chinese fast-food joints.
Lùmíng BīnguǎnHOTEL$
(路明宾馆 %0435 622 1293; 653 Shengli Lu, 胜利路653号 d/tw ¥138-158; aiW)
Friendly staff and well-kept rooms make this Jí’ān’s best option. It’s 500m east of the bus station on the north side of Shengli Lu just before you reach Liming Jie. Look for the English sign reading ‘Guesthouse’ above the entrance. Some rooms have their own computer.
8Information
Bank of China (中国银行; Zhōngguó Yínháng 336 Shengli Lu; 胜利路336号 ) Located at the corner of Shengli Lu and Li Ming Jie; 24-hour ATM.
8Getting There & Away
The main routes to Jí’ān (not to be confused with the identically pronounced 吉安 in distant Jiāngxī province) are via Tōnghuà and Báihé (the gateway to Chángbái Shān) to the north, and Shěnyáng and Dāndōng in Liáoníng province to the west and south. If you’re travelling to Báihé by bus, you need to change in Tōnghuà. Trains are less useful as there's only one per day to Tōnghuà (¥8.50, three hours) at 11am.
Shengli Lu runs east–west through town, with the long-distance bus station (集安市客运总站; Jí'ānshì Kèyùnzǒng Zhàn 1028 Shengli Lu) at the west end. The train station (Yanjiang Lu) is 2.9km east, where Shengli Lu changes name to Yanjiang Lu.
Bus services include the following destinations:
AChángchūn ¥140, 5½ hours, three daily (5.30am, 6.25am and 2.50pm)
ADāndōng ¥95 to ¥104, six hours, two daily (7.30am and 9.20am)
AÈrdào Báihé (via Tōnghuà) ¥98, six hours, 7.30am and 1.35pm
AShěnyáng ¥96 to ¥125, six hours, three daily (6.20am, 11.20am and 2.55pm)
ATōnghuà ¥35, two hours, hourly (5am to 5pm)
Běidàhú Ski Resort 北大湖滑雪场
Běidàhú Ski ResortSKIING
(Běidàhú Huáxuěchǎng, 北大湖滑雪场 www.beidahuski.com)
Since it hosted the 2007 Asian Winter Games, Běidàhú has established itself as one of China’s premier ski resorts. Located in a tiny village 53km south of Jílín City, the resort has runs on two mountains ranging from beginner to advanced. Though it hasn’t turned a profit since 2009, Běidàhú has seen continual growth with new runs and the opening of China's second Club Med resort. For more on skiing in Běidàhú, including tour, transport and accommodation information, see China Ski Tours (www.chinaskitours.com).
Chángchūn 长春
%0431 / Pop 7.64 million
The Japanese capital of Manchukuo between 1933 and 1945, Chángchūn (长春) was also the centre of the Chinese film industry in the 1950s and '60s. Visitors expecting a Hollywood-like backdrop of palm trees and beautiful people will be disappointed, though. Chángchūn is now better known as China’s motor city, the largest automobile-manufacturing base in the country.
But for people on the trail of Puyi, China’s last emperor, it’s an essential stop. Its crossroad position, linking three provinces on the high-speed railway, makes Chángchūn a useful stopoff.
Chángchūn
1Top Sights
1Imperial Palace of the Manchu StateD1
4Sleeping
2Home InnB1
3Jinjiang InnB5
4Sōngyuàn HotelB2
5Eating
5M+MB5
6Sānyú ZhúyuànB5
Transport
7Chángchūn Long-Distance Bus StationB1
8Civil Aviation Administration of ChinaD4
9North Bus StationB1
10Train Station Bus StopB1
1Sights
There are a few historic buildings dating back to the early 20th century, mostly along and off Renmin Dajie.
oImperial Palace of the Manchu StateMUSEUM
(Puppet Emperor’s Palace, 伪滿皇宮博物院; Wěimǎn Huánggōng Bówùyuàn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; 5 Guangfu Beilu, 光复北路5号 ¥80; h8.30am-4.50pm, last entry 40min before closing)
This is the former residence of Puyi, the Qing dynasty’s final emperor, the basis for Bernardo Bertolucci's film The Last Emperor (1987). His study, bedroom, temple, his wife’s quarters and opium den, as well as his concubine’s rooms, have all been elaborately re-created. His American car is also on display, but it’s the exhibition on his extraordinary life, told in part with a fantastic collection of photos, that is most enthralling. An English audio guide costs ¥20. A taxi from the train station costs ¥7.
Chángchūn World Sculpture ParkSCULPTURE
(长春世界雕塑公园, Chángchūn Sìjiè Diāodù Gōngyuán Renmin Dajie, 人民大街 ¥30, shuttle vehicles per person ¥10; h8am-5pm; g66)
Nestled amid 90 hectares of neat parklands with an artificial lake in the far south of the city, the Chángchūn World Sculpture Park hosts an impressive array of sculptures from Chinese and international artists. The huge park is one of Chángchūn's unsung sights and worth sniffing out. A taxi from People's Sq will cost about ¥30.
4Sleeping
There are budget hotels within walking distance of the train station and long-distance bus station at the north end of the city, with broadband-enabled rooms going for between ¥130 and ¥180. If you plan on more
than an overnight in Chángchūn, however, the southern end is by far a more pleasant neighbourhood to stay in.
Home InnHOTEL$
(如家快捷酒店, Rújiā Kuàijié Jiǔdiàn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0431 8986 3000; 20 Changbai Lu, 长白路20号 r ¥159-209; nai)
If you need a spotlessly clean option near the train station, this branch of the well-run nationwide chain is a good choice. Rooms have broadband internet and there’s also a computer in the lobby for guest use.
Jinjiang InnHOTEL$$
(锦江之星, Jǐnjiāng Zhīxīng MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0431 8914 1666; 4 Mingde Lu, 明德路4号 d ¥198-248; aiW)
This branch of the smart hotel chain is just a block from Renmin Jie and a short walk from good eating and drinking around Tongzhi Jie, yet the small rooms are extremely quiet thanks to double glazing and being nestled back from the road.
oSōngyuàn HotelHOTEL$$$
(松苑宾馆, Sōngyuàn Bīnguǎn MAP GOOGLE MAP ; %0431 8272 7001; 1169 Xinfa Lu, 新发路1169号 d & tw ¥498-998; aiW)
Nestled within its own park grounds, the Sōngyuàn was a former army commander's residence. Today, its heritage buildings now host tourists in plush, well-decorated rooms. Friendly staff and several good in-house restaurants (Japanese and international) seal the deal. The downside is a slightly inconvenient location. A taxi from the train station costs ¥7.
Lonely Planet China Page 32
