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This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters. Jilin City 吉林市 —  Prefecture-level city  — Jilin Bridge and Century Square Nickname(s): River City (江城) Jilin City (red) in Jilin province (orange) and China Jilin City Location of city centre in Jilin Coordinates: 43°52′N 126°33′E / 43.867°N 126.55°E / 43.867; 126.55Coordinates: 43°52′N 126°33′E / 43.867°N 126.55°E / 43.867; 126.55 Country People's Republic of China Province Jilin Area  • Prefecture-level city 27,120 km2 (10,470 sq mi)  • Urban 3,635.8 km2 (1,403.8 sq mi)  • Metro 3,635.8 km2 (1,403.8 sq mi) Elevation 202 m (663 ft) Population  • Prefecture-level city 4,414,681  • Density 160/km2 (420/sq mi)  • Urban 1,975,803  • Urban density 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)  • Metro 1,975,803  • Metro density 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi) Time zone China Standard (UTC+8) Area code(s) 432 GDP per capita ¥42，900 (2010) Major Nationalities Han, Manchu, Korean, Hui County-level divisions 9 Township-level divisions unknown Licence plates 吉B Website http://www.jlcity.gov.cn/

Jilin City (Chinese: 吉林市; pinyin: Jílín Shì, Manchu: ᡤᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡥᠣᡨᠣᠨ, Girin Hoton) is the second-largest city and former capital of Jilin province in Northeast China. As of the 2010 census, 4,414,681 people resided within its administrative area of 27,120 square kilometres (10,470 sq mi) and 1,975,803 in its built-up area consisting of 4 urban districts. A prefecture-level city, it is the only major city in China that shares its name with its province.

Jilin City is also known as the River City because of the Songhua River surrounding much of the city. In 2007, it hosted the Asian Winter Games.

History[link]

Jilin City is among one of the oldest cities in Northeast China. The ancestors of the Manchus lived there before Qin Dynasty. During the reign of the Yongle Emperor in the early 15th century, efforts were made to expand Chinese control throughout entire Manchuria. Mighty river fleets were built and sailed several times from Jilin City, getting the chieftains of the local tribes to swear allegiance to the Ming rulers.^[1] Soon after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the territory of today's Primorsky Kray was made under the administration of Jilin. As the Czarist Russian eastward advance to the Pacific coast, Qing Government ordered to set up a naval shipbuilding factory here in 1661. Jilin was officially established as a fort city in 1673 when Anzhuhu(安珠瑚), the Deputy Lieutenant-General (副都统), was ordered to build a castle in Jilin. In 1676, the Military Governor of Ninguta was transferred to Jilin City because of its more conveniently location and increase of the military importance, while the former Deputy Lieutenant-General) was transferred in the opposite direction to Ninguta.^[2] Since then Jilin City has developed at a rapid pace. The nickname of Jilin City is River City(江城), which was originated from one sentence "连樯接舰屯江城" of a poem written by Kangxi Emperor when he was visiting Jilin City in 1682. Jilin retained its importance into the 18th and 19th century as one of the few cities existing beyond the Willow Palisade, along with Tsitsihar, Ninguta and Mukden.

After Manchukuo established their capital in Hsinking(Changchun), Jilin City's importance decreased. By 1940, Jilin's population was 173,624, while Hsinking's population reached 544,202 at the same time.^[3]

Jilin eventually became the provincial capital of Jilin Province after the establishment of the People's Republic of China, until Changchun took this position in 1956.

Geography[link]

Topography[link]

Jilin City is situated in a hilly area near the Songhua River. There are four famous mountains surrounding Jilin City, which is North Mountain in the west, Long Tan Mountain in the east, Zhuque Mountain in the North, and Turtle Mountain in the south, plus Songhua River, it forms a bagua in Taiji pattern. North Mountain, called Beishan, is the most famous mountain in Jilin City. It's said, Emperor Qianlong had come and visited the mountain. It is also said that there are several Buddhist temples on the mountain.

Climate[link]

Jilin City has a four-season, monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa). Winters are long (lasting from November to March), cold, and windy, but dry, due to the influence of the Siberian anticyclone, with a January mean temperature of −17.3 °C (0.9 °F). Spring and autumn are somewhat short transitional periods, with some precipitation, but are usually dry and windy. Summers are hot and humid, with a prevailing southeasterly wind due to the East Asian monsoon; July averages 22.8 °C (73.0 °F). Snow is usually light during the winter, and annual rainfall is heavily concentrated from June to August.

Administrative divisions[link]

Map
#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2010 CENSUS)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
1	Chuanying District	船营区	Chuányíng Qū	659,188	711	818
2	Longtan District	龙潭区	Lóngtán Qū	527,532	1209	475
3	Changyi District	昌邑区	Chāngyì Qū	492,159	865	715
4	Fengman District	丰满区	Fēngmǎn Qū	296,924	1032	288
5	Panshi City	磐石市	Pánshí Shì	505,954	3867	128
6	Jiaohe City	蛟河市	Jiāohé Shì	447,380	6235	74
7	Huadian City	桦甸市	Huàdiàn Shì	444,997	6624	71
8	Shulan City	舒兰市	Shūlán Shì	645,925	4554	140
9	Yongji County	永吉县	Yǒngjí Xiàn	394,622	2625	150

Tourism[link]

Snow in Jilin City

Jilin City is a popular destination for tourists to come each winter to view the magnificent rime ice (雾凇/霧凇) on trees along the banks of the Songhua River, (the river is the only river in the region that does not freeze in winter). The rime ice is a natural phenomenon that occurs every year during January and February. It is a result of when water vapor rises up from the warm Songhua River to meet the cold −20 °C (−4 °F) night air, causing the crystallisation of water vapour on willows branches.

Attractions:

• Meteorite Museum (largest stony meteorite of a documented meteorite fall)
• North Hill(Beishan in Chinese) Park (North-West of Jilin)
• Dragon Pool Mountain Park
• Songhua Lake (South-East of Jilin)
• Wulajie (乌拉街; formerly also transcribed as Wulakai^[5]) Old City (44°05′N 126°28′E / 44.083°N 126.467°E / 44.083; 126.467), a Qing Dynasty walled town in Longtan District, on the east bank of the Sungari River downstream from Jilin's main urban area. The place was the center for collection of local products to the imperial court during the Qing Dynasty.^[5] In 1682 - when, according to Ferdinand Verbiest, Wulajie (Ula) was "the most illustrious city of the whole province" - the Kangxi Emperor himself visited the place to enjoy sturgeon fishing.^[6] These days, a public school nearby is one of the few schools in the country where some Manchu is taught.^[7][8]

Sports[link]

The winter sports in Jilin City are full of interests, such as skiing, skating, sledding, snowboarding, and winter swim.

Ski resorts:

• North Big Lake ski resort
• Songhua Lake ski resort
• North Hill ski resort
• Zhuque Hill ski resort

Winter swimming is widely practised in Jilin city.

International relations[link]

Jilin train station

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Jilin City is twinned with:

• Nakhodka Primorsky Krai, Russia (1991)
• Spokane, Washington, United States of America
• Cherkasy, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine
• Östersund, Jämtland, Sweden
• Volgograd, Volgograd Oblast, Russia

See also[link]

• Jilin chemical plant explosions 2005
• 2010 China floods in Jilin Province

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jilin City

• Official Jilin City government website (Chinese)