Jilin City

For the province, see Jilin.

Jilin City 吉林市
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Jilin Bridge and Century Square
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 (10,471.1 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	162.8/km2 (421.6/sq mi)
– Urban	1,975,803
– Urban density	543.4/km2 (1,407.5/sq mi)
– Metro	1,975,803
– Metro density	543.4/km2 (1,407.5/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 ᡠᠯᠠ, Girin Ula) is the second largest city of Jilin province in Northeast China. At 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 (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 (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. The alias name is also because of the Songhua River surrounding almost the whole city. In 2007, it hosted the Asian Winter Games.

Administrative divisions

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

Geography

Jilin City
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.6   −10 −24     6.1   −6 −20     14   3 −9     29   14 1     54   22 8     106   26 14     179   28 18     140   27 17     64   22 9     36   14 1     16   2 −9     6.8   −7 −19 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: National Meteorological Centre of China (1951−2007)
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.2   14 −11     0.2   22 −4     0.5   38 16     1.1   57 33     2.1   71 46     4.2   79 58     7   82 65     5.5   80 62     2.5   71 47     1.4   56 33     0.6   36 15     0.3   20 −2 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

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.

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 around −18 °C (−0 °F). Spring and fall 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 23 °C (73 °F). Snow is usually light during the winter, and annual rainfall is heavily concentrated from June to August.

Tourism

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 Park (North-West of Jilin)
• Dragon Pool Mountain Park
• Songhua Lake (South-East of Jilin)
• Wulajie (乌拉街; formerly also transcribed as Wulakai^[1]) 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.^[1] 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.^[2] These days, a public school nearby is one of the few schools in the country where some Manchu is taught.^[3][4]

Sports

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

Jilin train station

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in China

Twin towns — Sister cities

Jilin City is twinned with:

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

See also

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

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Lattimore, Owen (1933), "Wulakai Tales From Manchuria", The Journal of American Folklore, http://www.jstor.org/pss/535718 . Lattimore explains that kai is simply a local pronunciation of 街 (jie in most other Mandarin dialects)
2. ^ Orléans, Pierre Joseph d'; Verbiest, Ferdinand; Pereira, Thomas (1854), Major, Richard Henry, ed., Tartar conquerors of China. Translated by Francis Egerton Ellesmere (Earl of), Issue 17 of Works issued by the Hakluyt Society, Hakluyt Society, Printed for the Hakluyt Society, pp. 112–113, http://books.google.com/books?id=lOgOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA112  (This is an English translation of Verbiest's report originally published in French in the early 19th century)
3. ^ Echoes of Manchu: Breaking Ground
4. ^ Echoes of Manchu: Wall Mystery Solved!

External links

• Official Jilin City government website (Chinese)