General Introduction

Jilin Province, one of China's important agricultural provinces, in the central part of northeast China gets its name from the city of the same name in the province. It has an area of more than 180,000 square kilometers and a population of 22.1 million, of which 54 per cent live in the country and 46 per cent in the cities. Of its total population, 7 per cent are from minority nationalities, such as Koreans, Manehus, Mongolians, Huis, Xibes and Daurs.

Scenic Spots

Changbai Mountains -- Scenic Wonderland
Changchun -- City of Automobiles
Jilin -- River City in North China

Topography

Jilin is high in the southeast and low in the northwest and includes mountains, hills and plains in three topographical zones: l) The Changbai Mountain Area in the east includes the Baitou, Laoyeling and Mudanling mountains. Here there are many narrow valleys and small intermontane basins, including the Yanji, Hunjiang and Dunhua basins. 2) The northwestern part of the province is a section of the Songliao Plain and belongs to the central part of the Northeast Plain. It has a gently undulating terrain and is the watershed of the Songhua and Liaohe rivers. 3) Between the Changbai Mountain Area and the Songliao Plain are hills some 500 meters above sea level interspersed with intermontane basins and valleys.

The Second Songhua River, the longest waterway in Jilin, has a catchment area of over 70,000 square kilometers, or 40 per cent of the province's land mass. The Yalu and the Tumen rivers mark the boundary between China and Korea. The largest lake in Jilin is Songhua, also known as Fengman Reservoir, which is one of the nationally known artificial lakes. There are numerous other lakes in the northwest, the larger ones being Yueliangpao, Chaganpao and Dabusupao.

Climate

Jilin has a temperate continental monsoonal climate. It is the climatic transition zone between the northern and southern parts of northeast China, with cold and long winters, warm, short and rainy summers, and a windy spring and autumn with ever-changing weather. Jilin has a mean annual temperature of 5.5ºC, an annual ice-bound period of around five months in its rivers, and a mean annual precipitation of 400-1,000 mm. The precipitation at the southern foothills of the Changbai Mountains exceeds 1,000 mm. and decreases gradually from southeast to northwest.


Communications

Jilin is among the provinces with the most developed rail transportation system. With the Shenyang-Harbin Railway as the central axis, trunk rail lines branch out in all directions linking the province with the country's major cities. Highways handles short-distance transport. Inland navigation, with the Second Songhua River as the trunk line, plays an insignificant role in Jilin's transport system.