skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Posted On Thursday, June 18, 2015 at
at
9:01 PM
by Alvin
Getting from the airport into the Jilin (吉林) Capital City of Chang Chun (長春) was a breeze as it only took us less than 15 minutes on the efficient high speed train. We headed out early next morning to the ancient fortress city of Ji'An (集安) - one of the ancestral homes of the modern-day Koreans. From the Ji'An side, we could see North Korean farmlands and houses across the Ya Lu River (鴨綠江), only about 200 meters away. About 1,500 years ago, Ji'An was once the capital city of the 高句麗 people and we visited UNESCO-lauded burial pyramids, royal tombs and remnants of the fortress walls, dotted around this pleasant and tidy city. About 20km away from Ji'An lied the Five Ladies' Peaks National Forest Parkland (五女峰國家森林公園) where we spent a fun day out hiking up and down the different scenic routes and taking in the supreme fresh air. Jilin Province had the perfect terrains (500-1100 Meters) and the cold and wet climate where ginseng (人蔘) thrived for centuries and during this trip, we saw countless ginseng markets, distribution centres and loads of pharmaceutical companies producing ginseng-based medicine. Mandy even tried a glass of the fragrant and potent ginseng wine for dinner and she got pretty tipsy (and giggly) after only a few sips !
We spent a relaxing night at the functional town of Bai Shan (白山) on our way to the village town of 松江河镇, nestled on the western slopes of the famous Chang Bai Shan volcano lake (長白山天池). Perhaps because of the Korean-related heritage as I mentioned above, we met bus-loads of South Korean tourists on this trip, and we were surrounded by them as we made our ascent to the rim of the volcano lake (1442 steep steps) and what a sight ! Moody, dramatic and the midday sun casted mesmerising shadows over the sacred lake. By the way, the eastern rim of the volcano lake belonged to North Korean territories. We rounded off our trip back to Chang Chun and visited the historical buildings of 八大部 - the eight departments of the Puppet Manchurian Government (偽滿洲國) and also paid a visit to the Geological Museum and offered our farewell to this scenic province.
Getting from the airport into the Jilin (吉林) Capital City of Chang Chun (長春) was a breeze as it only took us less than 15 minutes on the efficient high speed train. We headed out early next morning to the ancient fortress city of Ji'An (集安) - one of the ancestral homes of the modern-day Koreans. From the Ji'An side, we could see North Korean farmlands and houses across the Ya Lu River (鴨綠江), only about 200 meters away. About 1,500 years ago, Ji'An was once the capital city of the 高句麗 people and we visited UNESCO-lauded burial pyramids, royal tombs and remnants of the fortress walls, dotted around this pleasant and tidy city. About 20km away from Ji'An lied the Five Ladies' Peaks National Forest Parkland (五女峰國家森林公園) where we spent a fun day out hiking up and down the different scenic routes and taking in the supreme fresh air. Jilin Province had the perfect terrains (500-1100 Meters) and the cold and wet climate where ginseng (人蔘) thrived for centuries and during this trip, we saw countless ginseng markets, distribution centres and loads of pharmaceutical companies producing ginseng-based medicine. Mandy even tried a glass of the fragrant and potent ginseng wine for dinner and she got pretty tipsy (and giggly) after only a few sips ! 
We spent a relaxing night at the functional town of Bai Shan (白山) on our way to the village town of 松江河镇, nestled on the western slopes of the famous Chang Bai Shan volcano lake (長白山天池). Perhaps because of the Korean-related heritage as I mentioned above, we met bus-loads of South Korean tourists on this trip, and we were surrounded by them as we made our ascent to the rim of the volcano lake (1442 steep steps) and what a sight ! Moody, dramatic and the midday sun casted mesmerising shadows over the sacred lake. By the way, the eastern rim of the volcano lake belonged to North Korean territories. We rounded off our trip back to Chang Chun and visited the historical buildings of 八大部 - the eight departments of the Puppet Manchurian Government (偽滿洲國) and also paid a visit to the Geological Museum and offered our farewell to this scenic province.
