Yanji

Introduction

Yanji is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and serves as the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. As the prefecture's political, economic and cultural centre, it draws together a population that includes a significant ethnic Korean community, giving the city a character distinct from much of the surrounding region.

Yanji is also a busy hub of transport and trade between China and North Korea, and it is home to Yanbian University, a comprehensive university.

Before you go

Yanji sits in the Yanbian Chaoxianzu (Korean) Autonomous Prefecture, home to the largest group of ethnic Koreans living outside of Korea. Their presence here traces back to migrations that followed famines in the 1860s. Most of the Koreans you'll meet hold Chinese citizenship rather than Korean, and while a small number of expatriates from North and South Korea live in the area, the community is overwhelmingly local.

Because large parts of Yanbian were long off-limits to travellers, tourist facilities and English speakers have been scarce, though that is changing. The Hamgyong dialect of Korean is widely spoken, but most ethnic Koreans in Yanji are bilingual in Mandarin and Korean, so if you speak Mandarin you should not have much trouble getting around. Official signs appear in both Chinese characters and Korean hangul.

Getting there

Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport (YNJ) sits about 6 km west of the train station, with daily flights from major Chinese cities and from Seoul, South Korea.

By rail, you can reach Yanji from Beijing in roughly 10 hours on high-speed service to Yanji West station, or about 25 hours on the slow train to Yanji station. From Changchun, high-speed rail takes around 3 hours, while the slow train takes about 10. Long-distance buses also serve the city: Dongbeiya Keyun Zhan is on Chang Bai Lu, northeast of the train station, with services to Chang Bai Shan taking about 3–5 hours and to BeiHe taking about 4 hours; there is also a departure point at the Yanji Zhan Parking Lot.

Getting around

Yanji is compact, but not so compact that you will want to walk everywhere — especially in the middle of summer, when it is warm and humid, or in the depths of winter, when it is bitterly cold. There is no shared bike system, so your options within the city are buses, taxis and ride-hailing apps. Walking works well for short hops in the centre, which sits on flat ground with broad, well-maintained avenues, but for anything longer you will want wheels.

Buses are efficient and very affordable, and you do not need to read Chinese to use them: schedules, information and onboard announcements are given in Korean as well as Chinese. Most lines have flat fares, with some costing more — services to Mao'ershan, for example. Depending on the line, service may stop early in the evening, so plan accordingly. You can get an electronic bus card for Yanji through Alipay, under the Transport section for Yanbian, and scan the QR code when you board or enter a BRT mini station. Taxis are plentiful and waits are short; it helps to have your destination written down in Chinese, and you can usually present it in written Korean too, since most people in the city understand it. Ride-hailing through apps such as Didi also works, though pickup points vary: at the airport, drivers collect you in the parking lot across from the taxi waiting area, while at Yanji West railway station they appear to need to pick up on the main road, which makes leaving that station by ride-hailing a little inconvenient. Getting to the station by ride-hailing remains easy.

Where to stay

Food & drink

Yanji is the place to try Korean-Chinese food, and cold noodles are its signature dish: sweet, cold and a little spicy all at once, with a taste you won't find elsewhere. Look for the signs reading 冷面 (lěngmiàn) or 랭면 (raengmyeon), and you'll find them around Renmin Road and Guangming Street. The city is equally known for other Korean specialities, including Korean BBQ (韩式烧烤) and yanbian chuan (延边串), plus shenjitang (参鸡汤, samgyetang in Korean), a ginseng chicken soup with herbs and boiled rice. You'll also come across plenty of dog meat (狗肉) restaurants.

For a morning of eating, head to the Yanji Water Market, one of the largest morning markets in the area, stretched along the Yanji River. It specialises in Korean ethnic foods such as rice cakes, kimchi, blood sausage and rice wine, and it's where you can experience the most authentic Korean flavours and the city's cultural character. Under South Korean influence, Yanji also has a good number of cafes, more than you'd expect in nearby bigger cities, and a few clubs scattered around town where South Korean DJs play Korean pop. One option is Hands Coffee (핸즈커피, 含旨咖啡) in the Xintian Building on Aidan Road, a branch of a South Korean franchise next to the north bus station. It's small, cosy and peaceful, serving espresso-based coffees, hand drips, smoothies, cakes and fresh fruit juices; waiters greet you in Korean, an English menu is available, and there's free Wi-Fi. The signboard is only in Korean, so look for the bright yellow door on the north side of Aidan Road.

What to see and do

Yanji isn't a sightseeing city in the conventional sense: there's no outstanding architecture beyond a few relatively new Russian-style buildings, and no stunning scenery right around the city. Treat it instead as a place to wander, indulge and get lost in — a melting pot of Korean and Chinese culture, unobtrusive yet busy in its own way. That said, it isn't entirely without attractions.

• The Korean Folk Customs Park of China on Yannan Road is a re-creation of a traditional Korean village, with shops, restaurants and cultural displays, plus a sports and performance area where you can watch ethnic performances and join in.
• The Yanbian Museum on Changbai West Road is a large museum devoted to the history and culture of Yanbian Prefecture and the Korean ethnic minority in China, with bilingual Korean and Chinese labels. It closes on Mondays.
• The Yanji Dinosaur Museum on Longxiang Street opened in 2021 as the first dinosaur museum in Jilin Province, displaying fossils uncovered by construction workers in Yanji in 2016.
• History and archaeology buffs can head to Longtou Mountain, a drive from the city near the village of Longmei, where you'll find the royal tombs of the ancient Balhae kingdom.
• Yanji People's Park, near Yanbian University and the Yanji River, has flower areas, walking and jogging routes and sports facilities, and is a good place to see everyday life in the city.

For a view over the city or a walk in nature, head to Head Mountain on Yanlong Road. From the tiger statue you set off along a boardwalk through the forest and then climb well over a thousand steps; on a fine day the lookout tower at the top lets you see the whole city along with the surrounding plains and rice fields. It's busy at the carpark and in the forest on weekends, but few people go all the way up. Ma'ershan National Forest Park is another spot for hiking and climbing amid dense vegetation and fresh air. Near the bridge on Yanxi Street there's a small amusement park with a dozen rides and plenty of beer stalls, while families can spend a day at Yanji Dinosaur Kingdom, a dinosaur theme park south of the dinosaur museum with an amusement park, a water park and a performing arts theater. In winter, the Mengdumei Ski Resort in Chunxing Village, Yilan Town, draws skiers with slopes of varying difficulty, rental equipment, dining and instructors — wear proper ski clothing, a helmet and goggles, warm up thoroughly, follow the resort's safety rules, keep a safe distance from other skiers, and take lessons if you're a beginner.

When to go

Yanji has a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, so what you pack depends entirely on when you arrive. Winters are long and very cold, with deep cold and snow and January temperatures well below freezing; sunshine is relatively generous, peaking in February. Spring and autumn are brief transitions rather than long mild seasons, each bringing some, usually light, rainfall — spring shifts quickly from cold to milder weather, while autumn cools rapidly toward the long winter.

Summer is short but very warm and humid, and most of the year's precipitation falls then, with July the cloudiest month. If you want the warmest, wettest conditions, come in summer; if you prefer bright, dry, bracing weather and can handle the cold, winter offers the most sunshine.

Three days in Yanji

Day one: Arrive at Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport (YNJ), or by rail at Yanji West or Yanji Zhan, with connections from Changchun, Beijing and Seoul. Settle into the city, the seat of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, where Mandarin is official and Korean is widely spoken. Get your bearings on foot along Chang Bai Lu, where signs in Chinese and Korean mark the streets, and use the local buses or a taxi from the Yanji Zhan Parking Lot to reach your neighbourhood.

Day two: Spend the morning around Yanbian University, the centre of Yanbian Chaoxianzu academic life, and walk the surrounding streets where students and residents mix. Eat Korean food - the region's cooking draws on both North and South Korean traditions, with influences from the Hamgyong region of North Korea. In the afternoon, explore the commercial districts of Yanji, where shops and markets serve the Korean and Chinese communities of the prefecture.

Day three: Take a longer excursion toward Chang Bai Shan, the mountain that gives Chang Bai Lu its name, or stay in the city and visit BeiHe and the Dongbeiya Keyun Zhan area for a slower look at everyday Yanji. If time allows, walk the streets near Yanji West before departing. Because Yanbian sits close to North Korea and Korea, English is less common than Korean or Mandarin, so a few words of either will help you along.