6 Days Jilin Winter Holiday with Chagan Lake Winter Fishing

Day 1 Changbaishan Arrival

Pick-up in Changbaishan Airport or Dunhua Train Station

Welcome to Changbai Mountain! Upon arrival, you will be met by your guide and driver at Changbaishan Airport or Dunhua Railway Station, and then be escorted to your hotel in Erdao Baihe Town, a peaceful town located at the foot of Changbai Mountain, with many hotels, restaurants and shops. The rest of today is free for you.

Arrival Ideas: 1) You can take a flight to Changbai Mountain directly from Beijing (2h), Shanghai (2.5h), Xian (3h), Tianjin (2h), Changchun (1h), Harbin (1h)... 2) you can also take a high speed train to Changbaishan Railway Station from Beijing (7.5h), Jilin (1.5h), Changchun (2.5h), Harbin (5h)…

Recommended Activity: It is strongly recommended to take a stroll in Erdao Baihe Town and enjoy the beautiful light show.

• Changbaishan Airport

Day 2 Changbai Mountain North Slope Sightseeing (B)

Today's highlights: Heavenly Lake, Changbai Waterfall, Green Deep Pool, Valley Forest

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at the hotel. Have a short scenic drive to Changbai Mountain. Also known as Ever White Mountain in Chinese and Changbaek-sanjulgi in Korean, Changbai Mountain range forms the border between the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin and North Korea. It is one of the top ten famous mountains in China, where the top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round. It is a dormant volcano boasting rare animals, lush forests, clear lakes and bubbling hot springs. The most beautiful one among the lakes is Tian Chi (Heavenly Lake), the deepest alpine lake in China. Take the sightseeing bus and vehicle directly reaching Heavenly Lake, which is 2189 meters above the sea level. This lake has been recognized as the highest volcanic lake in the world by the Guinness Book of Records. With white clouds and blue sky, Heavenly Lake surrounded by 16 peaks is like a jade in the sky. Catch the rare time to enjoy an unbelievable panoramic view of this beautiful lake. After that, get down for further sightseeing and enjoy different winter views. You will head to Changbai Waterfall with its water melted from Heavenly Lake at a height of 68 meters, making the longest volcanic waterfall in the world. Overlook the grand waterfall on the viewing deck where you can see two strands just like two huge flying dragons above the ground. Get back to Small Heavenly Lake hidden in the primitive birch forest where you can enjoy some walking along the river. Move to Green Deep Pool which is reputed as “Little Jiuzhai Valley in Northeast China” with emerald water and small waterfalls falling from the cliff - very elegant. The last spot is Valley Forest. When the volcano erupted, the volcano cone broke and collapsed, forming a valley of 50 meters deep and about 3,000 meters long from north to south. There are tall ancient trees and huge rocks at the bottom of the valley, making it a natural oxygen bar. Take a short walk in the primitive forest. After that, take the sightseeing bus to get down the mountain.

After the tour, you will be taken to the hotel in Erdao Baihe Town and enjoy a hot spring experience to relax your body.

Weather Condition & What to Wear: The weather is freezing in Changbai Mountain and the temperature is around -15 °C to -30 °C from November to February. Take all your warm gears, like cotton trousers, thermal underwear, down jacket, fleece gloves, wool hat, thermal underwear, etc.

Alternative Itinerary: It is also available to go to West Slope instead of North Slope, or spend 1 more day exploring West Slope. Generally, West Slope is less crowded, and you can enjoy many beautiful wild flowers in summer. However, West Slope offers fewer attractions to visit, and you need to take a snowmobile to reach Heavenly Lake when the road is covered by thick snow in cold winter. Just tell your preference to your travel consultant.

• Changbai Mountain Panoramic View in Winter
• Changbai Mountain Winter Hiking
• Hot Spring on Changbai Mountain

Day 3 Erdaobaihe -Jilin Snow Town - Jilin City (B)

Today's highlights: Jilin Snow Town, Village Folklore Museum

After breakfast today, you will drive 260 km (about 3 hours) to Jilin Snow Town - Erhe Village to enjoy the beautiful snow view. Due to the special climate, Erhe Villages enjoys frequent snowfalls in winter and its snow period lasts more than 5 months from late-October to early-March. Not as famous as the China Snow Town, it is also less touristy and more peaceful. The primitive ecological landscape and snow-capped farmhouses with red lanterns make this village quite impressive.

You will pay a visit to Village Folklore Museum where many local antiques of 1970s and 1980s are displayed, including traditional ceramic cups, old-fashioned sound recorders, tableware with interesting posters, etc. In the village, there is a 10-meter-high house in a traditional style made of 20,000 corn cobs catching all travelers’ eyes. After being amazed by this big corn structure, you will have a wonderful time playing with snow, making snowmen, photographing snowscape, seeing local people’s daily lives, etc. Next, reach the view-decking to get a panoramic vista of the whole village which looks like a dreamlike snowy paradise.

Optional Activities: It is available to take part in many snow activities (extra payment needed), such as horse-drawn plows, snowmobiles, ski circles, etc.

After the great sightseeing in Jilin Snow Town, you will drive about 2.5 hours to Jilin City. Stayover night in Jilin City.

• Jinlin Snow Town - Shulan Erhe Village
• A Panoramic View of Jilin Snow Town
• Corn House in Jilin Snow Town

Day 4 Wusong Island & Drive to Changchun (B)

Today's highlight: Wusong Island

You will get up early today! After your breakfast at the hotel, your guide and driver will meet you at the hotel and then drive about 1.5 hour to visit Wusong Island (Rime Island for its beautiful rime scenery). With the best type of rimes with outstanding thickness, density and structure, much more beautiful than those in the rest of China, Wusong Island is the best place to see the natural miracle of rimes in the whole country.

Walk to say hello to the sunrise of the day. As the sun rises, more radiance sends out to to change the sky into golden, orange, pink, rose, purple, etc., and the mists over the water rise gradually to make the outline of the trees partly hidden and partly visible, which is a superb dreamy visual feast of this winter! Press your shutter as free to record such gorgeous natural masterpiece. Then, after the sky gets bluer, walk around the snow covered path, along the water and under the trees to admire the white and silver rimes decorating like the special winter jade flowers on the new dressing from winter. Enjoy your romantic dating with the fabulous sightseeing and take more amazing photos!

(Best Time for Wusong Island rime photography: rimes usually occur from December to middle February in winter, and January is the month with more frequent rime days. As rimes drops after noon hours, 07:00-11:30 is the best time for shooting the rimes and the sunrise of the day with 10:00-11:30 being the best time for rimes with blue sky.)

Then drive about 2 hours to Changchun and check in your hotel.

• Wusong Island Sunrise
• Wusong Island Rime

Day 5 Chagan Lake & Chagan Lake Departure (B)

Chagan Lake Winter Fishing sightseeing and airport or train departure

Today, you will drive about 3 hours to Chagan Lake, one of China's largest freshwater lakes located in Songhua River and dating back over 1,000 years. In the cold winter, Chagan Lake looks like a huge frozen jasper inlaid in the vast snow land. The greatest highlight at Chagan Lake for you today is winter fishing, a living relic of human fishing and hunting culture, as well as the biggest magnet for numerous visitors. Though the years change, the spectacle, magic and sanctity of Chagan Lake Winter Fishing still remain. The fishermen brave a low temperature of -30°C~-20°C will use a centuries-old technique to catch fishes. They firstly drill many holes through the thick ice, next carefully place a 2-km-long net under the ice, then haul the net out of the largest hole by a capstan turned by horses. Every step of winter fishing offers you a magnificent sight and helps you explore the excitement and enthusiasm of the ancient tradition.

Chagan Lake Winter Fishing Festival, beginning around December 26~28 and lasting for about a month, is the best time to visit Chagan Lake. We strongly suggest you visit on the first day to enjoy the grand opening ceremony. Except for winter fishing, about 20 activities will take place, such as winter fishing ritual, Shaman dance performance, dragon boat competition, first fishing catching, etc., to show the local folk culture and delight visitors.

After the winter fishing experience, you will drive back to Changchun. Stay overnight in Changchun

Warm Tip: Remember to bring your warmest clothes as well as scarfs, gloves, hats etc., because it will be rather cold in the winter of Chagan Lake.

• Fishermen Digging A Hole on Iced Chagan Lake
• Hourses Drilling the Net Out of Hole
• The Spectacle of Chagan Lake Winter Fishing

Day 6 Changchun Sightseeing and Changchun Departure (B)

Today's highlights: the Puppet Emperor's Palace, the Eight Ministries of Puppet Manchuguo Regime

Today's tour starts from the Puppet Emperor's Palace, the official residence created by the Imperial Japanese Army for China's last emperor Puyi to live in as Emperor of the puppet state of Manchukuo in the early 20th century. The main structure of the palace can be divided into two parts - the residential quarter for daily life and the administrative quarter for political activities. Now they are informative museums displayed with many antiquities (including artifacts and annals) detailing the history of the fake Manchu Dynasty. Next, visit the Eight Ministries of Puppet Manchuguo Regime from the outside, which were established as a way for the Japanese to legitimize their claim to the territory of Northeast China. You will view the different architectural styles there.

After sightseeing, you will be escorted to the airport or railway station to catch your flight or train to your next destination or home.

• Puppet Emperor's Imperial Palace