One of Northeast China’s most important cities and the capital of Jilin Province, Changchun is a green, modern city with a complex historical legacy. It was here where Puyi, the puppet monarch seen in Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor, ruled for the Japanese, and a tour of his palace remains one of the top things to do in Changchun. But you can also enjoy wintery activities, including ice skating and an ice and snow sculpture festival, as well as spectacular landscapes such as Heavenly Lake (Tianchi) in the Changbai Mountains.
Changchun’s cold, dry winters may be bracing—with nighttime temperatures regularly dropping to minus 5°F (20°C)—but they’re a draw for many travelers, who flock to the Changchun Ice and Snow Festival from late December to late January. But in Changchun, whose alternate name is “Spring City,” late spring can be a gorgeous time to visit, with tulips blooming in the city gardens in May and the season experiencing much less rain than during the July–August heat.
As you’d expect of any major Chinese city, Changchun has a fast, affordable metro system with signage in both English and Chinese. It also has a tram system: heritage trams operate on Line 54, a scenic and educational route through the city. Changchun’s bus network generally isn’t easy to use unless you speak or read Chinese, but there are metered taxis as well as rideshares through China’s homegrown DiDi app.
Layering is key when visiting Changchun during winter, not least because inside temperatures can be as toasty warm as outside is icy cold. Bring a scarf (or snood), warm gloves, thick socks, cozy boots, a down jacket, and a hat with ear protection. Intermediate layers that you can easily unzip when sitting down to eat work better than bulky sweaters that you have to strip on and off.
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