Jilin is a province in northeast China bordering North Korea and Russia, known for Changbai Mountain and its Heaven Lake crater, Changchun's Manchukuo-era palace and film heritage, Jilin City's winter rime ice, and the Korean-Chinese culture of Yanbian. The Tumen and Yalu rivers form its southern frontier, and Goguryeo tombs at Ji'an are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Winters are long and cold, with excellent skiing.
Local currency: Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY / RMB, symbol yuan; spoken kuai).
Daily budget by traveller style
Typical per-person daily spend in Jilin.
- Mid-range
- CNY 650/day (approx USD 97)
- Luxury
- CNY 1,600+/day (approx USD 238+)
Cost breakdown
Typical price ranges across major spending categories.
Accommodation
- Hostel
- CNY 50-110 (USD 7-16)
- Budget
- CNY 130-280 (USD 19-42)
- Midrange
- CNY 320-650 (USD 48-97)
- Luxury
- CNY 800-2,200 (USD 119-328)
Food
- Street
- CNY 8-30 (USD 1.19-4)
- Local
- CNY 35-80 (USD 5-12)
- Midrange
- CNY 90-220 (USD 13-33)
- Fine
- CNY 350-1,000 (USD 52-149)
Transport
- Bus
- CNY 1-4 (USD 0.15-0.6)
- Taxi
- CNY 15-60 (USD 2-9)
- Airport
- CNY 5-100 (USD 0.75-15)
- Daytrip
- CNY 40-200 (USD 6-30)
Activities
- Museum
- Free-CNY 40 (USD 6)
- Sites
- CNY 30-150 (USD 4-22)
- Tour
- CNY 250-600 (USD 37-89)
- Excursion
- CNY 150-450 (USD 22-67)
Trip budgets by length
What a typical trip to Jilin costs end-to-end.
Weekend 3 Days traveller
Budget CNY 900-1,200 (USD 134-179), Midrange CNY 2,000-3,000 (USD 298-447), Luxury CNY 5,000-9,000 (USD 745-1341)
Week 7 Days traveller
Budget CNY 2,300-3,400 (USD 343-507), Midrange CNY 5,000-8,000 (USD 745-1192), Luxury CNY 12,000-20,000 (USD 1788-2981)
Money-saving tips
Practical ways to stretch your budget further.
Book hotels on Trip.com outside 1-7 October, Chinese New Year week and the January-February ski peak at Changbai and around Jilin City
Use metro, tram and buses paid via Alipay or WeChat rather than taxis
Eat at local dumpling, noodle and barbecue shops; use lunch set menus at CNY 25-45 (USD 4-7)
Buy attraction tickets on Trip.com or Fliggy where available for small discounts
Take second-class high-speed trains booked at 12306 or Trip.com, for example Changchun to Jilin City in under an hour
Free-entry museums such as the Jilin Provincial Museum need a passport and often an advance reservation
Free things to do
Memorable experiences that cost nothing.
Nanhu Park (南湖公园), Changchun
Large city lake park with paths and winter ice activities
Jilin Provincial Museum (吉林省博物院), Changchun
Regional history and natural history museum, normally free with passport reservation
Songhua River rime-ice embankment, Jilin City
Winter hoarfrost viewing along the riverside promenade
Yanji city centre and riverside
Korean-style markets and riverside walkways