Yongji County 永吉县

Getting oriented

The county government places Jilin City to the east and north, Shuangyang District (双阳区) of Changchun to the west, and Panshi (磐石市) and Huadian (桦甸市) to the south. The Beidahu sports and tourism development zone and the China–Singapore Jilin Food Zone, both run by Jilin City, sit inside the county.

History

Yongji prefecture (永吉州) was set up in 1727 with its seat in the city of Jilin. The county took the name Yongji in 1929, and for more than 240 years its offices were in Jilin city itself. They moved out to Kouqian only in 1970. In January 2000, twelve of its townships and towns, including Wula Street (乌拉街), were transferred to Jilin City.

What to see

Beidahu ski resort (北大湖滑雪场), also written Beidahu (北大壶), was built in 1993 about 56 km from central Jilin City and is rated a national 4A scenic area. It has 13 alpine runs totalling 20 km with a vertical drop of up to 870 metres. It hosted the National Winter Games in 1995 and 1999, and the freestyle, cross-country, alpine, snowboard and biathlon events of the 2007 Asian Winter Games.

The Zhuoyuan eco-farm hot spring resort (卓远生态田园温泉休闲度假村), also a national 4A scenic area, has 30 indoor and outdoor pools at different temperatures.

Food and local products

Ma'anshan village (马鞍山村) in Xiyang town (西阳镇) has grown grapes since 1980 and was already called Jilin's 'number one grape village' in the 1990s. Its Luoquangou (罗圈沟) valley is enclosed by hills on three sides, and frost comes late in autumn. Varieties grown there include Red Globe, Xiangfei and Molixiang ('jasmine fragrance'), and 'Ma'anshan grapes' became a Jilin City regional agricultural brand in 2017.

Highlights

• Beidahu ski resort 北大湖滑雪场: Built 1993; 13 alpine runs; venue for the 2007 Asian Winter Games snow events.
• Ma'anshan grapes 马鞍山葡萄: Grapes from Xiyang town grown since 1980; Jilin City regional brand since 2017.
• Zhuoyuan hot spring resort 卓远生态田园温泉休闲度假村: National 4A scenic area with 30 hot-spring pools.