With the reopening of North Korea to foreign tourists in the Rason Special Economic Zone (SEZ), many people will have to travel to Yanji, in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous region in the north east of China. We thought we’d explain a little about this region and it’s unique Korean-Chinese identity.
What is this region?
In short, this area is a region within Jilin Province, China, where there is a large population of ethnic Korean people. Korean language is widely used and also has a protected status in the area. Because of this, Yanbian is commonly known as the "third Korea". Visiting Yanji and other provinces in Yanbian, you will see streets lined with Korean language signs and Korean restaurants. Local people here even speak a dialect of Korean, although its use is diminishing in recent years. This is a great place to be to get a taste of Korea before entering North Korea. In this region you can still even find schools also offering instruction in the Korean language.
Oh and food here? It’s really damn good!
Why does it exist?
In the 19 th century, there were big waves of migration of ethnic Koreans to this area of China. Later on many of these Koreans fought in the Chinese Civil War on the side of the Communists, and in return for their support were granted an area with special autonomous ethnic status. Historically the region is linked to the Korean peninsula, and in this area you can even find one of the most sacred places for Koreans, Mount Paektu, or Baitoushan in Chinese.
Are there other ethnic autonomous regions?
Absolutely! China is a massive and varied country with numerous different ethnic groups, many of which have languages and culture different to that of the dominant Han Chinese group. Some notable examples are Kazakh, Uyghur, Tibetan, Mongolian, Hui and Zhuang which can be found all around the country. The larger groups such as Uyghur, Tibetan and Mongolian also have their languages displayed on Chinese RMB notes.
Do I need special permission to visit these regions?
In short no, you do not need extra travel permits or documents to visit these regions in China. The only one that has restrictions is Tibet, which requires you to be on a tour to visit. There are however several Tibetan Autonomous areas inside Sichuan Province near the Tibet region where you can visit without being on a tour. These areas are very remote though and many people here don’t even speak Mandarin!
Are these areas worth visiting?
Absolutely, yes! China is such a great place to explore and these areas really show the diversity of the country. And of course diversity usually means great food and for all of these regions we think that’s definitely the case!
If you’d like to see Yanbian for yourself join us on our
upcoming Rason North Korea Tour
where we will stop through Yanji, or check out
all our North Korea tours
.
