Rime Island

Rime Island

Rime Island is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

The rime in Jilin is ranked among China’s four major natural wonders, alongside the landscapes of Guilin, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and the Stone Forest of Yunnan. The rime in Jilin City has long been widely known, but most people are familiar only with the Ten-Li Long Dyke area in the urban district. Few know that about 40 kilometers from Jilin City, downstream along the Songhua River, lies Rime Island. Located approximately 60 kilometers north of Jilin City in the suburbs near Wulajie, Rime Island is where the Songhua River branches into several small islets, the largest of which is inhabited by farming households from Handun and Zengtong Tun. The area features many ancient elm trees. When the bitter winter arrives, the mist evaporating from the river envelops the islet in frost and snow. Trees and farmhouses alike are adorned with silver blossoms, making the chances of tree frosting extremely high during winter—hence the name “Rime Island.” The trees here are diverse and uniquely shaped, mostly wild, and the winding Songhua River is lined with weeping willows covered in glistening white frost. The river breeze makes the silvery threads shimmer, creating an even more stunning wild scenery with larger and longer-lasting rime formations. The villages of Handun and Zengtong Tun on the island are the best spots to admire the rime. In recent years, the development of downtown Jilin has significantly reduced both the frequency and duration of rime occurrences, making it increasingly difficult to witness the spectacular rime spectacle in the urban area.

Every year on January 3rd, Jilin City hosts the Rime Festival and an international dragon boat race. To ensure the formation of rime, the Fengman Dam releases water at night for seven to eight days to flush the river channel, creating the essential conditions for rime formation. As a result, Rime Island downstream benefits even more, and visiting during this period offers a chance to see extraordinarily magnificent rime.

The process of viewing the rime in Jilin is generally divided into three stages: “watching the mist at night, admiring the frost in the morning, and enjoying the falling petals around noon,” each offering a unique sense of wonder.

“Watching the mist at night” refers to observing the river mist on the Songhua River the night before rime forms. This phenomenon typically appears around 10 PM when wisps of fog begin to rise from the river, gradually growing denser and thicker. Large masses of mist surge toward both banks of the Songhua River. In no time, the streets and buildings along the river are shrouded in heavy fog, immersing visitors in a thick cloud. The riverside structures and trees loom faintly through the mist, and the lights take on a mysterious glow, transforming the entire area into a dreamscape above the clouds. Generally, the heavier the night mist, the more spectacular the rime formations will be the next day, making this an important indicator for predicting rime in Jilin.

“Admiring the frost in the morning” means seeing the “tree hanging” (rime) at dawn. After a night of thick fog, when visitors return to the rime viewing area in the early morning, the dark willow, pine, and ancient elm trees along the ten-li embankment, which were black the night before, have been transformed overnight into a silvery-white wonderland. Trees along the river are coated with thick rime, while the sun remains hidden behind the morning mist. Each weeping willow branch sparkles crystal clear, like jade branches hanging gently in the breeze. The pine and cypress trees, adorned with rime, resemble blooming silver chrysanthemums and peonies or winter plums in full glory. Even the roadside grass is wrapped in fluffy rime.

“Enjoying the falling petals around noon” describes the scene of rime falling off the branches. Usually after 9 AM, sunlight and gentle breezes—seemingly jealous of the rime—cause it to start shedding from the trees. At first, it flakes off bit by bit, then comes off in clusters. The breeze lifts the falling silver fragments, which dance in the air and reflect the bright sunlight, forming colorful snowy curtains. The drifting rime falls like snowflakes onto people’s heads and shoulders, bringing a refreshing and cool sensation.