Changchun, located northeast of Beijing,
is the capital of Jilin province. It is a Chinese version of a
combination of Detroit and Hollywood. It has China's largest motor
vehicle plant and its biggest film studio.
(Click
for Map of Jilin Province with Changchun Location)
Located in the center
of the northeast plain, Changchun, meaning "eternal spring",
was first settled more than 1,000 years ago. But it did not develop much
until the turn of this century. The city grew enormously in the 1930s
after it was made the capital of the Japanese puppet state, Manchukuo,
during the Japanese military occupation of the area (1930--1945).
(Click
for Changchun City Map)
Changchun
has witnessed rapid development since the founding of the
People's Republic
in 1949, and has become a major industrial and cultural city
in China. It has few sites of
historical values or ancient monuments to offer tourists. But if
you are interested in how cars and trucks are made in China, then you
can visit the No. 1 Automobile Plant. If film-making
interests you, you can arrange a tour of the Changchun Film Studio, the
same way you visit the Universal Studio at Hollywood.
The
only major historical site you can visit is the imperial palace of
China's last emperor.
It
is nothing like the imperial palaces in Beijing or Shenyang. It
is comprised mostly
of
simple houses
with crude
lay-outs,
reflecting the hasty establishment of the Japanese puppet state, headed
by Puyi, China's last emperor dethroned in the 1911 Revolution.
