Rime Island, Jilin: How to Spend a Day on the Island Itself

Rime Island in 30 seconds

• What it is: A small river island on the Songhua River in Wula Street, Longtan District, about 40 km (around 1 hour) north of downtown Jilin City. It is the place, not just the phenomenon: our rime ice guide explains how rime forms and when it appears; this page is about the island itself.
• The day’s shape: Dawn on the riverbank, rime until mid-morning, then the island empties of ice and fills with village life. Plan the morning for the trees and the afternoon for the town.
• Choose a base: Hantun Village for the easier first visit (more lodging and food, the ferry side most visitors use); Zengtongtun Village for a quieter, more basic stay on the island’s north side.
• Leave downtown by 5:30 AM. The rime is a morning show: by late morning it is falling, not forming.

The island, in plain terms

Rime Island (雾凇岛, Wusong Island) is a river islet, ringed by the Songhua River, in Wulajie Manchu Town. The river here does not freeze in winter, warmed by water released from the Fengman hydropower station upstream, so fog hangs over the water on cold nights and freezes onto the willows along the banks. That is why the island, more than any single viewpoint, is where the spectacle concentrates: water on every side, trees on every bank.

Walking it feels a little like stepping into a Narnia illustration, with one honest difference: Narnia lasts all winter in the story, and this one lasts hours. The beauty is inseparable from its deadline, which is why the whole day is built around the morning.

Hantun or Zengtongtun: pick your village

These are the two names every island plan comes down to, and they suit different travellers.

Hantun Village — the first-timer’s base. Developed earlier, with the most lodging and dining, and the riverside dock most visitors arrive through. If you want a warm room, a hot meal and a short walk to the bank at dawn without working anything out, stay here. Our rime guide calls it the top photography spot; other local voices call it the busier side. Both can be true: it is popular because it is convenient.

Zengtongtun Village — the quieter base. On the island’s north side, more basic, with simpler places to stay. The local saying is “to see rime, go to Zengtong”, and the existing guide notes its good west-facing bank for sunrise and sunset shots. Treat that as a local recommendation, not a guarantee: on any given morning, which bank frosted best depends on the night’s wind and fog, and no village owns the weather.

The practical rule: first visit, or travelling with children or older relatives, choose Hantun. Returning, or happy to trade comfort for quiet, choose Zengtongtun. Either way, you are on the same small island; the walk between the island’s banks is the point, not a reason to agonise over the choice.

A dawn-to-noon walk

Before dawn: get there. From downtown Jilin, leave by 5:30 AM at the latest. The established options from the rime guide still stand: bus to Wulajie Town plus a short ferry to the island (cheapest), or taxi / Didi round-trip with waiting time (simplest, and you control the early departure). Day tours from the city run in season if you would rather let a guide read the overnight conditions.

6:00–9:00 AM: the riverbank. This is the whole reason to come. Walk the bank slowly, toward the low sun for backlit shots through the ice, and keep batteries and phone inside your coat: at around −20°C before sunrise, both drain and sulk fast. A tripod is worth carrying for the low light. After about 9 AM the crystals start to fall in the sunshine, which is beautiful in its own right, like snow falling upward in reverse, but it is the end of the show, not the middle of it.

Late morning: the island wakes up. With the rime gone, the island is a farming village again: lanes, courtyards, smoke from stoves, and the river still open and steaming in the cold. This is the part day-trippers who rush back to the city miss. Walk unhurried, eat lunch in the village, and only then think about leaving.

The afternoon: Wula Street and Manchu town

Rime Island sits in Wulajie Manchu Town, and the afternoon belongs to the town behind the island. Between viewings, the existing guide points to the Wula history and culture museum, the old Manchu street, and Manchu hotpot: copper pot, pickled cabbage, blood sausage. That combination is what turns a photo trip into a cultural one, and it is also the sensible way to warm up after a dawn at −20°C.

If you stayed overnight, this is also when the village repays you: a night in a Hantun farmyard means sleeping on a heated kang bed, eating farmhouse food, and waking up already on the island for the 6 AM light instead of racing from downtown. Villagers are famously hospitable, though do not expect English.

How this page relates to the rime guide

• This page: the island as a place — which village to base in, how a day on the island runs, and what to do when the ice is gone.
• Jilin Rime Ice: The Complete Winter Guide: the phenomenon — when to go, all four viewing areas ranked (island, Hantun, Ashihada, downtown riverbank), what to wear, and photography in the cold.
• Going further: combine the island with a ski day at Beidahu, or fold it into a longer plan with the Jilin City itinerary. Pack for the dawn cold with the winter packing list.

FAQ

Is Rime Island worth a full day, or is half a day enough? Half a day covers the rime, if you leave by 5:30 AM and return by noon. A full day is better: the morning is for the trees, the afternoon for Wula town, and an overnight stay removes the dawn race entirely.

Hantun or Zengtongtun? Hantun for convenience and a first visit; Zengtongtun for quiet and a more basic stay. Same island, different trade-offs, and the morning’s fog decides the photography more than the village does.

Will I definitely see rime? No, not guaranteed on any single morning: it needs a foggy night followed by deep cold and little wind. December to February is the season, January the most reliable month, and staying two or three mornings in Jilin makes missing it unlikely.

How much does the day cost? Treat prices as rough guides, not gospel, as the rime guide warns: island admission is typically under 100 RMB, and a whole day-trip (transport, ticket, hot lunch in Wulajie) lands well under 300 RMB per person. Winter-season pricing moves, so confirm locally.

Is it suitable for kids or older travellers? The spectacle suits all ages, but the −20°C dawn is serious. If the cold is a worry, the downtown riverbank (short exposure, quick retreat to warmth) is the gentler alternative; the island rewards those who can handle the early cold.