JILIN
PROVINCE

Changchun
Another major industrial city in the northeast of China, Changchun was once the capital of Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet-state set up in 1932 with the former Manchu emperor, Henry Pu Yi, as its figurehead leader. The main government and university buildings of the city mostly date from that era. Manchukuo folded in. 1945 when the Japanese surrendered.

Changchun, now the capital of Jilin Province, has a population of nearly two million and contains a number of important factories, including a vehicle plant that turns out the ubiquitous Liberation truck, the main workhorse of Chinese industry and agriculture alike. The plant also used to produce the Red Flag luxury limousine in which China's top leaders and honoured foreign guests ride, but the cars, which are built like tanks, gulp fuel faster than an alcoholic downs whisky and rust like crazy, were deemed too wasteful and production was halted in 1982.

How to get there and where to stay
Changchun is well served by both air services and trains - the main railway line from Peking to Harbin in the far northeast passes through the city. The main hotel is the Chunyi Hotel (2 Stalin Dajie; just opposite the railway station), which also contains the city's CITS office.