Ji'an Travel Guide

Chinese Name: 吉安 (jí ān)
Population: 4,959,723
Area: 25,283 square kilometers (9,762 square miles)
Location: in the central-west of Jiangxi Province, east China
Administrative Division: 2 districts (Jizhou, Qingyuan); 10 counties (Ji'an, Jishui, Xiajiang, Xingan, Yongfeng, Taihe, Suichuan, Wan'an, Anfu, Yongxin); 1 county-level city (Jinggangshan)  
Area Code: 0796
Zip Code: 343000
GDP (2019): CNY 208.541 billion (USD 30.228 billion)

Ji’an is located in the central-west of Jiangxi Province and neighbors Fuzhou, Ganzhou, Yichun, Xinyu and Pingxiang within the province. To the west, it borders Hunan. The distance between Ji’an and Nanchang is about 219 kilometers (136 miles). Ji'an is the second transportation hub in Jiangxi, connecting the major cities in the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and southeastern Fujian. Mt. Jinggangshan, is the cradle of Chinese revolution and the most well-known attraction of Ji’an. In October 1927, Mao Zedong established China's first rural revolutionary base in Mt. Jinggang and decided to use the rural areas to encircle the cities and seize power by armed forces, from which the Chinese revolution went to victory.

In addition to the special significance given by the revolution, Mt. Jinggangshan is the first choice to explore nature in Ji'an because of its lush and precipitous mountains, red azalea flowers and fresh air. Tourists can also enjoy the sunrise and the sea of clouds in Wugong Mountain with large grasslands. What’s more, many historical sites like the Jizhou Kiln Site, Bailuzhou Academy and Xinyu Shang Tomb Site can be found here.

Mt. Jinggang lies in the middle section of Lingxiao Mountains on the border area of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces. Grand peaks, strange rocks, tall old trees, amazing waterfalls, magnificent cloud sea, flowering azaleas and fascinating limestone caves make the mountain a top scenic area of Ji'an. 

Ciping is a beautiful and neat mountain town. It is the seat of Jinggangshan city government and a place boasting the most compact Mt. Jinggang revolutionary sites. Wuzhi (Five Fingers) Peak is a natural park for animals and plants. Pictures of the mountains were printed on the back of 100-yuan note of the fourth edition of RMB. Longtan Scenic Area is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from Ciping. Within 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of the Wushen River, there are five waterfalls falling into five pools.  

Climbing up the Bijia Mountain, there are azalea trees growing all over the ridges on two sides. Azalea flowers will be flourishing as the spring turns into summer.  

Wugong Mountain, located at the intersection of Pingxiang, Ji'an and Yichun, is one of China’s three great mountains to the south of the Yangtze River and most famous for its stretching and undulating meadow.

Jinggangshan Airport situated in Zaoyuan Village, Luoxi Town, Taihe County, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, southeast of China. It is about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) from downtown Ji’an, 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Mt. Jinggang, 20 kilometers (about 12.4 miles) from Taihe County, and 12 kilometers (about 7.5 miles) from Taihe Railway Station.  The airport operates flights from Jinggangshan to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Chengdu, Xiamen, Tianjin, Haikou, Nanjing, Nanning…

Ji'an Railway Station is situated in Qingyuan Lu of Qingyuan District. Jinggangshan Railway Station is in Taihe County. Ji'an Qingyuan Bus Station is located at 408, Qingyuan Lu.

Enjoying a subtropical humid monsoon climate, Ji'an is bleak in winter and spring, hot in summer and dry in autumn. It usually rains in early summer. The annual average temperature maintains around 17.1-18.6°C (62.8-65.5°F).

 When to Go: April to October is favorable period to visit the city, especially in April and May. The hillsides in Jinggangshan City are aflame with azaleas at that time.    

 History: After the Qin (221BC-206BC) unified China, Luling County was established here, and hence its old name Luling. Ji'an was also known as Jizhou since the Sui Dynasty (581-618). In the following hundreds of years, the name of this place was changed between Luling and Jizhou. It was in the year, 1295, of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) that its present name Ji'an was first used.

 Physical Features: Ji'an lies in the middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains on the middle reaches of Ganjiang River. Mountainous and hilly regions occupy more than seventy percent of its territory. Plains and hillocks make up a percentage of twenty-three of the city's land area. 

 Special Local Products: black-bone chicken, kumquat, Gougunao Tea