Small cities also have such beautiful churches
📍Attraction Address: By the Songhua River, Jilin City
🚗Attraction Transportation: Self-driving, taxi, or bus
👍️Must-visit Attraction: Inside the Catholic Church
🎟️Ticket Information: Free, no reservation needed
💗Other Tips: The church is open until 4 PM
The Catholic Church in Jilin City has always been an iconic building, with a beautiful exterior. I had never been inside before, and having the chance to go in was truly eye-opening.
The church does not require a reservation, and it is open until 4 PM. If you go late, the doors will be closed. It is said that there is a light show outside the church at night, but I didn't see it, so I only visited the inside of the church.
When entering the church, staff will remind you to take off your hat, and you are not allowed to take photos of people inside the sanctuary. When I went in, there was an elderly lady taking selfies with a selfie stick, and she was stopped. The staff said you can take photos of the sanctuary, but not of people.
The inside of the church is even more beautiful than the outside, and it is very well maintained. Despite being an old church, there is no sense of decay inside; it feels solemn and sacred.
It is said that some couples hold their weddings here, and I imagine the photos would turn out great.
The day I visited, it was a bit stuffy inside the church. Since it is just one hall, you won't spend a long time visiting. I took some photos and left, but when I posted them on social media, I received many inquiries about where this place was. So, every day in Jilin City, I feel that our cultural and tourism efforts still need to work hard. There are so many places worth visiting, but the promotion efforts have a lot of room for improvement. Too many people have no awareness of Jilin City, and many don't even know that Jilin Province has a Jilin City.
After leaving the church, the riverside was lit up at night, with bar bands performing along the riverbank. Seeing the slogan 'Revitalize the Northeast' on the wall, I was really touched. People in Jilin are working hard, but most of the people walking along the riverside are locals; there are too few tourists. I hope the cultural and tourism departments will increase their promotional efforts. This is a small city that deserves to be more popular than Harbin.