The blend of cultures in Jilin was a melting pot of Russian, Korean (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and Chinese, something we saw from the few industrial parks that we visited. The shelves inside were stocked to the brim with delicious produce from all three countries. This opens Jilin up to other parts of the world but also helps to cultivate their own economy and introduce other cultures to the people of Jilin.

My expectations were blown up to the mountains in Jilin as the people here showed us all warmth and generosity, sharing their wonderful province with us. It is most definitely a place I won't stop talking about for a while, and also somewhere I'm itching to climb back into.