In early autumn, Chen Mo, a self-driving tourist from Hangzhou, pulled into a themed rest stop along National Highway G331 in northeast China’s Jilin Province.
Setting off from Dandong in neighboring Liaoning Province, he planned a seven-day journey along the border road to Hunchun in Jilin, hoping to experience Korean ethnic customs, pick local mountain produce and take in the riverside scenery along the way, CNBC reports.
“I used to think border areas were just places to pass through,” Chen said. “Now, they are worth staying for.”
Stretching 1,240 km across Jilin, G331 runs along the province’s border, skirting the Changbai Mountains and tracing the Yalu and Tumen rivers. The route passes through 10 county-level areas and links 216 border villages, 12 border ports and 45 scenic attractions rated AAA level or above. Parts of the route were once narrow, winding and difficult to navigate, making many border villages and attractions hard to reach.