Unlike the lakes, the waters of the Songhua River, tempered by passing through the power station, never freeze over even in the coldest of weather. Before daybreak, when climactic conditions are right, water vapour from the river produces a thick rime that settles on the willow trees that line the Songhua's banks as it flows through the center of the city. The effect is one of unearthly beauty. I was fortunate enough to see it at its best on my first-ever morning in Jilin – still disoriented by jet-lag, I got up around five in the morning and took a stroll along the banks of the river in the coldest weather I had ever experienced, through a genuine winter wonderland.

Wu Song – Jilin Rime. Ethereal beauty at dawn. [Jilin City Government]

This is Wu Song, one of China's four natural wonders – Jilin Rime. Lighter than thistledown, it is as fragile and ephemeral as it is stunning to behold. As soon as the sun rises, no matter how cold, the thick rime begins to disappear. By mid-morning it is gone.

Another feature of the Jilin winter is their fireworks. From western New Year to the end of the Chinese New Year, the streets of the city are lined with vendors. I'm not talking about the feeble boxes of "Fox's squibs" that you used to get in the shops for the week or so before Bonfire Night, and which have now disappeared into the ‘too dangerous' bin. These Chinese things are monsters. Some of them are the size of a large fridge.

My own favourite is a simple creature called the "er ti jiao" (two kick foot). This is a firework about the size of a rolling pin. The casing is made of cardboard about a centimetre thick.