The Changchun Botanical Garden is one of the larger botanical collections in northeast China, covering a site that includes outdoor planting areas, glasshouse collections, and a rose garden that is a city landmark in early summer. The garden holds an extensive collection of plants native to the northeast Chinese climate — species adapted to long cold winters and short intense growing seasons that are rarely found in botanical collections further south.
The spring bloom season (May and June) brings visitors for the tulip and peony displays. Summer is the garden's most active period with the full range of collections in growth. Autumn brings chrysanthemum festivals that are a traditional Jilin cultural event. The garden is a practical destination for a morning or afternoon outside the city's museums and historical sites.