Heaven Lake of Changbai Mountain

Overview

About

Heaven Lake (Tianchi) is a crater lake on Changbai Mountain on the border of Jilin and North Korea, 2,189 m above sea level, about 13 km round and 373 m at its deepest.

There are tales of a monster in the lake; in September 2007 someone filmed about 20 minutes of a fish-like creature moving on the surface.

Mount Changbai is a dormant volcano, and Heaven Lake is the crater lake at its top, on the border between China and the DPRK. An eruption around AD 946 was one of the largest anywhere in the last two thousand years. Of the peaks around the lake, the highest on the Chinese side is Baiyun Peak, 2,691 m, the highest point in north-east China. The Songhua, Tumen and Yalu rivers all rise on the mountain.

The lake drains north through a gap along the Chengcha River, which drops 68 m over a cliff as the Changbai Falls and continues as the Erdaobai River.

The lake covers about 9.82 km², with an average depth of 204 m and some 2 billion m³ of water (figures from the Changbai Shan gazetteer).

Travel tips

Getting there: Changbaishan Airport is at Songjianghe town in Fusong County, Baishan, about 18 km from the west-slope gate road, 104 km from the north slope and 97 km from the south slope, with flights from Shanghai, Beijing and other cities. Erdaobaihe town is the base for the north slope and Songjianghe for the west.

The three approaches: the north, west and south slopes each have their own entrance, with separate tickets and park buses. The north and west slopes are the better equipped; the north slope has a shuttle to a car park close to the lake and a short walk from there; the west slope involves a long stair climb; the south slope sees fewer visitors.

Heaven Lake: the lake fills the crater, ringed by steep peaks, with viewing platforms on the rim. The summit is often in cloud, so whether the lake is visible is partly luck.

Changbai Waterfall: water leaves the lake through a gap on the north side and forms the waterfall; the Erdaobai River below is the main source of the Second Songhua River. There are hot springs downstream.

Other sights: the north slope also has Green Pool, the Underground Forest and the Changbaishan Grand Canyon, linked by park buses and doable in half a day.

Time: Heaven Lake and the waterfall fill one day; two days leave room for the other sights and the hot springs.

Season: the summit road is usually open from early summer to early autumn and closed when snow lies deep. June to September gives the best chance of reaching the rim; the tundra and forest change colour from late September; winter suits skiing and hot springs.

Caution: the summit is far colder than the foot of the mountain, so bring a windproof jacket and long trousers even in summer. The lake is next to the border; follow the marked routes and do not cross boundary markers.

Stamps

In 1993 China Post issued “Changbai Mountain”, four stamps: Heaven Lake, the alpine tundra, the waterfall and the mixed conifer and broadleaf forest.

Map

Photo credits: Heaven Lake of Changbai Mountain: Wang65 (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)

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