Changbai Mountains
The Changbai Mountains sit in the southeast of Jilin province at the cradle of the Songhua, Tumen and Yalu rivers. The Songhua River originates from the mountains' Tianchi Lake, which was regarded as a holy place during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The Changbai Mountains National Nature Reserve was established in 1961 and covers an area of 215,000 hectares.
The Changbai Mountains'splendid scenery earned them a spot among China's top ten mountainous parks. The main peak is covered in white pumice and snow, and is one of the first places in the nation to be designated as an AAAAA scenic spot. The Tianchi hosts waterfalls, hot springs, canyons, underground forests, seas of volcanic lava, subterranean rivers, ancient forests, snow and ice. The unique natural resources have made Changbai Mountains an ideal place for both ecological and cultural tourism.
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| Changbai Mountains International Natural Skiing Park |
Tianchi is located at the top of the Changbai Mountains's highest peak and is the largest crater lake in China. Guinness World Records ranked it the highest of its kind. Towering stone peaks surround the lake, which is filled with a clear, greenish water.
The Changbai Waterfall is the longest crater-lake waterfall worldwide, creating a thunderous sound as water splashes amidst a thick fog. The Jinjiang Waterfall to the south of Guanmian Peak is visible from Tianchi, making for a breathtaking view.
The Yalu River and Changbai Mountains Grand Canyons are home to beautiful stones, ancient trees, rare herbs, steep ravines and babbling brooks.
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| Tianchi sights in Summer?? |
The Changbai Mountains are famous for many local products, especially food and medicinal materials. Its ginseng, marten and pilos antler were named the "three treasures" of Northeast China.
The area's special food includes several varieties of delicacy mushrooms, bilberry, bracken, hazelnut, black fungus, grapes, the large-fruited Chinese hawthorn, pecans, frog, the Changbai Mountains'beauty pine, pine seeds and kiwi.
Special medicinal materials includes Ginseng, the ganoderma lucidum mushroom, northeast ginseng, the codonopsis pilosula flower, acanthopanax shrubs, rainbow conk, radix gentianae, the poria cocos fungus, the platycodon root, the fruit from the Chinese magnoliavine, the boschniakia rossica plant, the fritillary bulb, evening primroses, dioscorea nipponica leaves, golden root, bear bile, badger fat and the common frog.
