In eastern Jilin Province, there is a mountain capped with snow all year round.
It's called Changbai Shan, or all-year-white mountain, and it's a very popular
tourist destination. Changbaishan is 2749 meters high and is on the border
between China and North Korea. It's capped with snow all year round and has
virtually no living vegetation on top. In Chinese, it's known as Changbaishan
:"Chang" for always, "Bai" for white, and "Shan" for mountain.
The dense forest there is the first big attraction for tourists. There's a
large variety of plant species on the mountainside, different kinds of plants
from the Temperate Zone and the Frigid Zone. At the foot of the mountain,
you'll find a forest of broad-leaved trees. At 1000 meters, there is a mixed
forest of broad-leaved trees and conifers. At 1800 meters, you'll come across
a solely coniferous forest where the trees are straight and strong and have a
high economic value. Above 2000-meters, only lichen can survive. In May and
June every year, you'll find countless flowers at this level, adding color and
fragrance to the mountain. The forest of Changbaishan is really a treasure
trove. However, people come to Changbaishan mainly for Tianchi, or the Lake of
Heaven. Changbai Mountain is a sleeping volcano, and its last eruption occurred
several hundred years ago. This led to a plateau forming on top of the mountain
and, over the years, water gradually filled the volcanic opening. Due to its
mountaintop location, people started calling it Lake of Heaven. The lake is oval
in shape and is about 13 square kilometers in size. It's about 200 meters deep
on average, with the deepest point, 373 meters. There are 16 mountain peaks
surrounding Tianchi. The strongest visual impact comes on a sunny day, when the
white clouds are reflected in the water and it seems that the mountain and the
lake are in the clouds. But getting a fine day at this altitude and in this
location isn't easy. You might be lucky. Apart from the crystal clear water,
there are big impressive rock formations around Tianchi. No plants, no animals,
just a mountaintop setting with water and stone. It is really special! Local
legend has it that there is a monster living in the lake, and that people can
often see it swimming there. Over the years, this put off some visitors. But
after long-term observation, scientists formed the view that no such monster
existed and, apart from a black bear once taking a bath in it, Lake Tianchi had
no living organisms in it. Water from Lake Tianchi forms the Changbai Grand
Waterfall about 1000 meters below the mountaintop. The spectacular waterfall
is over 60 meters high and its roar can be heard as far as 200 meters away.
The water ends up flowing into the Songhua River, one of the most important
rivers in northeast China.