Chang Bai Shan
Change Bai Shan, literally "The Long White Mountain," but perhaps more poetically the "Forever" or "Perpetually White Mountains," was a sight to behold. We stayed in the sister-cities of Baihe and Erdao, and they delivered a China unlike any I had seen: vibrant, artistic, rustic, green, and naturally, fantastically beautiful. The highlight, of course, was climbing (that is, driving) to the top of the mountains to see Tian Chi, the Heavenly Lake, a massive, impossibly blue volcanic lake tucked within a crown of peaks. On the far side was North Korea, and once you drank in fully the view of that lake, there remained a mountain's worth of sights: a brilliantly green forest preserve, a legendary waterfall (the ascent of which was sadly closed due to rock slides), the "Small Heavenly Lake" and it's water like a silver mirror, and hot springs so hot, they cook eggs in the water.
Oct 1, 2007
Photos: 97
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