Chang Bai Shan 长白山

 

Beautiful, right? That's what we went to see--the Heavenly Lake （天池） in the crater of ChangBai Mountain，a volcano on the border of China and North Korea.  Sadly it was raining, foggy, and cold and all we saw was this measly view.

But let's take this story from the beginning.  We took a long-distance bus from Changchun （长春） to ErDaoBaiHe (二道白河）.  It took about 6.5 hours each way but we got to see good views of the countryside and villages as we rode along.

Waiting at the long-distance bus station

Bathroom stop (only one stop on the way there and no running water)

Our Hostel for a couple of nights

Hanging on the hostel front door

Hostel coffee bar

 

Shoilet: shower and toilet in one (no separate shower stall) and the string my parents pulled to flush their toilet.  Needless to say, not four star conditions but really not too bad.

The Gate into the ChangBai Shan Park

 

Riding up to the top of the volcano across beautiful green countryside

Hoping for the clouds to clear so we can see the lake

Mom took this photo of a photo on the wall of the lodge where she sat inside to stay warm and really she didn't miss anything because the view was no better out in the cold where we were.

After waiting and hoping for the rain to clear, we decided to go down the mountain and do some hiking at a lower, warmer altitude.

       

We hiked to a small lake, not heavenly, but much clearer and still lovely

And we hiked to a magnificent waterfall. . .

After our hike, we bathed in the hot springs that come from underground near the volcano.  We were split guys and girls because everyone bathes nude (thus why there are no photos).  Mom and I chose to wear our swimsuits as we slipped into the springs.  I could hear the nude Chinese women around us talking about how foreigners are too embarrassed not to wear clothes.  Then  we chatted with the women for a bit.  It felt great to soak in the warm water with the cool breeze above the surface, and later my parents both laughed and laughed about this unique cultural experience.

 

Posing by photos of ChangBai Shan in different seasons

 Our best attempt of a group photo with the Heavenly Lake