A view of Jinjiang Canyon Lunch After exiting the West gate we were each given our lunch as we got o

Two Days Hiking Huangshan Huangshan Travel Guide How to See Hangzhou on Less Than $230 3 Days in Heaven Travel In Hangzhou Hangzhou Travel Solitary Hill Hangzhou Travel accommodation florence italy The West Lake Hangzhou Travel to Paradise in China Epic China Travel Fail – Changbai Mountain Changbai Mountain Jilin Province China Beijing City Wall Chaoyangmen Gate
Changbaishan is an incredible mountain range and nature reserve in Jilin Province on the border of North Korea and China. The highlight accommodation florence italy of Changbaishan accommodation florence italy is Heavenly Lake, a beautiful lake formed in a volcanic crater accommodation florence italy at the top of the mountain. For stunning photos and details of Changbaishan, click on this link here Changbaishan Mountain Information
I live in Jilin Province and always wanted to visit Changbaishan and see the Heavenly Lake so last year I took a 3 day tour there. The trip a disaster and you can cringe over the details and supporting pics here Epic Changbaishan accommodation florence italy Mountain Travel Fail
Background The best times to travel to Changbaishan are from June to September so I originally planned to go in August with a friend. My friend pulled accommodation florence italy out at the last minute so I signed up alone for a two day express tour on the 8-9 of September.
The Tour The tour was with one of the numerous generic tour companies accommodation florence italy that keep opening and closing in Changchun. accommodation florence italy The cost was 380rmb with an extra 120rmb to stay in a double room with a private show and toilet. The itinerary on day 1 was to catch the bus at 5:40am for a 6-7 hour bus trip and eventually arrive at a small town near the west gate of Changbaishan called Songjianghe in the evening. Day two was an early wake up then off to Changbaishan for half a day. The rest of the day was a shopping stop and a drive back to Changchun.
Weather Checks Checked the weather Wednesday, Thursday and Friday ready to cancel if there was bad weather and Heavenly Lake was not accessible or visible. The Friday afternoon forecast for Sunday was cloud but no rain. Acceptable so the trip was on.
The male toilets at a bus rest stop Small hot springs accommodation florence italy resort We stopped here at 11:30am for two hours so people could swim in heated swimming pools for 120rmb. It was pouring rain and the pools did not appeal so I sat around getting bored and trying to stay dry (bus was locked). Around 70% of the people on the bus did not go for a swim so this stop was probably one of those deals where the tour company gets a kick back for bringing accommodation florence italy in customers.
White water rafting The bus bumped a barrier at a level crossing near the hot water springs accommodation florence italy so the driver, the tour guide and the level crossing monitor were on their phones for an hour to sort things out. This meant there was no time for white water rafting. Absolutely no loss because the rivers have no rapids and the speed of the current is a slow walk.
Breakfast Up and at the breakfast table at 6:00am. Breakfast was a bowl of plain rice porridge, a small white piece of bread and a few mouthfuls of salted vegetables. accommodation florence italy Breakfast did not take long to finish accommodation florence italy and we were on the bus to Changbaishan at 7:00am.
West Gate We arrived accommodation florence italy at the West Gate of Changbaishan just before 8am, passed through the gates and caught the eco friendly buses (85rmb up and back) to the top of the mountain. The drive from the gate to the top took 40 minutes.
Weather Update It had been raining all Saturday and all of that day so there was no chance of seeing Heavenly Lake. The whole mountain was covered in cloud/rain and visibility was limited to several hundred meters and reducing the higher you went.
Climbing the Mountain The climb to the top of the mountain starts accommodation florence italy at the bus stop where there is a massive bus park and a two floor shop cum rest center. The climb from the bus park to the top of the mountain which overlooks Heavenly Lake has 1365 steps and you can see the numbers written on the steps as you climb up. The height of the mountain at the top where the trail ends at a viewing platform is 2274 meters.
The trail to Heavenly Lake disappearing into the clouds The View What can I say??? There was no view. We could see the faint outline of the nearest peak through the rain/clouds and no view at all of Heavenly accommodation florence italy Lake that was 80 meters below the viewing platform. On a good day the view would have been incredible with the 16 peaks surrounding you and the panorama of 10 square kilometres of pristine mountain lake spread out in front of you.
A Second Climb After moping around on the viewing platform forlornly imagining what Heavenly Lake would look like on a good day, I trudged back to the rest center accommodation florence italy to wait for the bus ride down. The rest center was full of people smoking so I climbed up the mountain again. The view was no better the second time with Heavenly Lake refusing to show itself.
Jinjiang Canyon On the way back to the west gate there was a stop at the Jinjiang Canyon which is a very deep and narrow valley along the course of the Jinjiang River flowing of Changbaishan. The walk along the edge of the canyon is well set out with impressive views and would be enjoyable in normal conditions after a morning admiring the glory of Heavenly Lake.
A view of Jinjiang Canyon Lunch After exiting accommodation florence italy the West gate we were each given our lunch as we got on the bus. A bun, a processed meat sausage, a salted egg and a bottle of water. The tour guide warned us at the beginning of the trip that meals were basic and if you did not like them, tough. You could diet. No exaggeration. If you go on a Changbaishan tour, pack munchies in your bag so you don t go hungry. The price of the tour is low so you are not being ripped off on the food. Just be prepared and bring your own.
Our lunch Shopping Every tour to Changbaishan, both the West gate and North gate tours, stops at shops selling local produce on the way back to Changchun. The tour companies get a kick back from the stores and some customers actually accommodation florence italy buy stuff there. Most people just browse accommodation florence italy around because they have to get of the bus which is locked during the stop. After the stop over at the hot springs resort the previous day and with rain still drizzling, I was not in the mood to play along so I politely and tactfully declined the offer to get of the bus and was locked in. A win win outcome.
North Gate Not West Gate Most of your time will be spent sitting on a bus or stopping off at shops/rafting/swimming pools. No way to avoid this. So you might as well get take the 3 day tour to the North gate and get a full day on the mountain.
Ideally Speak Chinese or Take a Chinese Friend 99.9% of the people on the tours are Chinese and the whole system is set up for Chinese. During both trips I ve taken to Changbaishan, I was the only foreigner. If you don t speak Chinese or go with a Chinese person, you ll have communication accommodation florence italy problems and likely to have issues like missing buses and getting lost. If you don t speak Chinese or have a Chinese friend to go with you, still go but try to buddy up with some one in your group.
Avoid Toilets The toilets and the bus rest stops and small restaurants/shops are VERY basic definitely not fun to use. If possible, use the toilets accommodation florence italy at your hotel or the North/West Gate of Changbaishan.