{"id":10343,"date":"2014-08-25T09:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-08-25T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=10343"},"modified":"2014-12-25T12:33:14","modified_gmt":"2014-12-25T16:33:14","slug":"a-guide-to-changbai-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/a-guide-to-changbai-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Changbai Mountain (\u957f\u767d\u5c71)"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the best places to visit in Northeast China<\/strong> (\u4e1c\u5317 – d\u014dng b\u011bi) is the incredible Changbai Mountain<\/strong> (\u957f\u767d\u5c71 – ch\u00e1ng b\u00e1i sh\u0101n). The “Eternally White Mountain” sits on the border between China and North Korea, and it is a very sacred place to Koreans (they call it Mt. Baekdu). Since people from South Korea can’t exactly cross through their neighbor to the north to visit the mountain, huge groups travel to China just to see this important site. Although the mountain isn’t quite as significant to Chinese, it’s still a very popular place to visit. If you don’t want to get stuck joining a tour group to check out Changbai Mountain, you’ve got to be prepared to do a little bit of leg work. It’s not exactly a walk in the park planning a trip here, but this rough guide should help you out a bit.<\/p>\n

Transportation<\/h2>\n

There are actually two areas you can visit – the northern and western sides – and they are quite far apart from each other. Your best bet is to first take a train to Shenyang<\/strong> (\u6c88\u9633 – sh\u011bn y\u00e1ng), the provincial capital of Liaoning, and then catch an overnight sleeper train bound for Baihe<\/strong> (\u767d\u6cb3 – b\u00e1i h\u00e9) in Jilin. On our journey there, we befriended a large group of Chinese guys who were all heading to the mountain on a company outing. Many beers were consumed, shirts were taken off, and a hilarious photo shoot ensued.<\/p>\n

Once you arrive at Baihe, there are buses waiting to take tourists up to the mountain. The trip isn’t quite over, though, as you still need to jump on one of the green buses inside the park and then take a terrifying mini-van ride up the winding road to reach the top on the north side. It’s quite the adventure, and it all pays off when you get to take in the amazing view.<\/p>\n

\"A

A long, strange trip to get to the top of the North side.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you’d like to see the other side of the mountain, you’ll need to get back on the train at Baihe station and head to Songjianghe<\/strong> (\u677e\u6c5f\u6cb3 – s\u014dng ji\u0101ng h\u00e9). The ride takes around two hours, and you can kick back and enjoy the scenery outside of your window.<\/p>\n

\"Train

Train from Baihe to Songjianghe.<\/p><\/div>\n

Your hotel may provide a shuttle bus to the park, or you can always find someone to drive you for a small fee. Once again, you’ll have to jump on the green bus; expect a huge line of people waiting before the buses finally start running.<\/p>\n

\"Just

Just another bus line in China.<\/p><\/div>\n

Theses buses take you all around both sides of the park, and you’ll need them since there are huge distances to cover. A ticket for the bus is 85 RMB and is valid for the entire day, but you’ll need to buy a separate ticket for each side.<\/p>\n

There is also an airport with flights serving a few cities in China if you’ve got the extra kuai<\/em> to burn.<\/p>\n

The North Side<\/h2>\n

Both sides of the park require a separate entrance ticket (125 RMB\/person), so think about whether or not you want to do them both and buy two tickets. As previously mentioned, you need to take a gut-wrenching minivan ride to reach the top of the north side (for about 80 RMB per person). It’s not possible to walk up this side, so if you’re really into getting some exercise and don’t want to spend the extra money, it might be better to just visit the west side. Should you take the ride and survive, however, you’ll be greeted with an awesome view of the Heavenly Lake<\/strong> (\u5929\u6c60 – ti\u0101n ch\u00ed), a crater lake atop the mountain that was created by a major eruption many years ago.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Heavenly Lake from the north side.<\/p><\/div>\n

After wandering around and taking in the views for a while, you can head back down and explore more of this side of the park. Pay a visit to the Changbai Waterfall, check out the natural hot springs, and order up an egg that has been boiled in the hot water.<\/p>\n

\"Waterfall

Waterfall and hot spring eggs.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are also some nice ponds, lakes, and trails that you can explore on this side. It’s truly a beautiful place, and you can definitely spend an entire day taking in the many natural sights.<\/p>\n

\"Exploring

Exploring the north side of the park.<\/p><\/div>\n

As is usually the case in China, you’ll find plenty of hilarious Chinglish signs scattered around the park.<\/p>\n

\"North

North side Chinglish signs.<\/p><\/div>\n

For more on visiting the north side, check out this video:<\/p>\n