Charming, Challenging, Changbaishan

The Journey to Erdaobaihe

Arguably there are few journeys worse than taking a packed, un-air-conditioned bus in the mid-summer heat of China. Throw in a lack of tarmac on the so-called roads and a hangover (yes, one of those I am directly responsible for and serves me right!) and you’ll have a flavour of my journey to a tiny town called Erdaobaihe (二道白河).

The first 3 hours of the trip were along reasonable roads where the worst I had to contend with was the man next to me falling asleep on my shoulder. The last 2 hours though were through the middle of a forest on what might be considered the dirt road equivalent of the skiing moguls. The driver saw this as no reason to slow down however, and pummelled us over potholes and rocks at high speed. Every bag in the overhead storage hold fell down at some point and lost apples and tomatoes were bruising and bouncing in the aisles.

Shaken, I arrived at Erdaobaihe and found myself in a small square in front of a derelict train station. I was immediately pounced on by a hotel owner who ensconced me in a still overpriced room even after I had managed to haggle it down to 100RMB.

It took me less than 5 minutes to navigate the square and find the only restaurant still open; a tiny, dingy place serving dumplings. I gratefully devoured them, whilst sidestepping the offer of a teapot of baijiu. A drummer and piper had installed themselves in the square and a group of locals came out to dance as I made my way to an early bed. I fell asleep to their tunes.

The Arrival at Changbaishan

Before 6am I was up, frozen and scalded by the shower and had gobbled down a breakfast of eggs and rice porridge. I was waiting for the 6am bus when a taxi driver hijacked me. I refused him twice before giving in as he had a family of 3 waiting in the taxi and no-one to make up a 4. The price was double the bus, but he promised me a return trip. I took the driver’s mobile number and very reluctantly paid the 20RMB up front, only because my fellow passengers had done the same.

At 6.30am in the morning, the gate to Changbaishan was heaving with people. I’ve got used to this phenomenon. True to form they turned out to be several large tour groups waiting for their guides to buy tickets. I slipped through to the queue-less ticket booths, bought my ticket and entered, leaving the multitudes behind.

The great gate to Changbaishan is impressive, perhaps to make up for the lack of mountain, which is invisible from the entrance. A lengthy bus journey ensued before the mountains began to appear in gently rising greens and greys against the sky. The bus parked up in front of a fleet of jeeps and a huge queue of people for a ride up to the famous Heavenly Lake – but I wanted to walk.

The bus passengers, obviously feeling adoptive towards me as a lone foreigner with some Chinese at her disposal, swept me towards the jeeps and ignored my protests that I wanted to climb. Assuring me I couldn’t possibly climb, in both English and Chinese; they even asked an official who shook his head and told me to buy a ticket and join the queue. I was desperate to explain that I knew I could climb to the waterfall and beyond it to Heavenly Lake but no-one was listening to me.

Stubbornly I refused to take a jeep, shaking off the hands from pulling me and ignoring the gratuitous stares. I left the queues and searched out an official sat, quiet and oblivious ,and explained my situation. He looked disgruntled, asked me to wait for a moment and flagged down a passing tour bus for me to board.

The tour bus, huge and wide and complete with two separate groups, deposited us all at a large car park. From here it was a 20 minute crowded walk to the hot springs where eggs and a vast selection of sausages were being cooked.

The Waterfall Appears

It wasn’t to be a quiet journey up along the pristine, talkative Erdaobai stream that led backwards to the waterfall. Changbaishan’s waterfall is the source of the mighty Tumen and Songhua Rivers and though at 68m it might seem a little short for this honour, the surroundings more than compensate. The mighty rocks get vertical here, their grey bulk looks soberly upon the verdant canopies of the birches that line the path and the waterfall is a tumbling white fog. The dull pound of water on rock is hypnotic.

I was sad to find the view marred by a great concrete tunnel that allows us visitors to ascend the mountain. Would access otherwise be impossible, or limited only to those with determination and skill ? As it is, I and a constancy of others began the steep, step-after-step climb; the waterfall a mockery of our slow progress upwards against the fluent falling of hundreds and thousands of litres.

The Towers of Stone

Being no stranger to steps or mountains, I climbed quickly and earned myself some space at last. The temperature was heading for 30, the sun was striking down from a sky that couldn’t have been more perfect and the cool whispers of the waterfall were soothing to my skin.

At about halfway up the waterfall, the tunnel becomes enclosed and a few hundred meters of claustrophobic climbing ensue. It is damp, light bulb-lit and disappointingly synthetic, feeling less like climbing a mountain and more like climbing a high-rise. The compensation is in emerging from this enclosure into the genuine splendour of Changbaishan; a testament to the fact that there is nothing more bewitching than the places where Mother Nature’s charm is left unhindered.

Here I was in a valley between mountains, even though I had already climbed a considerable distance. Turquoise water flowed through lush green grasses and disappeared over the waterfall’s edge. The floor was full of ragged, volcanic-looking rocks and a pair of large black rooks played amongst them. I couldn’t help but be moved by the human touch on the land - the cairns - that stood in hundreds of tiny towers. I picked up a single rock and added it to one of the cairns: my mark on the landscape.

Heavenly Lake Appears

Meeting the renowned Heavenly Lake (天池) was something special; here was an ocean amidst mountains where the clouds came to surf. The waves slapped at the shore of this giant crater whilst the mountains continued upwards impossibly until they speared the sky. A great group of visitors congregated noisily at the small beach and I was disappointed that the ubiquitous pot noodle stalls and other tourist gimmickry had made it up here too. I took myself off a few hundred meters walk to where hoverflies danced within the wildflowers and watched the changing colours of the mountains in relative peace.

Descending from Heavenly Lake I saw the rubbish from picnics discarded around the lake shore and an empty bottle floated along the stream.

Beyond Little Heavenly Lake

Little Heavenly Lake (小天池) was my next stop and was, predictably, a small lake. Feeling adventurous I took a narrow path leading along the edge of the lake and up into the forested hills. I was soon negotiating fallen trees and alone with the woodland. I kept climbing until I reached a great open prairie-like space of yellow grass and always there were higher hills to climb… I continued.

A good hour and a half climb upwards and I could see the huge waterfall like a white stripe below me. I was on a great ridge, vertiginous and narrow, the landscape beneath was small and far and across this great valley I could see the jeeps winding their way up the opposite mountains. A spidery waterfall fell away from the rocks beside me and was swallowed by moist green hummocks of grass. A cool wind brought goose bumps to my arms and I decided to turn back before the day ran out.

The Summit by Jeep

I’d met someone along the way who told me I should take the ride up to the top of the mountain and reneging on my earlier refusal, I flagged down a bus and got off at the line of jeeps. The drive took 20 snaking minutes around 360 degree bends on a cobbled road. I arrived at what I’ve come to know as mountain-top China with car park, hotel and pot noodle seller to greet me.

The weather had held for me, the world seemed bright and blue. I saw the climbing trail winding to this summit and knew deep down I should have walked it; I was here but without that sense of worth that comes from using my feet.

Looking down on Heavenly Lake was spectacular; truly not to be missed from a place where I was sure I would knock my head against the sky. The clouds bubbled up against the distant mountains and the lake shone with bands of turquoise, purple and silver sun-beamed light.

The Underground Forest Appears

It was 5pm when I headed out to my final destination, the Underground Forest (地下森林). As the only person around I grabbed a ride with some workers who were leaving for the evening and they dropped me off, reminding me the last bus would leave at 6pm. I hurried my way through the forest of age-dishevelled pines until I came to the lookout point. I’d thought I was at ‘ground’ level but perhaps a hundred meters below and stretching out until the edge of sight was the vast forest itself.

The evening sun was pale orange and dim and every tree might have been alive in this twilit murk; every branch a great arm; thousands of legs rooted to the spot. I made my way back through the now spooky forest, my feet tapping along the boardwalk as evening sucked the last rays of light from the sun. I scrambled the last couple of kilometres back to the roadside and got the last bus.

The Return from Changbaishan

I arrived at the gates, tired but happy, at just after 6pm. I searched for my taxi driver amidst the dwindling buses and cars and eventually phoned him. He refused to pick me up telling me I could catch a bus and after 10 minutes of trying to explain to him that he’d promised to pick me up and that I’d paid him, I eventually hung up.

I searched for a bus. I couldn’t find one. I tried the few remaining tourist buses but they refused to take me, I wanted to cry. The taxis had all but disappeared and I was beginning to imagine I would be stranded. My heart was heavy. By some chance a mini-bus was picking up workers who had been cutting the grass and sweeping the roads and in desperation I asked them for a ride. Unsure at first, with a few words from a couple of the careworn workers, the driver reluctantly agreed and I took my seat on a stool.

The journey was long and uncomfortable. I was the last to be dropped off some two hours later having been to every small village in the vicinity. Some of the ragged passengers shared their fruit with me and made friendly conversation, others regarded me with strange, closed glances. I didn’t blame them.

None of them had ever seen Heavenly Lake, though they’d worked for tens of years in its foothills. I felt very foreign and extravagant. The driver wouldn’t accept my money for the ride.

Back in the tiny square at Erdaobaihe, I picked with tired hunger at my plate of stir-fried aubergine and was surprised when a man joined me. It was the taxi driver. “You’re back,” he said. He handed me 10RMB with a grin. “Sorry,” he said. I didn’t thank him or look at him and he eventually left. I had only wanted him to keep his promise and give me a ride, not a refund, but I’d been out of luck. I couldn’t bring myself to smile about it.

A mosquito bit me.

I mused I probably deserved it for being rude to the taxi driver. If nothing else he was just a part of the journey: a part of the challenge, if not the charm, of Changbaishan.

Information (August 2006)

English: Ever White Mountain
Chinese: 长白山
Pinyin: chang2 bai2 shan1

Getting There:

From: Tonghua （通化) to Erdaobaihe （二道白河）
By: bus
Cost: 52.50RMB
Time: 1.35pm depart Tonghua, 6.35pm arrive Erdaobaihe (end of the road)

From: Erdaobaihe to Changbaishan
By: taxi
Cost: 20RMB return
Time: 30 minutes

Getting Away:

From: Erdaobaihe to Yanji （延吉）
By: bus
Cost: 33.80RMB
Time: 5.30am depart Erdaobaihe, 9.30am arrive Yanji


Changbaishan

Entrance Ticket: 100RMB
Bus Ticket (required!): 45RMB
Access to Waterfall & Heavenly Lake by foot: 40RMB
Access to look down on Heavenly Lake by jeep: 80RMB

Accommodation

Having stayed at Erdaobaihe, I would advise travellers to stop at Baihe （白河）. It is a larger town and probably has much better accommodation options. Of course, travel to and from Changbaishan might be slightly more expensive as it is further away than Erdaobaihe.