Sky Pool

The deepest lake in China-Changbai Tianchi(Heaven Lake) is located in the southeast of Jilin province, is one of the most well-known tourist attractions in the area. Because the lake water is about 2,150 meters above the sea level, people name it as Heaven Lake, or Sky Pool.




According to the literature, Changbai Mountain has erupted three times since 16 centuries. Tons of lava during eruption created a vast basin-shaped crater and as the time went, it become a lake. The lake is oval and with a length of 4.85 kilometers from south to north and 3.35 kilometers from east to west. Its water covers 10 square kilometers.




As the deepest lake domestically, the average depth of the lake is 204 meters, but scientists say the deepest spot of the lake can reach to 373 meters. There are mainly two water sources for the lake, one if from the rain and snowmelt, the other is from the underground spring. It is surrounded with 16 peaks, with the 68m Changbai Waterfall located to its north is surrounded with 16 peaks, with the 68m Changbai Waterfall located to its north. If you look at the water very carefully, you would see different colors such as dark green, sky blue and dark blue. Since it’s misty here all the year round, not everyone is lucky enough to see such beautiful view.




Legend has it that Heaven Lake was once a precious mirror from a god called White Venus. The Queen mother of the Heaven had two beautiful daughters. No one could tell which one was more beautiful. One day from Peach Party, White Venus took out his mirror and said, with this mirror, we could know which one is prettier than the other.

The younger daughter took a look in the mirror then handed it to her elder sister. Her sister couldn’t take her eyes from the mirror and thought to herself, I am the prettiest one. At this very moment, the mirror talked, honestly, I think your sister is prettier than you. She was furious hearing this and threw the mirror away. It fell on the earth and became the Heaven Lake.



When it comes to the Heaven Lake, one thing worth mentioning is the Heaven Lake Monster. To me it is more like the Chinese version of Loch Ness Monster. The earliest record about Heaven Lake Monster can be found in the literature from 100 years ago. From a record in 1908, it had a vivid description of the monster in the lake, “There is a monster floating on the surface, with golden color, head giant as a basin, beard on its face, hunters took it as dragons.”Nowadays more and more people claim they have witnessed the monster. This attracts a great number of scientists’ visit and everyone is trying their best to to find out what the monster really is. So far, the answer is still left unknown. That only makes it more mysterious.