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| Wudalianchi Lake |
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Lying to the northwest of Dedu County in Heilongjiang Province, Wudalianchi
Lake, formed by a string of five smaller lakes, can be reached from
Harbin by train to Dedu followed by a one-hour bus ride. The scenery
here is spectacular, with grotesquely shaped peaks, rocks, and caves
and the sites of a dozen shield-shaped and fourteen cone "C" shaped
volcanoes. The area is a "volcanic museum" which also
attracts scientists and researched as well as tourists.
The youngest but largest of the volcanoes are Mount Laohei and
Mount Huoshao, which last erupted 260 years ago. Mount Laohei's
slopes are covered with cinder and are very steep. Its funnel ¨C
shaped crater is a hundred meters deep. When it erupted last, the
molten lava pouring down from the crater blocked a river and created
five dammed lakes. Numbers from one to five, giving them in Chinese
the name "Wudalianchi", identifies them.
Among the many springs in the area, the most famous include South
Spring (Nanquan), North Spring (Beiquan), South Washing Spring (Nanxiquan),
and Bubbling Spring (Fanhuaquan). The water is cool, bitter, and
foamy, suitable for drinking and bathing and said to be highly effective
in curing certain diseases.
There are many folktales about the springs. One says that more
than a hundred years ago a young Daur herder named Galasangbaiy
in fell in love with a woman slave who was called Aqimeige. When
the herd owner found this out, he thrashed Galasangbaiyin and threw
him in the stables. Aqimeige stole a horse and, carrying her unconscious
lover, rode away from the herd owner's house. But as they
were making their escape, the herd owner shot a poisoned arrow which
struck Aqimeige. She and Galasangbaiyin both fell from the horse
into a spring. The cool water revived them and cured their wounds.
To mark the spring, Galasangbaiyin inscribed the words "medical
spring" on the rock beside it - this spring is thought to be
what is known as South Spring today. After learning about the spring's
magic power, Daur herders swarmed to the spring and erected tents
around it so that they too could drink and bathe in its water. Today
there are more than fifty sanatoria in the lake area, which can
accommodate thousands of patients every year. |
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