Wudalianchi (Five Big Linking Lakes), Heilongjiang, China

4John L 5:00 PM Feb 16, 2017

Lakes and Volcanoes in Northern China
We took the bus trip from Daqing to Wudalianchi at the start of the October holiday. Chinese bus drivers have their own sense of adventure and danger and it's best to either sleep or play computer games rather than worry about the possibility of an accident! It's about a 6 hour trip with an afternoon arrival in the town. The first thing you notice is the cleanliness of the town. Please note: There are two Wudalianchis. The city where the bus stops to let off residents. The second one is about another 30 kms away and that's where you want to get off. Apart from being the end of the ride, this is the resort town of Wudalianchi, volcanoes and lakes. The literal meaning of Wudalianchi is: Wu means 5, Da means big, Lian means connected, Chi means pool about lake size. So we run them all into one - Five Connected Lakes. We were very fortunate to get a friendly taxi driver who took us to the hotel we booked. The hotel was rather bizarre and deserves a review on its own. The taxi driver picked us up and took us to the 5 Lakes. I might add the weather was bitterly cold with the wind and chill factor making it sub zero °C. The immediate thought that came to us all was just how glorious this place would look in the late spring. The lava flow around the lakes, the formations, the geology was simply amazing. The walk around the lakes is done over a combination of wooden walkways and dirt tracks. When you've walked about 2 - 3 hours you can, blessedly, take the river barge back. In Spring or Summer we would have walked back for sure, but the cold was getting unbearable. The taxi driver toured us around town including a stop at his house which was a mini guest house and looked super clean and comfy. If only we'd known before we booked the Chinese version of Fawlty Towers! We wanted to try the local spa but suffered a glitch when the guard wouldn't let us in. Eventually the taxi driver called somebody really powerful and the guard reluctantly raised the security bar. We thought it might have to do with being foreigners until we arrived at the spa which was full of Russian ladies, all well over 50 years old. The gents side of the spa was empty. By that I mean all but one spa pool was void of water as well! After the memorably bad spa the driver took us to a local restaurant where we had the best meal and time you can imagine. Friendly hosts and great food washed down with cold beer. Super! The next day we needed breakfast, a service lacking at the hotel, and wandered into town and decided on a restaurant that advertised itself as Russian. It took some time for us to convince them to open (really!) and we were served fried eggs and a couple of slices of meat that could have been ham, not sure. Then came the bill. We all lived in China and had a Chinese national with us and knew very well what food costs in that country so an argument ensued over the horrendously scammy bill. Over 400RMB! We finally agreed on 200RMB which was still 100RMB over value but there was a volcano waiting! The cost to enter was 120RMB each and the main volcano is called Black Dragon Hill. Eco toilets, lots of rubbish bins and a very cleverly built path, made from scoria, that's lava stone, and a delightful climb up to the top of the volcano. The crater is awesome - the view likewise. The wind at the top was brutally cold. If you walk all the way around the crater it will take you to the descent path on the other side. Fabulous walk, wonderfully constructed to fit in with the natural surroundings. At the bottom you can take the wooden walkway at various points and wander out onto the "Sea of Rocks" an amazing formation of the lava flow hundreds of years ago. Once back at the entrance area you take a ride in an elongated golf cart that takes you around the other lakes, lots of strangely formed lava formations like blowholes and snake shapes. Back in town you will notice that it caters almost exclusively for Russian tourists. Understandable as the Russian border is but a short distance north. Some of the souvenirs were irresistible and you can bargain. There are a lot of other things to see in Wudalianchi other than the lakes and volcanoes. There is a natural spring, carbonated natural water, 30RMB entry with a beautiful walk around Lake One, a waterfall, an old brewery and if you take containers you can have as much water as you can carry. Other places well worth going to see are Fanhua Spring and Yaoqan Hill which has a temple at the top after climbing about a million steps! There is also a Crystal Palace and an underground Ice Cave. You can get to Wudalianchi from Harbin and Daqing by bus. I suggest mid spring to early summer being the best times to visit.

4Danny S 5:00 PM Jul 17, 2018

scenic old cone volcano landscape
I saw eight or so volcanoes. There are five lakes joined together with a lava scape. You need to ride a shuttle cart down to the lakes through a combination of lava fields and relatively untouched woodlands. lots of pretty birch trees along the way. If you've been to Hawaii it might not blow you away but if you've never seen lava and you're in China, go for it. It's a major trek to get here though unless you're in Harbin or vicinity.