Lake as smooth as a mirror
Jingpo Lake, located in between mountains south of the city of Mudanjiang, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is hailed as the "West Lake of North China".
The body of water that is today's Jingpo lake was created when a part of the Mudan River was blocked in by magmatic rocks from five volcanic eruptions about 5,000 years ago.
The lake was originally called "Abu Lake" and renamed "Huhanhai" in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It received its present name, meaning "smooth as a mirror", during the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644).
The lake, which is about 40 meters deep, is now part of a key national scenic spot covering a 90.3-square-kilometer area. It has four water areas the North, Central, South and Upper Lakes, with many islands.
After being named a global geopark by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in September 2006, Jingpo Lake Geopark became a famous tourist resort, attracting increasing visitors from around the world.
Developed around the Jingpo Lake, the geopark covers 1,400 square kilometers and is divided into two themed tourist areas and seven geological relics areas, including the Crater Forest, Lava River, Waterfall and Mountain Villa, Jingpo Lake, Lava Mesa, Xiaobei Lake, Toad Pond and cone-shaped volcano areas.
Relics in the park have great geological research value, say experts.
In particular, the integrity of the formation of the lava barrier lake is of greater geological value than any single geological phenomenon, such as the volcano, lava mesa and tunnel, and the waterfall. It is extremely important to researchers studying Cenozoic volcano movements.
The site of the Shangjing Longquan government office of the Bohai Kingdom (AD660-926), a regional regime set up by a minority ethnic group during the Tang Dynasty (AD816-907), situated inside the geopark, is one of the best reserved relics of this particular historical period as it is a vital witness to the history of the Bohai Kingdom and the Tang Dynasty.
(China Daily 04/27/2007 page20)
