Jing Bo lake was also named Mei Tuo lake in ancient times. It was called Mei Tuo River during the Han dynasty. In the 2nd year of the Yong Hui period, the Tang dynasty when Emperor Gao Zong was reigning (651 A.D) it was once called A-Pu lake, or A-Pu-Lung lake; afterwards it changed into Hu Er Jin sea. In the lst year of Emperor Xuan Zong, the Tang dynasty (713 A.D) it was called Hu Han sea. It was not named Jing Bo lake until the Ming dynasty. But during the Qing dynasty people called it Bi Er Teng lake. Jing Bo lake, as it is known nowadays lies between Zhang Guang Cai mountain and Lao Ye mountain, southeast of Hei Long Jing Province, 110 kilometers away from Mu Dan Jiang, a new industrial city in northeast China. According to the geographer, the lake was formed by volcanic eruption which blocked up a river course about 10,000 years ago. The average depth of the lake is 40 meters, getting deeper and deeper from north to south. The deepest place is 62 meters. The length of the lake is 50 kilome-ters. The widest place is 9 kilometers. During the day season, the narrowest place is at least 300 meters. The lake is divided into 4 parts: the north lake, the middle lake, the south and the upper lake. It has a total area of 90.3 square kilometers. There are many harbours along the coast of the lake and lots of islands in the lake. From southwest to northeast, the lake is in ¡°s¡± shape, like a silver satin tied with several bright pearls, inlaid in the land of emerald green.
The beautiful lake is surrounded with mountains and forests. The smooth surface of the lake shines like a mirror on fine days. No visitors like to miss the best scenic spots of the lake region such as Diao Shui Lou Waterfalls, Pearl Gate, River Bank, Lotus, Old Black Mountain and Orioles Sing Hill. With the development of tourism, there are many ingenuously and uniquely constructed hotels and villas around the lake. The well-known Jing Bo Lake Hotel with its first-class villas for state officials and superb gardens is known as No. 1 Garden of Jing Bo lake. Besides, the primitive forests which retain the view of original style nowadays in the scenic spots of the lake, the mysterious tunnel formed by volcanic eruption and Bo Hai Old Country, the ruins of an ancient city, always attract visi-tors.
Richly Endowed Jing Bo Hu Lake
The scenic spots of Jing Bo lake is not only beautiful in scenery but also rich in natural resources. Because of the mild and humid climate, the yearly average temperature is 4.5*c, which is favourable for the growth of plant, thus the district is very rich in timber. The plant growing period is about 150 days. The snowy winter, thick black earth and high con-tent of humus make the trees grow fast. The entire forest area is 600.000 hectares, enough for use over 100 years. The lake is also a big natural reservoir, rich in water resources. Its irri-gated area is as large as 120,000 square kilometers, with a capacity of over 1.6 billion cubic meters. There are two hy-draulic power stations using high-pressure water tunnels, which have earned the name of ¡°Pearl Hidden Underground¡±. The broad water area produces large variety of aquatic products, among which are lake silver carp which is well-known both at home and abroad, carp, red tail fish, Bai Hua fish (a kind of fresh water fish) and white fish. During the winter fishing sea-son, the catch of every net is over 5000 kilograms. It is also abundant in nuts growing on the mountain areas such as grapes, mountain plums, mountain peaches, pine nuts and mountain dates. The yearly output is as 250,000 tons. There is also a great variety mushrooms, such as Yuan mush-room, winter mushroom, black mushroom, hazel mushroom and valuable monkey head mushroom and edible fungus which are in great demand both in the domestic and foreign markets. Medical and medicinal plants and herbs are innumerable. Besides mountain ginseng, there are the root of straight lady-bell (Adenophora Stricta), palm ginseng, the root of Chinese wild ginseng (Asarum Sieboldii), the tuber of elevated gastrodia (Gastrodia Elate ). The whole lake region is really like anatural zoo with more than 200 species of wild animals and birds, one third of which are beasts and the rest are reptiles. Many rare birds and animals can be seen in the forest, many farms such as deer farms, marten farms, bee yards and ginseng culture farms have been opened up around the lake region. Some precious specialities, like pilose antler, foetus of deer and skin of mar-ten also abound in this area.
The Lake Basin With a Million Years History
According to geologic history, the lake is regarded as a part of Yan Ji Subsidence. A Sketch of Geotectology of China records that a great crack occurred in the Jing Bo lake region from the northeast to the southwest during the late Paleozoic era. Affected by orogenic movement of the Himalayas, and long period of erosion by wind and rain, the crack happened and the ground deformed up and down, the upper part formed into mountains, the lower part formed into subsided basin, that was about 25 million years ago, in the third period of the Cenozoic Era. Up to the fouth of the Cenozoic Era, a million years ago, the go-up of the subsided basin partly happened again, the basaltic magma overflowed form the ancient cracks, making the subsided basin smaller, thus formed the lake basin. The lake was once slightly bigger than it is now. It is about one million years old, just as old as mankind.
Subsidence-Barrier Lake
Geographers say that more than a million years ago, there used to be a group of volcanos northwest of the ancient lake basin, which is now known as Jing Bo volcano group. When the volcanos erupted, a large amount of magma was sent out and flowed to the southeast along the ancient river course of Shi Tou Dian Zi river and blocked up the river course of Mu Dan river, so a barrier dyke was formed near the Diao Shui Lou waterfalls, and Jing Bo lake came into being. Because the lake (old lake basin )was formed by subsidence it is also called Subsided-Barrier lake.
History
Jing Bo lake has a long-standing history. Long, long ago, the Manchus lived and worked and multiplied in this area. According to historical records: In the 15th year of Emperor Zhou Wu (1666.B.C ) and the 9th year of Emperor Zhou Cheng (1654.B.C ) there used to be the ceremony of paying tribute by Su Shen nationality to the emperor. Yi Lou nationality in xi Han and the Jin Dynasty, wu ji nationality in the Bei Wei Dynasty, Mo He nationality in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Nu Zhen nationality in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynas-ties. All of them were the descendants or branch nationalities of Su Shen nationality. This nationality set up a country which was named Da Zhen Guo afterwards, which moved the capital to Hu Han city, in 740 A.D. The site of city was on the highland, southwest of Si Ji Tong near the Ting Bo lake. (It was called Hu Han sea at that time ). Nowadays the ruins of the city can still be seen there.
After China was liberated, the archaeologists have found four pottery hogs buried in red earth of Ying Ge hill, on the south of Jing Bo lake. It was people of Su Shen nationality who made these precious works of art. In every corner of the Jing Bo lake region, from the ruins of the ancient city, which used to be called Bo Hai Dong Jing city, to the Ning Gu Pa-goda, the archaeologists have left their footprints.
The mystery of Jing Bo lake has been gradually brought to light, but most of them are still waiting for the geogra-phers and archaeologists to explore.
II EIGHT ATTRACTIONS IN JING BO LAKE
The tortuous crests overhang the zigzag water lane,
Into whose limpid current sink,
Like an image into a mirror,the fleeting clouds.
Just resort to the summerhouse to the north , will you?
There to enjoy the sight of the waterfakk dreadfullyrumbling.
Then steer your yacht southward to the lake locked in mounts,
Where you little suspect a new landscape beyond,
Unitil the nose of your yacht pokes into another creek .
All along the water lane twenty-six miles long,
Are splendidly exhibited the eight wonders of landscape .
A fairyland befalls in man¡¯s world, so people call it. Th-rough the ages, legends about Jing Bo Lake have acquired an element of mystery and wonder. Many beautiful moving folk-lores have been passing on from generation . For many years, Jing Bo Lake with its queer glamour, attract-ted thousands of tourists. The visitors enjoy the 8 famous scenic spots of the lake area so much that they cannot tear themselves away.
Diao Shui Lou Waterfalls
Diao Shui Lou waterfalls being called Fa Ku by the an-cient local inhabitants, are at the north end of the lake, 3 kilo-meters away from Jing Bo mauntain villa, the centre of tourism..From there,after making a detour of a few hilltops,one will arrive at the Hu Guang Ge (pavilion of the lake light) which lies at the foot of Long Quan hill. Thrn turning to the left,driving along the winding mountain paths,crossing a bridge-Fei Hong bridge suspended over a rapid stream,and passing a green corridor of interwraving branches and leaves. You can see right before your eyes a hexangular pavilion in classical beauty and elegant taste. Now you can hear the waterfalls thunder before they come into view, and you can feel a cool fresh spray in the breeze caress your face, you may take a pleasant walk through a tract of broadleaf trees.Almost all of a sudden, you will see the Diao Shi Lou waterfalls-booming with tremendous force in front of you.
The powerful waterfalls are the very image of the well-known Niagara Falls. Fed by a great amount of lakr water, the cascade 12 meters with tremendous force into a deep pool. All over the sky it is filled with foam like floating clouds, as if Milky Way is pouring down to the earth, like a bundle of silver belts hanging in the sky. The waterfalls are roaring like thunder tingling thr rae. They can be heard miles away. Usually the falls are 40 meters wide. THE drop is 12 meters. But during the rainy season, the falls split into two or several drops and the whole breadth will be more than 200 meters.
By the two sides of the falls are sheer precipice and overhan-ging rocks. Standing on the edge of the precipice is like facing a bottomless chasm. You will feel dizzy. An ancient big elm with luxuriant foliage grows on the cliff like a great natural umbrella. In the mottled shadow of the tree, close to the rock, stands an elegant octagonal pavilion, people call it water-fall-seeing pavilion. Iron chains protect the way from the pavilion to the falls. There is an artificial stone stairway stretches to the black stone pond at the bottom of the valley. The water of the pool is as smooth as a mirror. The depth of the pool is 60 meters. The diameter is more than 100 meters. On sunny days, as the waterfalls roarinto the pool. The spray mingling with mist produces colourful rainbows frequently, like beautiful bridges over the stream. As a poet said:
How come chunks of snow thrown in all directions here?
And, in this area endless rolling thunderclap even in autumn?
Look, over the fathomless pool the mist and fog always ram-page,
While the flora in here bathes constantly in dew.
What forms the falls? Investigation proves: in the volcanic eruption, the outer part which got in touch with the air coo-led and turned into hard surface in the process of lava flowing, but some hot gas still remained in the hard shell in which hot lava still flowed, after the lava completely hardened, all the gas was evacuated, forming many openings and holes. Many lava caves was formed after the openings and holes collapsed .When the lake¡¯s water dropped from upper lava caves to the lower place, grand falls appeared.
During the dry season in winter you may enjoy the sight of another scene instead of waterfalls. On the bed of the lava, visitors may find many elegant and smooth lava caves. seemingly cut and polished by man, which were eroded by the lashing of water all the year round.
The black rock wall round the pool is really like a natural echo wall. The circular stone wall reflects the visitors¡¯ laugh and songs clearly. It can be compared favourably with the Echo Wall in the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.
There is an ancient legend about Diao Shui Lou waterfalls. Itgoes like this. Once upon a time, there was a very clever and beautiful young girl named Hong Luo Nu (meaning a girl in red) living behind the water curtain of the falls. She was loved by young men far and near. But to whoever courted her, she would raise the question ¡°Want is the most precious thing in the world?¡± warriors, scholars, merchants and even the king cane to pay court to her. A warrior answered that the most precious thing in the word was the force of arms. A scholar said it was poetry. A merchant responded that it was money, and only money. The answer of the king turned out to be power. The young girl wasn¡¯t interested in any of these answers. So the warrior and the scholar went away with same, and the merchant dumped all his treasure into the lake and left. Only the king still stood shamelessly in front of the falls, trying hard to understand the girl. AT last he died on the cliff, eaten by the crows. Nowadays, people can¡¯t help thinking of the clever, beautiful girl and pondering question, when they come to visit the place.
Da Gu Shan (Big lsolated Hill)
Travelling in a yacht from the mountain villa, one may go southeast upstream. Only a ten-minute trip will take you to Da Gu Shan (Big lsolated Hill), a 65-meter-high hill above the water surface, The round hill with a total area of 10,000 square meters is actually an isolated island on the lake, like a huge water buffalo bowing its head to drink water. In spring, all apricot flowers, plum flowers, rugosa roses, and Xing An azaleas are in full blossom, bright and colourful everywhere on the hill. SO the hill is also called Flower Hill.
The island is covered with mixed forests of coniferous tress and broadleaf trees. The coast is covered with bushes. The naked roots of old trees produced by long-term water lash still grow tenaciously on the rock¡¯s crevasses. On the north side of the Hill, there is a road leading to the top. There, a scene of charm and beauty meets the eye. In the far distance, the sky and water merge into one integrated mass, behind a wide expanse of mist and such a panoramic landscape of lakes and mountains, quiet and taste of surrounding, poets couldn¡¯t help writing the poem:
Dangu Hll, now intoxicated from his cup and supine in the water,
Is dozing off, the vast Lake being his brimful cup.
The tourists hanging around are too considerate
To wake him from his agelong dream,
As they row stealthily and glide furtively past him.
Like an undulating dragon, a small ridge of a hill stretches into the lake. The projecting hill just like a dragon bending its head over the water drinking. The local people also call it Little Dragon Head. It is a spectacular place for tourists.
As a witness to modern history, Da Gu Shan is an account of the glorious history of the Chinese revolution during the Anti-Japanese War. The hill once acted as a base area of the Anti-Japanese union army led by General Zhou Bo Zhong.
Bai Shi La Zi (White Stone Hill)
Bai Shi La Zi is one of the beautiful views on the lake. It is an island with white rocks scattered orderly on the hills. Situated off the left shore of the lake area in front of Da Gu Shan, the island consists of three white rock hills. The one in the middle towers proudly into the skies over the other two on each side. There is large amount of manure of manure of white ospreys, piled highly on the islands year after year and bonded together like innumerable lumps of white rock. So it gained the name of Bai Shi La Zi (meaning white rocks ). The rocky hills are usually connected with the shore, but during the rainy season, the hills and the shore are divided by water. Then, the island appears like a bodyguard in full white armour standing there vigilantly guarding the lake.
The water area around the hill abounds in mandarin fish (also called Ao Hua fish ). On holidays, small groups of fishing lovers come dispersing at the foot of the big strange-looking rocks or near the bushes and fish in a very peculiar way.
Using a small live fish as a bait, they can catch mandarin fish as heavy as two kilograms!In the evenings, large shoals of red tail fish jump out of the surface, rippling the water. |
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