"Jingyuetan National Forest Park (净月潭国家森林公园; Jìngyuètán Guójiā Sēnlín gōngyuán), (45 min from downtown to the south east of the city). It is the largest man-made forest park in Asia, and a great place for skiing in the winter." (from http://wikitravel.org/en/Changchun )
It also contains a wonderful (seven stories no elevator) lookout tower from which we were able to take many photos.
Here are some views of the city of Changchun looking north from the park.
Looking south and east over the reservoir
No sign of houses or construction. The park is huge and there are many km of walking and skiing trails. It is also home at the end of December to the Vasaloppet China, a huge cross country ski loppet in China. It has recreational as well as coopetitive categories, and ski rental and instruction available. How cool would it be to ski in a race here? Wow! A focus for training. See http://scandasia.com/vasaloppet-ski-festival-in-china-draws-increasing-crowds/
This magnificent bell is housed in a tower at the top of a big (200 steps) hill. Of course David had to ring it!
Looking south and east over the reservoir
No sign of houses or construction. The park is huge and there are many km of walking and skiing trails. It is also home at the end of December to the Vasaloppet China, a huge cross country ski loppet in China. It has recreational as well as coopetitive categories, and ski rental and instruction available. How cool would it be to ski in a race here? Wow! A focus for training. See http://scandasia.com/vasaloppet-ski-festival-in-china-draws-increasing-crowds/
There is also a large Buddhist temple on the grounds. The monks were working around the place, wearing saffron coloured work shirts and pants presumably over long underwear. It was cold, not going above 5 degrees all day in a brisk wind. There will be many temples and photos. David was very happy.
This magnificent bell is housed in a tower at the top of a big (200 steps) hill. Of course David had to ring it!
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Looking down the stairs at the base of the tower.
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| From left, E.'s husband, E. (short for Elizabeth, teacher friend), Monica (another prof who is based at Central Michigan University) and David E.A. |
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| This could almost be a lake in Gatineau Park |
Such a beautiful place on a beautiful day. A breathing space in our city filled adventure.
Of course, I don't have photos of the mini comic-con that was going on at the park gates. Some of the costumes looked rather chilly. On the way home, E. and her husband graciously took us to a couple of big stores to look for a few items. Changchun has three different downtowns. It's a tad confusing still. We managed to "score" a free English map from the only place they are available, the lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel. That should help us to feel a bit more oriented. (In the Orient?)
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