Gelaqiu Mountain Tianchi (Heavenly Lake)

Gelaqiu Mountain Tianchi

Situated within the Nangelaqiu volcanic crater of the Western Volcanic Group. Nangelaqiu Mountain features a regular frustum shape, its bluish-green surface adorned with prominent, uneven strip-like bands. The flat upper area forms the world-famous Tianchi, which resembles a painting. Adjacent to it, another small, fuzzy, dark green, pom-pom-like hill tightly connected to the banded volcano is Beigelaqiu Mountain. The ancient Gelaqiu Mountain erupted 2.03 million years ago. Here, ancient woods thrive and birds and animals abound. The northern and southern hills are just 150 meters apart—larger in the south, smaller in the north—with varying heights that complement each other. Nangelaqiu Mountain stands at an elevation of 596.9 meters, making it the highest and most typical frustum-shaped shield volcano among the fourteen volcanoes. The volcanic structure here is intact with no breaks. Its summit crater is bowl-shaped and was once filled with mysterious lake water accumulated over 2 million years. The pool reached a depth of over ten meters, remained unfrozen all year round, and had water as clear as a mirror.