Changchun Lake

Changchun Lake

With the spring breeze gently caressing your face and the grass growing as warblers flit about, it’s the perfect season of blooming flowers and warm weather — an ideal time for an outing. In this beautiful season, quickly pack your bags, gather your friends, and join me to admire the enchanting scenery of nature and experience the fairy-tale-like beauty of Meiling’s Changchun Lake, known as Nanchang’s very own “Jiuzhaigou.”

It is understood that Meiling’s “Changchun Lake” boasts several “Nanchang firsts”: the only mountain grass-skiing spot in Nanchang, the longest lakeside corridor in Nanchang, the largest original Castanopsis forest in Nanchang, and the highest number of waterfalls in Nanchang.

The fairyland of “Changchun Lake”

Changchun Lake is like a paradise on earth: watch the sunrise over the sea of clouds in the east at dawn, gaze at the city lights of Nanchang at dusk, admire the fiery red azaleas stretching for miles in spring, enjoy the cool breezes from the lofty platforms in summer, savor wild fruits like nectar from a thousand peaks in autumn, and behold the jade-like trees and silver blossoms atop the mountains in winter.

It is said that the origin of Changchun Lake is also tied to a legend. Legend has it that Changchun Lake was formed over 1,700 years ago. At that time, the immortal Xu Zhenjun traveled to Meiling in the Western Hills and noticed that the local area suffered from poor harvests in both drought and flood years, and no increase in bountiful years due to a disaster-causing dragon. So, he gathered several skilled and extraordinary individuals to track down and subdue the dragon. When the dragon fled to what is now the area of Changchun Lake, Xu Zhenjun stomped his foot and shouted loudly, “Evil dragon, where do you think you’re going!” Hearing the immortal’s commanding shout, the dragon panicked. Trying to escape, it found itself surrounded by high mountains on three sides, and the only gorge was blocked by Xu Zhenjun’s companions. Left with no choice, the dragon surrendered. Xu Zhenjun and his companions quickly used iron chains to bind the dragon. The spot where the immortal stomped and shouted suddenly collapsed into a huge pit more than ten zhang deep and hundreds of zhang in circumference. This became the prototype of Changchun Lake.

Since then, the water hazard was transformed into a benefit. The surrounding fields have yielded bountiful harvests year after year, the forests remain lush all four seasons, and the villagers who drink the lake’s water enjoy particularly long lives. That’s why people named the lake “Changchun,” meaning “long spring” or “eternal spring.” Surrounded by mountains over 180 meters above sea level, the lake’s surrounding peaks range from 180 to 520 meters in elevation. The area also features water amusement facilities such as a water park and water flying activities. Here, you can go bamboo rafting, try water flying, and if you’re visiting during the scorching summer heat, you can also play in the water and enjoy the endless cool fun...

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After trekking through ancient woodlands, although you may be enchanted by the scenery along the way, you might also feel hot and tired. Don’t worry — on the western side of Changchun Lake, beneath Guanyin Cave, several massive rocks formed by tectonic movements millions of years ago are stacked together to form a granite cave complex. These caves are not only interconnected and adorned with trees growing inside them, but are also suspended above two small streams, forming two spring pools — thus named the Two-Spring Cave. As soon as you enter the entrance of the Two-Spring Cave, a cool breeze mixed with water mist greets you from the cave mouth, instantly making you feel refreshingly cool and invigorated, as if you’ve entered a distant immortal realm.

The “Humble and Respectful” Xuxin Cave

Entering a group of caves near Guanyin Cave from the woods, you can experience the five states of life in the Xuxin (Humble Heart) Cave: as you first enter the cave, a huge rock spans the entrance, requiring you to bend low to get through, giving you the feeling of being respectful and reverent; then, a protruding stone stretches downward from above, forcing you to bend even lower to pass, making you feel like bowing like an ant; going further inside, the cave becomes smaller and smaller, almost requiring you to crawl, embodying the gesture of prostration; after squeezing through the narrow stone tunnel, there are several naturally formed stone steps to walk on, giving you the sensation of climbing higher step by step; and once you reach the end of these natural stone steps, an open grassy area appears before you with blue skies and white clouds above, and swaying ancient bamboo and fir trees beside you, making you feel suddenly enlightened and uplifted.

The Beautiful Scenery of “Wind, Flowers, Snow, and Moon”

Although Changchun Lake doesn’t have a romantic love story, it still boasts beautiful scenery reminiscent of “wind, flowers, snow, and moon.” Qingfeng Pool, Taohua Stream, Songxue Ravine, and Yin Yue Pool — the entire canyon below Changchun Lake is called Changchun Valley. Due to differences in geology, vegetation, and water flow, it forms four slightly distinct scenic sections, which people have named after “wind, flowers, snow, and moon.”

Qingfeng Pool is located at the entrance of the scenic area. Entering from the relatively wide gate area into the mouth of Changchun Valley, a cool breeze carrying floral scents and mist greets you along with the sounds of wind waves, water crashing against rocks, and birds chirping.

Following the stream of the Qingfeng Pool Waterfall upstream, passing through Qingfeng Pavilion and the Qingfeng Pool playground, you’ll enter the peach-blossom-and-willow-green Taohua Stream. In spring, colorful flowers such as azaleas and roses bloom alongside peach blossoms, while in autumn, crabapple and wild chrysanthemums compete in beauty with oleanders.

Leaving Taohua Stream behind, look up to see a secluded mountain cave hidden among many trees, where several tall pine trees stand with sturdy trunks and dense, umbrella-like canopies — this is the Songxue Ravine. The layered waterfalls under the pines are shaped like stairs, ribbons, or gauze, and their colors resemble snow and jade.

Upstream of the Songxue Ravine lies a crystal-clear pool surrounded by reflections of ancient pines and camphor trees, making the water especially emerald and sparkling — this is the Yin Yue Pool. On clear autumn nights when the moon is bright, the moon in the water shines with extraordinary radiance, and even on scorching summer days, the reflection of the blazing sun in the emerald water resembles a bright moon.

Address: Changchun Lake Scenic Area, Wanli District, Nanchang City

Type: Caves, Waterfalls, Lakes

Opening Hours:

8:00-17:00

Ticket Information:

Gate Price: 15.0 RMB