Wudalianchi

Wudalianchi means five connected lakes, formed when eruptions in 1719 and 1721 from the Laohei and Huoshao cones sent lava across the Bailong river and dammed it into a chain of five lakes. The eruption is among the most recent in eastern China and was recorded in Qing documents, which makes the lava field unusually well dated: a black expanse of ropy and blocky rock, largely unvegetated after three centuries, walked on boardwalks. Fourteen cones stand across the area, and Laohei can be climbed to its crater rim. Mineral springs here are drunk and bathed in for health, drawing large numbers of domestic visitors, and the area is a UNESCO geopark and biosphere reserve.

What you actually see

• The 1720s lava fields - black rock still largely bare after three centuries.
• The five lakes - the chain formed when lava dammed the river.
• Laohei crater - the cone climbed to its rim on a stair path.
• The mineral springs - waters drunk and bathed in across the area.

When to go

June to September; northern Heilongjiang winters are extreme and most facilities close, though ice caves in the lava draw some winter visitors. Summer brings health tourists to the springs in large numbers.

Honest expectations

The area is spread out and internal shuttle buses are needed between sites, adding cost. The health-spring culture dominates the town and can feel commercial. Mosquitoes on the lakes in summer are severe.

Nearby

Heihe and the Russian border lie north; Harbin is far south.