Editing Changbai Mountains

{{Short description|Mountain range in China and North Korea}}
{{About|the mountain range|the Changbai Mountain|Paektu Mountain}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name=Changbai Mountains
| photo=Heaven Lake - Changbai Mountain (Aerial photograph).jpg
| photo_caption= Aerial View of Changbai Mountains
| highest=[[Paektu Mountain|Mount Paektu]]
| elevation_m=2744
| elevation_ref= 
| prominence_m=2593
| prominence_ref=
| country= {{hlist|China|North Korea}}
| map= China#North Korea
| range_coordinates={{coord|41.991|N|128.005|E|display=inline,title|source:dewiki}}
| range_coordinates_ref=
}}The '''Changbai Mountains''' ({{zh|s=长白山|t=長白山|l=long white mountain}}) are a major [[mountain range]] in [[East Asia]] that extends from the [[Northeast China|Northeast Chinese]] provinces of [[Heilongjiang]], [[Jilin]] and [[Liaoning]], across the [[China-North Korea border]] (41°41' to 42°51'N; 127°43' to 128°16'E), to the [[North Korea]]n provinces of [[Ryanggang]] and [[Chagang]]. They are also referred to as the '''Šanggiyan Mountains''' in the [[Manchu language]], or the '''[[Baekdu-daegan|Great Paekdu]]''' in [[Korean language|Korean]]. Most of its peaks exceed {{cvt|2000|m|ft|sp=us}} in height, with the tallest summit being [[Paektu Mountain]] at {{cvt|2744|m}}, which contains the [[Heaven Lake]], the highest [[volcanic crater lake]] in the world at a surface [[elevation]] of {{cvt|2189.1|m}}. The protected area [[Longwanqun National Forest Park]] is located within the vicinity of the mountain range.

==History==
[[File:Manchu veritable records - Changbaishan.jpg|thumb|Painting from the [[Manchu Veritable Records]]|left|295x295px]]
The mountain was first recorded in the ''[[Classic of Mountains and Seas]]'' under the name Buxian Shan ({{zh|c=不咸山}}). It is also called Shanshan Daling ({{zh|t=單單大嶺}}) in the ''[[Book of the Later Han]]''. In the ''[[New Book of Tang]]'', it was called Taibai Shan ({{zh|c=太白山}}).<ref name="NewTang">Second Canonical Book of the Tang Dynasty. {{lang|zh-hant|《[[:s:zh:新唐書/卷219|新唐書.北狄渤海傳]]》:"契丹盡忠殺營州都督趙翽反，有舍利乞乞仲象者，與靺鞨酋乞四比羽及高麗餘種東走，度遼水，保太白山之東北，阻奧婁河，樹壁自固。"}} (English translation: [[Khitan people|Khitan]] general Li Jinzhong killed Zhao Hui, the commanding officer of [[Yin Zhou]]. Officer [[Dae Jung-sang]], with [[Mohe people|Mohe]] chieftain [[Qisi Piyu]] and [[Goguryeo]] remnants, escaped to the east, crossed Liao River, guarded the northeast part of the Grand Old White Mountain, blocked Oulou River, built walls to protect themselves.)</ref> The current Chinese name Changbai Shan was first used in the [[Liao dynasty]] (916–1125) of the [[Khitan people|Khitans]]<ref name="Liao">"Records of [[Khitan Empire]]". 《[[:zh:契丹国志|契丹國志]]》："長白山在冷山東南千餘里......禽獸皆白。"(English translation: "Changbai Mountain is a thousand miles to the southeast of Cold Mountain...Birds and animals there are all white.")</ref> and then the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] (1115–1234) of the [[Jurchens]].<ref name="Jin">"Canonical History Records of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty". {{lang|zh-hant|《[[:s:zh:金史/卷35|金史.卷第三十五]]》："長白山在興王之地，禮合尊崇，議封爵，建廟宇。""厥惟長白，載我金德，仰止其高，實惟我舊邦之鎮。"}} (English translation: "Changbai Mountain is in old Jurchen land, highly respectful, suitable for building temples. Only the Changbai Mountain can carry the Jin Dynasty's spirit; It is so high; It is a part of our old land.")</ref>
{{Infobox Chinese
| t = 長白山脈
| s = 长白山脉
| p = Chángbái Shānmài
| w = Ch'ang-pai Shan-mai
| l = Perpetually White Mountains
| northkorea = yes
| hangul = 장백산맥
| hanja = 長白山脈
| rr = Jangbaek sanmaek
| mr = Changbaek sanmaek
| mnc = {{ManchuSibeUnicode|ᡤᠣᠯᠮᡳᠨ ᡧᠠᠩᡤᡳᠶᠠᠨ ᠠᠯᡳᠨ|style=max-height:1.5em;text-align:left;word-wrap:normal}}
| mnc_rom = Golmin šanggiyan alin
| order = st
}}

The range represents the mythical birthplace of [[Bukūri Yongšon]], ancestor of [[Nurhaci]]<ref>愛新覺羅·瀛生《滿語口語音典》</ref> and the [[Aisin Gioro]] imperial family, who were the founders of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China. The Chinese name literally means "Perpetually-White Mountain Region".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Crossley|first1=Pamela Kyle|title=A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology|date=February 2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520234246|page=202}}</ref> The imperial family regarded the mountain as their traditional homeland.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/chinesestateatbo0000unse |title=The Chinese state at the borders |date=2007 |location=Vancouver  |publisher= UBC Press |isbn=978-0-7748-1333-4|editor-first1=Diana|editor-last1=Lary}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2025}}

The Qing emperor [[Hong Taiji]] claimed that their progenitor, Bukūri Yongšon<ref name="Crossley2000">{{cite book|author=Pamela Kyle Crossley|title=A Translucent Mirror: History and Identity in Qing Imperial Ideology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wn4iv_RJv8oC&pg=PA198|date=15 February 2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-92884-8|pages=198–}}</ref> (布庫里雍順), was conceived from a virgin birth. According to the legend, three heavenly maidens, namely Enggulen (恩古倫), Jenggulen (正古倫) and Fekulen (佛庫倫), were bathing at a lake called Bulhūri Omo near the Changbai Mountains. A magpie dropped a piece of red fruit near Fekulen, who ate it. She then became pregnant with Bukūri Yongšon. However, another older version of the story by the Hurha (Hurka) tribe member Muksike recorded in 1635 contradicts Hongtaiji's version on location, claiming that it was in [[Heilongjiang]] province close to the [[Amur river]] where Bulhuri lake was located where the "heavenly maidens" took their bath.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Huang |first1=Pei |title=New Light on The Origins of The Manchus |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |date=1990 |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=239–282 |doi=10.2307/2719229 |jstor=2719229 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2719229 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807074339/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2719229 |archive-date=2020-08-07 |access-date=2020-11-05 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Nowadays the famous [[Yabuli Ski Resort]] is located in the Changbai Mountains.<ref>[https://www.snow-online.com/ski-resort/sun-mountain--yabuli.html Yabuli • Ski Holiday • Reviews • Skiing - Snow-Online]</ref>

==Geography and climate==
The mountains are the source of the [[Songhua River|Songhua]], [[Tumen River|Tumen]], and [[Yalu River]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/TCC/41587.htm|title=Changbai Mountains -- Scenic Wonderland
|publisher=China.org.cn|access-date=12 July 2014}}</ref>

The Changbai Mountains are characterized by long, cold winters. Precipitation is low in winter, but higher in the summer and fall, with annual averages reaching as high as {{convert|1400|mm|in|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308074120/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa0414.html|url=http://www.worldwildlife.org/science/wildfinder/|publisher=World Wildlife Fund|title=Changbai Mountains mixed forests (PA0414)|work=WildWorld Ecoregion Profile, National Geographic Society|archive-date=2010-03-08|access-date=9 February 2015}}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
The vegetation of the mountain slopes is divided into several different zones.  At the top, above {{convert|2000|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, [[tundra]] predominates.  From {{convert|1700-2000|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, vegetation is dominated by mountain birch and [[larch]].  Below this zone, and down to {{convert|1100|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, the dominant trees are [[spruce]], [[fir]], and [[Korean pine|pine]].  From {{convert|600-1100|m|ft|0|sp=us}}, the landscape is dominated by mixed forest consisting of [[Amur linden]] (''Tilia amurensis''), pine, [[maple]], and [[elm]].  Further down, a [[temperate hardwood forest]] is found, dominated by second-growth [[Populus|poplar]] and [[birch]].<ref>Liu, Q.J., Takamura, T., Takeuchi, N., Shao, G. (2002).  Mapping of boreal vegetation of a temperate mountain in China by multitemporal LANDSAT imagery.  ''International Journal of Remote Sensing 23''(17), p. 3388</ref>
There are five known species of plants in the lake on the peak, and some 168 have been counted along its shores. The forest on the Chinese side is ancient and almost unaltered by humans. [[Birch]] predominates near the [[tree line]], and [[pine]] lower down, mixed with other species. There has been extensive [[deforestation]] on the lower slopes on the North Korean side of the mountain.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

The area is a known habitat for [[Siberian tiger]]s, [[bear]]s, [[Wolf|wolves]], and [[wild boar]]s.<ref>Gomà Pinilla, D. (2004). Border Disputes between China and North Korea. China Perspectives 2004(52): 1−9.</ref> The [[Ussuri dhole]]s may have been extirpated from the area. Deer in the mountain forests, which cover the mountain up to about {{convert|2000|m|sp=us}}, are of the Paekdusan [[Siberian roe deer|roe deer]] kind. Many wild birds such as [[black grouse]], [[owl]]s, and [[woodpecker]] are known to inhabit the area. The mountain has been identified by [[BirdLife International]] as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) because it supports a population of [[scaly-sided merganser]]s.<ref name="bli">{{cite web|year=2013|title=Mount Paekdu|url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/16080|access-date=2013-05-12|work=Important Bird Areas factsheet|publisher=BirdLife International}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="160">
File:Longwanqun national forest park sanjiaolong crater lake 2011 07 25.jpg|Sanjiaolong Crater Lake in the [[Longwanqun National Forest Park]], Huinan County
File:Longwanqun national forest park entrance 2011 07 25.jpg|Entrance gate to the forest park
File:MYK-1-长白山.png|Painting from the [[:zh:满洲实录|Manchu Veritable Records]] with the names of Mount Paektu in Manchu, Chinese and Mongolian
</gallery>

==See also==

*[[Baekdu Mountain]]
*[[Changbai Waterfall]]
*[[List of mountains in China]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Changbai / Paektu Mountains}}
*[http://www.changbaimountain.com Baekdu mountain at changbaimountain.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003142459/http://www.changbaimountain.com/ |date=2018-10-03 }} {{zh}} {{dead link|date=September 2022}}

{{Mountain ranges of China}}
{{Jilin topics}}
{{Liaoning topics}}
{{Heilongjiang topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mountain ranges of China]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of North Korea]]
[[Category:Manchuria]]
[[Category:Landforms of Heilongjiang]]
[[Category:Landforms of Jilin]]
[[Category:Landforms of Liaoning]]
[[Category:Chagang Province]]
[[Category:Ryanggang]]
[[Category:Geography of Yanbian]]
[[Category:Geography of East Asia]]
[[Category:Songhua River]]
[[Category:Biosphere reserves of China]]