Heaven Lake

A word about the work

Sam Anthamatten & Xavier De Le Rue, Heaven Lake, Volcano Changbaishan, China, february 2017

The beauty of this image is just as impressive as its history. This frozen lake is located at the bottom of the crater of Paektu volcano on the border between China and North Korea. The border cuts the lake in half to be precise. For the Chinese, the Paektu volcano is the first base of “Cat skiing” in the country (skiers are routed to the summit of the volcano by snow groomers before skiing down). For North Koreans, it’s a sacred mountain. The legend even says that the emblematic supreme leader Kim Jong-il was born under a double rainbow.