If you're at CBS, of course you'll visit Heaven lake (Tianchi). That's where Kim Jong Il was born after all!

During summer, I suggest hitting the West slope, since it has more greenery and you can stay in CBS ski village.

In winter, the North slope has more variety (geysers/hot springs, waterfalls, and more), although the Heaven lake view is similar. (For photographers, your portraits will be overcast in the morning.)

To get to N slope, we took the afternoon train (2h) from Songjianghe (30m from CBS ski village) to Erdaobaihe. (A new Crowne Plaza is supposed to open here, with a natural hot spring spa.)

From Baihe, you can ride a taxi to the gate (30 yuan/person) and pay fees 3 times before getting a jeep ride to the top.

To go from Baihe to Changchun, there's a regular bus (30 yuan/person) and private taxis (50 yuan pp) for the 2h ride to Dunhua. Try some Korean food there and grab the high speed to Changchun. From Changchun, we went to Harbin.