The Xihu Lake

The Xihu Lake is a freshwater lake located in Hangzhou City in Zhejiang Province of China, with an area totaling about 6.39 square kilometers (2.47 square miles). It is surrounded by mountains on its three sides, and divided into five lake sections by a hill and three causeways: the isolated hill, the Bai Causeway, the Su Causeway and the Yang Causeway. There are numerous temples, pavilions, pagodas, gardens, and artificial islands in the lake area. There are ten best-known scenic spots on the Xihu Lake, known as the "Ten Scenes of the Xihu Lake": Spring Dawn at Su Causeway, Breeze-ruffled Lotus at Quyuan Garden, Autumn Moon Over the Calm Lake, Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge, Orioles Singing in the Willows, Viewing Fish at Flower Pond, Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Twin Peaks Piecing the Clouds, and Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, these ten poetically named scenic spots have been identified as classic landscapes, reflecting the perfect fusion between humans and nature.

The beauty of the lake has been source of inspiration for poets,scholars and artists since ancient times. Famous poet Su Shi in the Song Dynasty compared the Xihu Lake to Xi Zi, one of the four beauties in ancient China in one of his famous poems. In addition to its intoxicating scenery, the Xihu Lake is also famous for romantic legends, among which the most moving one is the love story between Bai Suzhen, a white snake spirit and Xu Xian, a mortal scholar. The Xihu Lake Scenic Area was awarded the "National 5A Scenic Spot" in 2007, and was officially listed on the World Heritage List in 2011.

The Qinghai Lake

The Qinghai Lake,the largest lake in China,is an inland saltwater lake located in Qinghai Province in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in western China. The lake is named Koko Nor in Mongolian or Tso Ngonpo in Tibetan, with the meaning of "Green Sea"and "Blue Lake".

The Qinghai Lake has a surface area of 4,583 square kilometers, an average depth of 21 meters, and a maximum depth of 25.5 meters at an average altitude of over 3,000 meters. There are more than twenty rivers and streams that flow into the lake. The size of the lake has been fluctuating. It was shrinking in size during the 20th century, but has increased since the year of 2004. Although the lake is twice salty than the water in the sea, it still breeds many species of fish. The Bird Island on the lake attracts around 100,000 migratory birds every year. Besides being a paradise for birdwatchers, the fascinating lake also appeals to professional cyclists all over the world because of the annual Tour of the Qinghai Lake.

Just like a gigantic sapphire sparkling under the sun, the magnificent Qinghai Lake is well worth its name. Meaning blue sea in Chinese, the lake with the mountains and blue sky in the background is an extraordinary beauty. Boating on the lake, people may feel like they were in the middle of the vast blue ocean.

The Dongting Lake

The Dongting Lake is located in northeastern Hunan Province in south-central China. Because of its large size, in ancient times it gained the name "Eight-hundred li Dongting" ("li" is a Chinese length unit equal to 500 meters or about 1,640 feet). Nowadays, the size of the lake has shrunk immensely, but it is still China's second largest freshwater lake after the Poyang Lake located in Jiangxi Province.In fact, the size of the lake varies throughout different seasons of the year, sometimes even during the same day. This is because the lake acts as a natural reservoir and a flood basin for the Yangtze River and it plays a significant role in adjusting the flow of the Yangtze River, which is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.

The name of the lake "Dongting" means "Grotto Court" literally, referring to the abode of fairies and immortals which indicates the extraordinary scenery of the lake. An abundance of ancient Chinese poems and stories were dedicated to the beauty of the Dongting Lake. Fan Zhongyan, a famous Chinese poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, mentioned the lake in his essay On Yueyang Tower, "I observed the wonderful scenery of Baling, which depends primarily on the great Dongting Lake". The Dongting Lake is regarded as the place of origin of dragon boat racing. Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of the Dongting Lake in search of the body of Qu Yuan, a famous patriotic poet in the Warring States Period.

The Taihu Lake

The Taihu Lake or Lake Tai, is the third-largest freshwater lake in China,after the Poyang Lake and the Dongting Lake. Crossing two provinces, the Taihu Lake is located in southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang, with an area of 2,338 square kilometers (about 903 square miles) and an average depth of 2 meters.It is linked to the renowned Grand Canal built in the Sui Dynasty and is the origin of a number of rivers, including Suzhou Creek. It is also known as the cradle of the culture of Wuyue.

The name of the lake Taihu literally means "great lake" in Chinese. The Taihu Lake is just like a bright pearl shining splendidly in the Yangtze River Delta. There are 48 islets of different sizes in the enormous lake. Yuantouzhu, or the Turtle Head Islet is one of the most famous islets. The Turtle Head Islet, located in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, is one of the 5A scenic attractions in China. It got its name from its unique shape like the head of a turtle stretching into the water. Tourists can get a panoramic view of the Taihu Lake from the top of the Dragon Light Pagoda of Xihui Park in Wuxi.

In addition to the natural scenery of the Taihu Lake,the Taihu Lake is also renowned for its thriving fishing industry. Traveling there, tourists can taste the famous local specialty known as"The Taihu Lake Three Whites", namely white shrimp, whitebait and whitefish. The Taihu Lake is the place of origin for "Taihu stones", which are unique ornamental limestone rocks used as decoration material in traditional Chinese gardens.

The Daming Lake

The Daming Lake is the largest lake in the city of Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Situated in the center of Jinan, the Daming Lake is one of the three symbols and landmarks of Jinan City together with the Baotu Spring and the Qianfo Mountain (Thousand-Buddha Mountain). The Daming Lake Park, the national 5A tourist scenic spot, covers a total area of 103.4 hectares, while the lake surface area is 58 hectares with an average depth of about 2 meters. The Daming Lake is a natural lake formed out of several springs and its water level remains constant throughout the year, almost unaffected by heavy rains or drought.

The name of the lake "Daming" means "great splendor" literally in Chinese, fully conveying the splendid beauty of the lake's natural scenery. In summer, lotuses on the lake fill the Daming Lake Park with their fragrant aroma and willows surrounding the lake banks swing with gentle breeze. The lake is famous not only for its stunning natural beauty, but also for its abundance in buildings and relics with cultural and historical significance, such as the Lixia Pavilion, the Ancestral Hall of Lord Tie, the Nanfeng Theater and the North-Pole Pagoda. There are six traditional Chinese gardens in the park surrounding the Daming Lake, namely Xia Garden, Jiaxuan Garden, Qiuliu Garden,Huju Garden, Nanfeng Garden, and Qishi Guanyu Garden.

The Thousand Islands Lake

The Thousand Islands Lake, also known as Qiandao Lake in Chinese, is located in Chun'an County in Zhejiang Province of China. It is an artificial freshwater lake functioning as a reservoir formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydropower station. The Xin'an River Dam, 105 m (344 ft) tall, was the first dam constructed in China with a height greater than 100 m. The Thousand Islands Lake covers an area of 580 square kilometers and has a storage capacity of 17.8 cubic kilometers. The construction of the Xin'an River hydropower station started in the year of 1955 and was completed in 1959. 1,377 villages were evacuated and flooded to create the reservoir for the project. As the water level went down, islands of various sizes and shapes emerged in the lake. Nowadays, there are 1,078 islands of relatively large size (larger than 0.25 square kilometer) and a countless number of tiny patches of land scattered across the lake, which is the origin of the name of the lake. Good climate conditions and abundant water resources promoted lush vegetation on the islands. Forests cover over 80 percent of the islands. The Thousand Islands Lake is also famous for its crystal clear water. Companies take advantage of the pristine quality of the water and environment for aquaculture and water branding. One of the large Chinese mineral water manufacturers sources its water from the lake.

The Thousand Islands Lake started to develop tourism industry in 1982. In 1986, the Thousand Islands Lake Scenic Area was approved by the Ministry of Forestry as a National Forest Park. In 2010, the Thousand Islands Lake Scenic Area was rated as a national 5A scenic spot. Famous scenic spots include Meifeng Island, the Monkey Island, the Lock Island,Santan Island and soon.

The Ancient Lotus Pond Garden

Located in the center of Baoding City, Hebei Province, the Ancient Lotus Pond Garden is one of the oldest classical gardens still existing in China. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit and one of the top ten gardens in China.

The Lotus Pond was first built in the year of 1227 by Zhang Rou, a commander in Baoding in the Yuan Dynasty. It was originally named "Xuexiang Garden", and became the private garden and residence of Qiao Weizhong, a military officer under Zhang Rou's command. The garden was destroyed and then deserted in an earthquake in 1289. The garden was rebuilt and renovated in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It served as an official garden and a place for officials' feast and entertainment. Because of the deep pond and lush lotus in the garden, it was called "Lotus Pond" since the Ming Dynasty. In 1733, under the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), Li Wei, the governor of Hebei, established the Lotus Pond School, which became the best school in the Qing Dynasty. Since the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the garden was expanded in large scale and served as a palace and imperial garden. At that time, the scenery of the garden reached its heyday and there were the famous "twelve scenic spots of the Louts Pond" representing the beauty of the garden. The garden was burnt down by foreign invaders in 1900. It was restored by Beiyang Government in 1921 and officially named the "Ancient Lotus Pond". In the 21st century, the garden was renovated and the "twelve scenic spots of the Lotus Pond" were rebuilt. The ancient garden that has gone through the vicissitudes of history finally regained its beauty.