Changsha >> Dongting Lake

Attraction Typ: Amusement Park

Location: about 150 km from city

Recommend: 3 Star

Dongting Lake

Dongting Lake is China’s second-largest freshwater lake in northeastern Hunan Province.

Dongting Lake (Chinese: 洞庭湖; pinyin: Dòng Tíng Hú) is China’s second-largest freshwater lake in northeastern Hunan Province. It is a flood-basin of the Yangtze River, extending between Hunan and Hubei provinces; hence the lake’s size depends on the season.

Dongting Lake is well known in Chinese history and literature. Dragon boat racing is said to have begun on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake as a search for the body of Qu Yuan, the Chu poet (340-278 BC), and a dragon-king is said to live at the bottom of the lake. There are several islands on the lake, the most famous one is the Junshan Island, know for its silver needle tea. More over, Dongting Lake is also a home to the Finless Porpoise, which is endangered in China.

There are graceful mountains and rivers, outstanding personages and many famous scenic spots and historical sites in the Dongting Lake area. The famous Yueyang Tower, immortalized in the lines, "the most beautiful lake under heaven is Dongting, the greatest tower under heaven is Yueyang" is located here.

The scenery of the Jiuyi Mountains and of the Xiao and Xiang rivers below is often mentioned in Chinese poetry. During the Song Dynasty, it became the fashion to paint this region's scenery in a set of eight scenes, usually entitled as Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang. The fashion spread to Japan, where eventually other famous places were substituted for the Xiao and Xiang rivers.