Dongting Lake is located in the northern part of Hunan Province and the south of Jingjiang River. It covers a land area of 2,820 square kilometers and is the second largest freshwater lake in China. The name of Hunan and Hubei Provinces are derived from their location to this lake. Dongting Lake has been a famous hot tourism attraction in Hunan Province by its magnificent view, clear water, surrounded picturesque scenery and historic sites.
Donting Lake is a multifunctional lake to be used for irrigation, shipping, fishing, water supply, water collection, climate regulation and environment beautification. It has fertile lands with the temperate climate and abundant rainfalls to be one of the important production bases for commodity grain, freshwater fish, cotton and fiber.
The beautiful scenery of Dongting Lake has attracted many people visiting there. This lake is in a vast size and in the far side the lake and the sky merges as one color. It is surrounded by green mountains in three sides and opens a huge mouth in the north. Under the glow of the sunshine, a breeze comes across; you see green waves shine near to the far side. You can enjoy different unique views at the four seasons. Within the Dongting Lake Scenic Area, there are many attractive and famous scenic spots such as the grand Yueyang Tower, the charming Junshan Island, Chenglingji, Du Fu's Tomb, Qu Yuan Temple and so on.
There are rich species and resources in Dongting Lake. Famous products from the lake include whitebait, ramie, Junshan Yinzhen and
Xiang lotus seeds. It is free to visit the Dongting Lake, but will charge 30 RMB if you want a cruise tour. The best season to visit is summer and autumn.
Sanjiangkou Estuary (the confluence of Xiangjiang River, Yanjiang River, Jingjiang River) is another tourist attraction in Dongting Lake, where the lake meets the Yangtze River. As the lake's water is clear while the water from the river is turbid, the clear-cut currents were called by the ancients as "River Meeting"-a fantastic sight rarely seen elsewhere.
Dongting Lake is composed of East Dongting, South Dongting and West Dongting. In ancient times, East Dongting Lake was a part of Yunmeng Pool. The East Dongting Lake Nature Reserve is one of China's 30 important wetlands in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
Every year, 217 species of migratory birds under state protection live through the winter here, such as white storks, white cranes, grey cranes and egrets. It will be a great fun if tourists take a boat tour in the lake, observe birds, listen to the waves, go fishing and taste delicious fish dishes in the nature reserve.
To expedite the transportation between Hunan and Hubei provinces, in recent years, the government has built Yueyang Bridge on the Dongting Lake-the longest highway bridge in China. Spanning over East Dongting Lake, the bridge is 10, 174.2 meters long, and is the first bridge with three main towers suspended with double-cable support in China. In addition to relieving traffic pressure, the bridge provides an express thoroughfare to facilitate emergent transportation of goods for floor control.
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