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The first largest freshwater lake: Poyang Lake
Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province was the largest freshwater lake in China. It has a surface area of 3,585 km2, a volume of 25 km3 and an average depth of eight meters. The lake provides a habitat for half a million migratory birds, and is a favorite destination for birding. It is fed by the Gan and Xiu rivers, which connect to the Yangtse through a channel.
During the winter, the lake becomes home to a large number of migrating Siberian cranes, up to 90% of which spend the winter there.
The wide expanse of misty Poyang Lake has a large number of valuable fish roaming in the Yangtze River, as well as a lot of rare birds inhabit here each year. There are many famous attractions such as Shak Chung Shan, Dagushan, Nanshan, off Star Lake, and so on.
The second largest freshwater lake: Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake, is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province. It is a flood-basin of the Yangtze River, hence the lakes size depends on the season. Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of Dragon boat racing. It is the site of Junshan island, and is a home to the Finless Porpoise, which is endangered in China.
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 regions 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.
Its biggest feature is that there are lakes outside the lakes, showing beautiful and charming scenery. There are many state-level attractions, such as: Yueyang Tower, Junshan, Du Fu Tomb, Long State College, and other scenic attractions. Dongting Lake is a famous land of fish and rice, and its property is extremely rich with the specialty such as mussel, eel, crab and other precious freshwater fishes. The "Lake in the Dongting Lake"—Lotus Lake, is famous for its lotus, which have full grain with fresh meat.
The third largest freshwater lake: Taihu Lake
Lake Tai, or Tai Lake, or Lake Taihu, is a large lake in the Yangtze Delta plain, on the border of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces Eastern China. The waters of the lake belong to the former in its entirety with part of its southern shore forming the boundary between the two provinces. With an area of 2,250 km2 and an average depth of 2 meters, it is the third largest freshwater lake in China, after Poyang and Dongting Lakes. The lake houses about 90 islands, ranging in size from a few square meters to several square miles.
Taihu Lake is linked to the renowned Grand Canal. The lake is also the origin for a number of rivers, including Suzhou Creek. With beautiful lakes and mountains and splendid cultural landscape, it is a famous scenic spots, attracting a large number of foreign visitors for sightseeing each year.
The lake is renowned for its unique limestone formations. These Chinese scholars rocks are often prized as a decorating material for the traditional Chinese garden, especially in areas such as Suzhou. According to many guidebooks, one of the best locations to view the lake is Xihui Park in the west of Wuxi. By climbing the summit of Dragon Light Pagoda inside the park, you will get a birds eye view of the city and the lake. Another well-known panoramic view is from Longshan, where the famous ancient poet Su Shi once wrote in a poem.
Three of the lakes islands are known as the Sanshan Islands, one of the Chinese National Geological Parks. It was a notable haunt of bandits. Yuantouzhu is another prominent region for tourists. It received this title because its outline resembles a turtle head. The region gained its fame in the early 20th century and it contains more than ten scenic sites for visitors.
The fourth largest freshwater lake: Hung-tse Lake
Hung-tse Lake is located in north of Jiangsu Province, 65 km long, 24.26 km wide, and with an area of 1576.9 kilometers square. There are crabs, turtles, ducks birds, as well as a variety of aquatic plants in the lake. The lake is vast, sometimes the waves rolling in from time to time, while sometimes calm, just like a mirror. It is also a good place to see the sunrise.
The fifth largest freshwater lake: Chao Lake
Chao Lake, is a lake located at the juncture of Chaohu and Hefei cities in Anhui Province. It is the largest lake in Anhui and one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China, covering an area of 769.5 kilometers square. Laoshan Island is situated within the lake. About 5 million people live near the lake, and use it for irrigation, transportation and fishing.
Chao Lake is beautiful, outstanding, and has a long history and splendid culture, of which the largest, most unique, most ornamental value is the spot culture. Noted tourist sites around the lake include Mount Mu, Zhongmiao Temple, Tongyang River, Mount Yinping, and the Immortals Cave. The silver fish, shrimps, and crabs of Lake Chao are called the Three Treasures, and it also enjoys the grand name of "Land of Plenty".
