Qiandao Lake, or Qiandaohu, is a giant lake with literally 1000 small islands. Many of these islands are developed for tourism. The water is so clean that a major mineral water processing plant is located there.

Qiandao Lake, located in Chun'an County, west of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province is one of the first-class national scenic spots and is the largest national forest park at present. The lake covers five hundred and seventy square kilometers including over one thousand islands of different sizes. Besides the surrounding green hills and large amount of animals and plants, it is also famous for its water. The average depth of the water here is more than one hundred feet and the visibility in the water is twenty two to twenty nine feet. As national first-class water it is so pure that it can be drunk directly.

In recent years Qiandao Lake has developed over twenty travel sites, having six sections of different features. 

Plat Blossom Mountain

Set in the middle of the lake; this is the best part of Qiandao Lake, named after five conjoined mountains. It resembles a plat blossom and has gained fame for its beautiful natural scenery and perfect environment. The sight-seeing platform in this section is by far the best place to view the surrounding area. The other one is Ostrich Island. On this island visitors can feed ostrich, take photos with them or even ride on their backs.

Stone Forest

This section is located forty kilometers from the town centre of Qiandao Lake and is made up of three parts: Xishan part, Turquoise part and Hawksbill part, covering ten square kilometers. It is called "the first stone-forest in Huadong Area". With strange stones, cliffs, elf caves and an ancient path, it is characterized by an otherworldliness that is hard to find anywhere else. 

Dragon Hill (Long Shan)

It consists of Dragon Hill and Five-Dragon Island. The Hairui Temple was built here by the Chun'an people to commemorate Hairui, a famous official of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who once served as head of this county. Hairui Ci is the essential structural work piece, including carving of wood, stone and brick. There also are over twenty pieces of poem steles in Hairui Ci. On the top of the Dragon Hill stands a bell tower.

Xian Hill (Xian Shan)

Xian Hill lies in the southeast area of the lake, including Xian Shan, Tian Chi (a pond), Guihua Island (Guihua Dao) and Mi Hill (Mi Shan). Xian Hill has trees which bear fruit all year round. Scenery on other parts of the hill is also charming and beautiful.

Qiandao Lake is located in the center of tourist line of "Hangzhou--Qiandaohu--Huangshan" so it is very convenient to get there. Now there are more than thirty hotels providing over seventy-five hundred beds. What some people are most interested in is food - the forest here produces large amounts of edible plants and people can get fresh-water fish too.

The Charm of the Lake

(Source: shanghaifinance.com / Photo: baidu.com)