Taiping Lake

Taiping Lake is the largest man-made lake in Anhui province. Surrounded by mountains, the scenic area boasts beautiful waters, differently-shaped peninsulas, and stunning stones. Its advantageous location, good harmonious ecological environment, abundant products, and profound culture predict a prosperous future of tourism.

Taiping Lake is located at the southern foot of Mt. Huangshan and to the southeast of Mt. Jiuhua. It is only about 30 kms away from the north entrance of Mt. Huangshan and the south entrance of Mt. Jiuhua and hasbecome a natural ligament connecting the two mountains. The Taiping Lake scenic area covers 275 square kilometers. It looks from the air like two dragons lying within the mountains. In June of 2000, the provincial government determined to boost the province’s economy by promoting tourism focusing on Mt. Huangshan, Mt. Jiuhua, and Taiping Lake. Since then, Taiping Lake has been as important as Mt. Huangshan and Mt. Jiuhua to the province’s tourism and nicknamed “loving mate of Mt.Huangshan.”

As a mountainous lake, Taiping Lake covers an area of about 88.6 square kilometers, holding 2.4 billion cubic meters of water. It is 60 kilometers long from east to west, with a maximum width of 6 kilometers and a minimum of just 150 meters. Converged by the brooks of Mt. Huangshan and Mt. Jiuhua, the water is limpid and meets the frist grade of the national water quality standards. The forest coverage of the mountains around reaches 95 percent. Hidden in the green mountains, Taiping Lake enjoys a reputation as "Jade of South of Yangtze River".

The central part of Taiping Lake is wide. The mist-covered water joins the sky at the edge. The canyons at the upper and lower reaches of the lake zigzags to the farmost and the chain of mountains strew at random. The five major scenic spots are Lingyang Hill, Taiping Bay, Gold Island, Sanmen Canyon,and Wushi Ridge. The most popular attraction is at the Gold Island in the lower reaches of the lake. Enchanted by Taiping Lake, the famous Chinese poet Su Wang toured the lake in 1980 and wrote a poem in appreciation of its unparalleled beauty compared with the country's other tourism attractions.

Taiping Lake is endowed with superior ecological environment. Beside the lake grows over 400 kinds of plants from 41 species. Near half of them are ornamental plants. The area is inhabitated by about 170 birds, 70 mammals, and 40 freshwater fishes. It is also rich in fruits and various local specialties, such as the world famous Taiping Houkui green tea, Huangshan Maofeng green tea, Longmen persimmon, Chinese goosebeery, Qiaoshan Chinese torreya nuts, dried wild fish, and Taiping silver fish.

The history of Taiping Lake scenic area can be traced back to 109 BC when it was built into Lingyang county. Till 1950s, the area at the foot of Lingyang mountain at the central part of Taiping lake had been the location of the county. According to the folklore, Lingyang mountain is the place where Dou Ziming, the first magistrate of Lingyang county in Han Dynasty, cultivated himself and finally became an immortal. To the west of the lake still exists Xifeng Temple and Yongqing Nunnery, the only temples preserved from the history. Tools of the New Stone Age were found near the Egret (Bailu) islet. Some other historic sites like old-timey Longyao, mysterious Eight Diagrams (Bagua) Island, and the grand Taiping Lake bridge also marked the flourishing culture and profound history of the area.

The advantageous location, superior ecologial environment, beautiful scenery, and rich resources lay a solid foundation for the future development of Taiping Lake. With the support of policy, clear market orientation, and the opening of Hefei-Tongling-Huangshan expressway, a splendid future is unfolded for Taiping Lake. Combining the advanced development concept of international tourism programming with the unique geographic situation and abundant resources of Taiping Lake, experts from home and abroad worked out the development target for Taiping Lake that is to build the scenic area into an international tourism resort.