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Top 5 Lakes in China with Google Earth Links

Mar 28, 2009

[Sources] 1. mjjq | 2. 无痕的日子 | 3. qcq.cc | 4. by cyberlee | 5. nipic.com

A lake (from Latin lacus) is a terrain feature, a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. — wikipedia

Top 5 Lakes in China with Google Earth Links

There are numerous lakes in the territory of China. According to official data, there are about 2700+ lakes which are larger than 1 km2 in area. Their total area is larger than 90,000 km2, close to the size of Zhejiang Province. Not to mention that there are also lots of man-built reservoirs. They are vastly distributed all around China, while mid-and-down stream of Yangtze River and Tibet Plateau have lakes located more densely. Here I list the top 5 most beautiful lakes (scenic places) in China.

View all in google earth here.

1. Qinghai Lake 青海湖 – A Sea at the Heart of Continent
Google Earth | wiki | location: Xining, Qinghai

Largest lake in China but shrinking for human activities and natural reasons. It’s located 3260m above the seal level and surrounded by four 3600-5000m mountains. Major attractions are the “海心山” (Lake Center Hill) – An island in the center of the lake and “鸟岛” (Bird Island) – a small island to the home of more than 10,000 migrant birds.


2. Lake Kanas 喀纳斯湖 – God’s Palette
Google Earth | wiki | location: Altay, Xinjiang

Lots of “ONLY”s belong to Lake Kanas. The only “Swiss Scenery” in Asia. The only scenic place in China at the border of four countries. The only part of Arctic Water System in China. The only Siberian ecosystem in China. Overall, Lake Kanas area is a very rare area in China that has an ecosystem with European characteristics.

3. Namtso 纳木措 – Where you can whisper to God
Google Earth | wiki | location: Lhasa, Tibet

The highest large lake in the world. In Tibetan, Namtso means “Heaven  Lake”. It’s a holy resort for Tibetan Buddhism. Every year of the goat (zodiac animals), people come from all around the region (Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan, etc.) to pray for a special event. Nyainqêntanglha Peak (7,162m) lies to its south, which is Namtso’s husband in Tibetan Mythology.

4. Heaven Lake 天池(长白山) – Peace after Expression of Anger
Google Earth | wiki | location: Baishan, Jilin

As the border lake between China and North Korea, Heaven lake is a volcano crater lake. It’s the deepest lake and highest crater lake in China. It’s surrounded by steep cliff and rock peaks. The water is very pure but lack of advanced species. As the highest peak in northeastern Asia, the Heaven Lake area has very beautiful scenic views.

5. West Lake 西湖 – A Lake of Poems
Google Earth | wiki | location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang

About 36 different lakes were named “West Lake” all around China. Undoubtedly, West Lake in Hangzhou is the most famous one. It’s also one of the “Top 10 Attractions in China”. The beauty of West Lake is always exceptional no matter which season it is, what weather it is, what time it is, which angle you view from. People says, “Raining lake is better than clear lake; Moonlit lake is better than raining lake; Snow lake is better than moonlit lake.”

The beauty of West Lake is not only limited to scenic view, but also rich in history and culture. The whole area has more than 40 scenic places and more than 30 cultural places of interest. To summarize: one lake, two peaks, three springs, four temples, five hills, six gardens, seven caves, eight tombs, nine creeks, ten theme places.

[Scenic Splendor of China Series]
This is one post of the Scenic Splendor of China Series. In 2005.10, Chinese National Geography (CNG) selected 114 “most beautiful places” covering 17 different types of scenic patterns. The complete list is here. In Chinese. These scenic places will be covered individually in future.

[Chinese Keywords]
中国最美的地方 湖泊



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  1. March 28th, 2009 at 21:07 | #1

    Absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing the photos.

  2. March 28th, 2009 at 21:17 | #2

    Thank you~ Glad you liked it!

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