Dianchi Lake

滇池湖 (Diānchíhú); also known as Kunming Lake or Kunming Pond or Dian Pond

Plateau lake with improving scenery. Historically, a pearl on the Yungui Plateau, the ecosystem was severely damaged in the 1960s by conversion of wetland into farmland. Great efforts are made starting from the 1990s to reverse this damage. Today the northern tip of the lake is gated by a series of causeways. Trawlers are working around the clock to purify the water. The best places to see the lake are along (观景路) and (海埂公园) near the Yunnan Nationalities Village (listed above). Here you can see tourists holding up snacks to feed flyby seagulls, opposite of the lake here is the Western Mountain. The lake proper is 40 by 8 km and is 1,886 m above sea level. It is the largest lake in Kunming. Traditional fishing boats still sail on the lake.

• outdoors
• history