Qiandao Lake, the “Thousand Island Lake”, is a reservoir of about 570 km² in Chun'an county, western Hangzhou, created when the Xin'anjiang Dam was closed in 1959. The flooded hills became 1,078 islands, and beneath the water lie the old county towns of Shicheng and Hecheng; today its clear water supplies Hangzhou and its forested shores are a national scenic area.
- National scenic area (Fuchun River–Xin'an River–Qiandao Lake) · 1982
Key facts
Overview
Qiandao Lake is a made landscape of a different kind from West Lake. In the late 1950s the Xin'an River, flowing out of southern Anhui towards the Qiantang, was dammed to build one of the first large hydroelectric stations designed and built by China itself. The rising water filled a maze of valleys among low, wooded hills, leaving their tops as islands.
The cost was high: some 290,000 people were resettled and two county towns, with their temples, gates and memorial arches, disappeared under the water. Since the 1980s the lake has become a holiday landscape and, more recently, a source of drinking water for Hangzhou through a long water-supply tunnel.
How the landscape formed
The lake occupies the drowned valley system of the Xin'an River and its tributaries in the hilly country between the Huangshan and Tianmu ranges. The surrounding rocks are mainly Palaeozoic sandstones, shales and limestones, folded into ridges that now form chains of islands and long peninsulas. Because the catchment is heavily forested and thinly settled, the water is unusually clear, with visibility of several metres in good conditions.
Highlights
Meifeng Island
梅峰岛
A hill-top viewing terrace looking over hundreds of islands in the central lake.
Lion City (Shicheng)
狮城
The former county town of Sui'an, submerged some 25–30 metres down, its walls and gates preserved by the cold water and explored by divers.
Hecheng
贺城
The drowned former seat of Chun'an county, lost under the reservoir with Shicheng.
Xin'anjiang Dam
新安江水电站
The concrete gravity dam at Jiande that holds back the lake, completed in 1959.
Plants and wildlife
Forest covers most of the islands and shores, and fishing in the lake is managed by stocking silver and bighead carp that feed on plankton and help keep the water clear. The lake's water quality is protected as a drinking-water source for Hangzhou.
Plants
Masson pine
马尾松
The dominant tree on many islands, mixed with evergreen broadleaves.
Chun'an tea
千岛湖茶
Green tea is grown on the hills around the lake.
Wildlife
Bighead carp
鳙鱼
The lake's best-known fish, cooked as fish-head soup, a Chun'an speciality.
Egrets
白鹭
Common along the island shorelines.
Culture and legend
Before the dam the Xin'an valley was a trade route between the Huizhou merchants of southern Anhui and Hangzhou, lined with market towns. Shicheng, founded in the early third century as the seat of Sui'an county, preserved Ming and Qing buildings until the flooding. The resettlement of the valley's population remains part of local memory.
Chun'an county
淳安
The county that holds almost the whole lake; its modern seat, Qiandaohu town, was rebuilt on the shore.
History
c. 208
Shicheng founded
The later drowned town becomes the seat of a county in the Xin'an valley.
1957–1959
Xin'anjiang Dam built
One of the first large hydropower projects designed and built by China itself.
1959
Reservoir fills
The valley towns are submerged and around 290,000 people are resettled.
1982
National scenic area
The lake is included in the Fuchun River–Xin'an River national scenic area.
2001
Lion City rediscovered
Divers survey the submerged town and find its structures largely intact.
Through the seasons
Spring
Mild and green, with rape and tea on the shores; frequent morning mist over the islands.
Summer
Hot, but breezes on the water help; the main season for boating and lakeside cycling.
Autumn
Clear skies and the best visibility across the lake.
Winter
Cool and quiet; the traditional winter fish harvest with large nets takes place in some bays.
Routes and ways in
Island boat circuit
Boats from the Qiandaohu town piers visit groups of islands with viewing terraces and short walks.
Lakeshore cycle path
A long cycle and walking greenway follows much of the shoreline, with sections that can be ridden in a day.
Practical notes
- Qiandaohu town is on the high-speed railway between Hangzhou and Huangshan.
- Diving to the submerged towns is restricted and requires organised, permitted trips.
- The lake is a protected drinking-water source; swimming and private boating are controlled.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Chun'an County People's Government — Chun'an County People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Hangzhou Municipal People's Government — Hangzhou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Zhejiang Provincial People's Government — Zhejiang Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Zhejiang
- Sacred mountainMount Putuo普陀山Guanyin's island in the Zhoushan archipelago
- Nature reserve · 1,506 mTianmu Mountains天目山Giant cryptomerias, wild ginkgo and the mountain that named tenmoku
- LakeWest Lake西湖The shaped lake that set the pattern for Chinese landscape design
- MountainYandang Mountains雁荡山A collapsed volcano of rock pinnacles and long waterfalls
- LakeLake Tai太湖The great lake at the heart of the Yangtze Delta
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