Qiandao Lake (Thousand Island Lake)
Formed in 1959 when the Xin'an River Reservoir in Chun'an County was filled: 1,078 islands scattered across blue-green waters gave it the name "Thousand Island Lake"; with "the finest water under heaven", it is clean enough to drink directly
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:00-16:30
- Ticket
- CNY 130 (entry + cruise package priced separately)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Formed in 1959 when the Xin'an River Reservoir in Chun'an County was filled: 1,078 islands scattered across blue-green waters gave it the name "Thousand Island Lake"; with "the finest water under heaven", it is clean enough to drink directly. In the Central Lake Area, Meifeng Peak lookout offers a bird's-eye view of the archipelago, Longshan Island's Hai Rui Shrine offers a taste of history, and organic fish head soup is a must-try delicacy. Entry CNY 130, cruise packages priced separately; direct access via the Hangzhou–Huangshan high-speed rail, Qiandao Lake Station; allow one to two days; spring and summer offer the best water color.
Getting there: High-speed rail, Qiandao Lake Station
Photos
More in Hangzhou
- Xixi National Wetland
Boat maze of reeds and water villages west of the city.
- West Lake
UNESCO lake of pagodas, causeways and arched bridges; boat or bike the shoreline.
- Lingyin Temple
Buddhist temple founded 326 AD amid grottoes of Song-era rock carvings.
- Longjing Tea Village
Terraced Dragon Well tea fields; tastings at family farms.
- West Lake Loop
A World Heritage Site (inscribed in 2011): an urban lake with misty hills on three sides and the city on the fourth, dredged in succession by two of its governors, Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo; Su Shi's verse "wishing to compare West Lake to the beauty Xi Shi" made it a byword for Eastern aesthetics
- Su Causeway & Bai Causeway
Su Causeway, 2.8 km long, was built from dredged silt when Su Shi dredged West Lake; six bridges span the lake, with peach trees and willows lining both banks—"Misty Willows over Six Bridges" is the top spring scene