Brief Introduction
Dongting Lake,the second-largest freshwater lake in China, is located in northeastern Hunan Province.

It is a large, shallow body of water surrounded by mountain chains. It is also known as "eight- hundred Li Dong Ting Lake"(The Li is a Chinese length unit equal to 500 meters or about 1,640 feet).

Dongting Lake is consist of four lakes: East Dongting Lake, South Dongting Lake, West Dongting Lake and Datong Lake.

An impressive characteristic of the lake is inter-nested. Depending on the season, concentric ridges of land appear in the lake in many areas. This is because the lake acts as a flood basin for the Yangtze River.

The appearance of Dongting Lake changes throughout the different seasons, sometimes even during the same day. Many ancient Chinese poems and stories were written about the beauty of Dongting Lake. Four streams including the Xiangjiang River, the Zishui River, the Yuanjiang River, and the Lishui River, all flow into Dongting Lake, and the lake is sometimes known as "the holder of the four streams".

Features
Because Dongting Lake acts as a tremendous natural reservoir or flood-basin, it plays an important role in adjusting the flow of the Yangtze River. The Lake is sometimes known as the taker and sender of the Yangtze River and the "first water under heaven."

The Dongting Lake is also famous for historical scenic spots on the lakefront, including the Yueyang Pavilion, Junshan Mountain, Tomb of Du Fu, Wen Temple, and Longzhou Academy. At present, tourists can still enjoy five famous sights out of Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, namely the Autumn Moon on Dongting, Returned Sail from Faraway Riverside, Wile Gooses Settle on the Smooth Sand, Sunset Glow over Fishing Village, and Snow Curtain Hanging over the River Sky.