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Dianchi Lake is known by different names like Kunming Lake and Lake Dian. It is situated near to Kunming in the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau. This freshwater lake is having a nickname – ‘Sparkling Pearl embedded in a Highland’.Dianchi Lake was model for Beijing’s Kunming Palace located in Summer Palace. This crescent shaped lake is nearly six thousand one hundred eighty nine feet above the sea level.
It covers an area of two hundred ninety eight square kilometres. The dimensions of Lake Dian is thirty nine kilometres from north to south, with as depth of fourteen feet. It is recognized as 8th largest lake in land of China and biggest in Yunnan. Dianchi borders Jade Rooster Mountain, Golden Horse Mountain, Crane Mountain and Snake Mountain to west, east, south and north respectively. More than twenty rivers do converge to this lake.
During initial millennium AD, Dianchi was spot of capital of independentCuan kingdom. In those days, it was called Kunchuan. The main issue related to this lake is pollution. Till nineties, nearly ninety percent of the wastewater of Kunming was pumped to lake without any treatment. The destruction of marsh system near Dianchi Lake for rice production was one misguided effort that led to more pollution and agricultural runoff. At present, water in this lake is undrinkable even though many billion dollars were spent for its cleaning.
Pollution is a major issue:
It is reported that approximately fifty five percent of fish population in Dianchi Lake is already killed off due to disease hidden pollution. So, this water is ranked as worst grade that is unfit for industrial and agricultural purposes. There are many extremely endangered common fish species in Dianchi Lake.
Scenic spots
There are several scenic places around Dainchi Lake like Grand View Tower, Huating Temple, Ethnic Villages in Yunnan, Taihua Temple, Yunnan Nationalities Museum, Bamboo Temple, Sanqing Pavilion, Zheng He Park, Kwan-yin Hill, Longmen, White Fish Park, Panlong temple, Grand View Park, Western Hills Forest Park, Haigeng Park, temples, pagodas, and more. The entire scenic area of Dianchi Lake is much mesmerizing. Human landscape as well as natural scenery blends well and perfectly to one another.
All featured attractions around Lake Dian are ideal gateways to travellers who visit to relax themselves. The towns around the lake offer tourists an excellent chance to experience various local customs. The surrounding hills give a picturesque landscape that makes people intoxicated enough to linger around.
Travel Tips
There is no admission fee to visit Dianchi Lake. It is just few kilometres away from Kunming towards its south. It is best to be here from 8:00 am to 18:00 pm. Since it is located at foot of the west hill, one has to take bus 24 or 44 from Kunming to reach Dian Lake. One can take a boat and explore the great pool of the culture in Yunnan culture. All visitors to Dianchi Lake appreciate its beauty. Explore and experience it!