Kunming Lake ( zh, c=, p=Kūnmíng Hú) is the central
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
on the grounds of the
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...
in
Haidian District,
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Together with the
Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake forms the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens.
With an area of , Kunming Lake covers approximately three-quarters of the Summer Palace grounds. It is quite shallow, with an average depth of only .
Kunming Lake takes up about 75% of the park and contains many famous small islands and bridges, making it one of the top popular sites in the Summer Palace.
History

Kunming Lake is a manmade lake whose predecessors were called ''Wengshan (Jar Hill) Pond'' and ''Xihu Lake''. They were reservoirs which had been used as sources of water both for the city and irrigation of fields over a period of 3,500 years.
Guo Shoujing, a famous astronomer and engineer in his time, developed it into a reservoir for the capital of the
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...
in 1291. The conversion of the area into an imperial garden was commissioned by the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
with the work being carried out between 1750 and 1764. In the course of creating the gardens, the lake area was extended by a workforce of almost 10,000 laborers.
In the year 1990 and 1991, the Beijing Municipal Government undertook the first dredging of the lake in 240 years. A total of of sludge were removed in the work. 205 Japanese bombs dropped during the
Sino-Japanese War were also found.
Garden design

Kunming Lake is designed to represent the traditional
Chinese gardening practice of "one pond, three hills" (). Like the islands in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
's
West Lake and the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...
's
Taiye Lake, they were intended to represent three islands of the
immortals mentioned in the ''
Classic of Mountains and Seas'':
Penglai,
Yingzhou, and
Fangzhang. Kunming's three are named "South Lake Island" (
t ,
s , ''Nánhúdǎo''), "Round Fort Island" (
t ,
s , ''Tuánchéngdǎo''), and "
Algæ-view Hall Island" (
t ,
s , ''Zǎojiàntángdǎo'')
Many features of Kunming Lake are inspired by natural scenery from the
region south of the
Yangtze River. In particular, the West Dike is a recreation of the famous Sudi Dike on
West Lake in
Hangzhou
Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
. It cuts diagonally through the southern part of the lake. Like the Sudi Dike, the West Dike is connected through six bridges, each with its own distinctive style: Jiehu, Binfeng,
Yudai, Jing, Lian, and Liu.
The largest bridge on Kunming Lake is the 17-Arch Bridge that connects the eastern shore with South Lake Island, representing Penglai. Close to the bridge on the eastern shore stands a
bronze ox sculpture. According to
Chinese legend,
Yu the Great used an iron ox to prevent flooding. Since the bronze ox is located on the eastern dike of Kunming Lake in the direction of the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is the Chinese Empire, imperial Chinese palace, palace complex in the center of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of 24 Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasty L ...
, it was probably erected in order to protect the Forbidden City from flooding.
Water source
The water source of Kunming Lake mainly comes from the recharge of springs downstream of Yuquan Mountain and groundwater. The springs within a few dozen miles northwest of Yuquan Mountain were channeled through the Baifuweng Mountain River in the Yuan Dynasty. However, the water source was obviously insufficient in 1949. In 1965, the Jingmi Diversion Canal Project was completed, opening up Kunming Lake as a new water source.
Tourist attractions
Lake Islands
There are three islands in Kunming Lake. These three islands form the shape of a tripod, symbolizing a sign of immortality. This has been the norm for royal gardens since the time of
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary state, unitary d ...
.
Nanhu Island
Nanhu Island located at the east side of Kunming Lake. The area is more than 10,000 square meters. A main building, Hanxu Hall, located on the north side of the island. This building was originally a three-layered pavilion imitating the
Yellow Crane Tower for watching performances in the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
. After being burned by the
British and French allied forces, the
Guangxu years rebuilt a one-layer hall. Besides this, the island also contains a pier, some temples, and other smaller buildings.
Zhijing Pavilion Island

Zhijing Pavilion Island located at the north side of Kunming Lake. A round city wall was surrounded the Zhijing Pavilion on the center of the island. In 1860, after the destruction of British and French forces,
Cixi removed the parts of this pavilion to rebuild other buildings in the
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...
. Since then the Zhijing Pavilion has been abandoned. Now, all that can be seen are the remains.
Zaojian Hall Island
Zaojian Hall Island located at the south side of Kunming Lake. The location is secluded. A small garden is also on the island.
Qianlong liked to rest here at leisure time.
Bridges
Seventeen Arch Bridge

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge has a total length of 150 meters and a width of 8 meters. It is composed of 17 holes with different heights and widths. The holes on both sides are symmetrical, making the bridge body like a long rainbow and presenting a curved arch bridge. There are 62 pairs of pillars on the bridge railing, and 544 small
stone lions with different expressions are decorated on the head of the pillars.
Xiuyi Bridge
The high-arched stone bridge with a single hole located at the southernmost bridge in the Summer Palace. It is the boundary between Kunming Lake and the Changhe River, and the only way for the emperors of the Qing Dynasty to enter the Summer Palace from the Changhe waterway.
Jiehu Bridge
Jiehu Bridge is the northernmost bridge of the lake's western shore. The bridge was first built in 1750, burned down by the British and French allied forces in 1860, and rebuilt by Cixi in 1886. It is a 3-hole stone bridge, 31.43 meters long, 6.52 meters at its widest point, 4.28 meters at its narrowest point, and about 5.84 meters high. There are 20 steps and 27 railings on both sides of the bridge.
Jade Belt Bridge
Jade Belt Bridge, one of the six bridges on the western of Kunming Lake, is a high-arch stone bridge built during the Qianlong emperor. The bridge body is made of
white marble and bluestone. This is not only the water inlet of Kunming Lake, but also the exit for emperors to go to Yuquan Mountain.
See also
*
History of Beijing
*
Kunming
Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...
*
Dianchi Lake
References
{{Lakes of China
Summer Palace (Beijing)
Bodies of water of Beijing
Artificial lakes of China
Geography of Haidian District
Tourist attractions in Beijing