Jiulong Lake

Jiulong Lake

Jiulong Lake is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

Jiulong Lake Scenic Area, a national 2A-level tourist attraction, is located in Huangtankou Township, Qujiang District, 16 kilometers from downtown and 5 kilometers from the "Go Sacred Land" Lanke Mountain. It is part of the Wuxi River National Wetland Park and the provincial-level Lanke Mountain–Wuxi River Scenic Area. The area contains nearly 200 million cubic meters of high-quality Class I and II surface water, as well as abundant mountain, water, cultural, and hydropower resources, renowned for its scenic beauty. Key attractions include the power plant buildings, exhibition hall, old control room, new control room, ladder dispatch center, turbine level of the new plant, Huangtankou Dam, Jiulong Mountain, Niutou Bay, Xifeng Pool, Moon Island, and Xiangsi Island Resort.

Jiulong Lake is an artificial lake formed by the damming of the Wuxi River at the Huangtankou Hydropower Station, one of the cradles of China's hydroelectric power industry. It nurtured the first generation of hydroelectric engineering talent in New China and is hailed as the "Cradle of China’s Hydroelectric Construction." The Wuxi River originates from the Xianxia Ridge at the border of Fujian and Zhejiang, with a main course of over 160 kilometers and a drainage area of 2,632 square kilometers. State investment enabled the cascade development of the Wuxi River, leading to the construction of the 82,000-kilowatt Huangtankou Hydropower Station and the 270,000-kilowatt Hunan Town Hydropower Station. Together, they form the Wuxi River Power Plant, creating the spectacular sight of a vast lake in a high gorge.

The climate in the Jiulong Lake area is pleasant, fostering lush growth of various plants. The mountains on both banks host over 1,000 species of seed plants, including nationally protected second-class rare plants such as Manglietia fordiana, Cathaya argyrophylla, and Taxus chinensis, as well as rare tree species unique to Zhejiang Province. There are 103 families and 326 varieties of precious wild medicinal herbs, such as Manglietia fordiana fruit, Eucommia ulmoides, Paris polyphylla, and money vine. Local specialty fruits include chestnuts, sweet persimmons, torreya nuts, kiwifruits, and wuben, among dozens of others. Local products such as tea, tea oil, mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and tung oil were historically well-known in markets in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Nearly 100 kinds of rare flowers, such as summer sweet osmanthus, orchids, and camellias, grow throughout the mountains. The azaleas in the area are especially unique, changing colors from spring through summer—white, yellow, purple, and red alternating beautifully.

The lake area is densely forested and home to a variety of birds and wildlife thriving in their natural habitat. Over 110 species of birds and wild animals inhabit the forests, including nationally protected Class I and II animals such as leopards, yellow-bellied tragopans, and pangolins.

Stretching 25 kilometers, Jiulong Lake holds 85 million cubic meters of water with a vast surface area, serving as a natural breeding ground for diverse aquatic plants and animals. Surveys show that the lake contains 33 species of plankton, 43 species of zooplankton, 5 species of benthic animals, and 38 fish species, including the Chinese giant salamander, Reeves shad, long-arm glassfish, and mandarin fish, some of which are under state protection or are rare species.

The scenery of Jiulong Lake is naturally beautiful, with cultural landscapes complementing the pristine waters and majestic mountains. The lake water is particularly distinctive. The renowned writer Zhang Kangkang described it as: “…the Wuxi River flows gently from the green, cool valleys upstream. Every drop is tinged with the green of the verdant hills, so clear and deep that its green seems utterly transparent; at its most intense, it gleams with waves of dark blue from those jade-like depths — the Wuxi River, what a charming name, like the black tresses of a beauty shimmering faintly amidst the mountains.”

Contact number: 0570-3118161