Dongqian Lake Lake Center Scenic Area

Dongqian Lake Lake Center Scenic Area

The Lake Center Scenic Area is the first newly built scenic area after the establishment of the Dongqian Lake Tourist Resort. It consists of the Lake Center Dike and Little Putuo, with a total investment of 65 million yuan, and was opened to the public on October 1, 2002. The Lake Center Dike, also known as Qian Dike, was first built in 1976 and divides Dongqian Lake into the South Lake and the North Lake. Little Putuo, also known as Xiayu, already had historic sites such as Xiayu Chan Temple and Guanyin Cave (Putuo Cave Heaven) as well as Wanghu Pavilion during the Southern Song Dynasty, boasting a history of over 800 years. Among them, Putuo Cave Heaven is a Buddhist grotto carved during the mid-Southern Song Dynasty. Legend has it that Shi Hao, a Southern Song prime minister who lived near Dongqian Lake, was extremely filial. His mother, Madam Ye, was a devout Buddhist and longed to make a pilgrimage to Mount Putuo in the South China Sea to offer incense. However, due to her old age, blindness, and the difficulty of crossing the sea, she could not fulfill her wish. Shi Hao then gathered local master craftsmen to carve a cave here and establish a Guanyin sacred site. Once the cave was completed, he brought his mother onto a boat. They floated in Dongqian Lake while he claimed they were sailing on the East China Sea. Three days later, they landed at Xiayu, and he falsely reported that they had arrived at Mount Putuo, thus fulfilling his mother’s heartfelt desire. The four characters “Putuo Cave Heaven” carved on the cave date back to the Southern Song Dynasty. The renovated Lake Center Scenic Area features a dike 30–65 meters wide, with completely renewed landscaping, roads, and bridges, along with added underground pipelines and lighting. Additional landscape structures have been incorporated, forming the Eight Scenic Spots of the Lake Center: Misty Waves on Qian Dike, Fishing Rock of Tao Gong, Fragrant Osmanthus in Breezy Wind, Moonlight over the Clear Lake, Reflections of Er’ling, Mist-Shrouded Xiayu, Putuo Cave Heaven, and Monks Calling Ships. The Lake Center Scenic Area spans nearly 200,000 square meters and is one of the major scenic areas within the Dongqian Lake Tourist Resort.

Contact number: 0574—88490656, 88490743.

Dongqian Lake Town: Dongqian Lake Town is nestled in the picturesque, undulating green hills in the southeastern suburbs of Ningbo, enjoying a superior location and convenient transportation. Situated in the economically fast-developing, densely populated, and well-connected Yangtze River Delta region, it serves as a central hub in the tourism network of eastern Zhejiang. It is just a 10-minute drive from downtown Ningbo and Yinzhou Airport, and only 10 minutes to access the Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway and Tongsan Expressway. With the completion of the Hangzhou Bay Cross-Sea Bridge in 2008, Ningbo will be within a two-hour commuting circle from Shanghai. The town is home to what Mr. Guo Moruo praised as having “the charm of West Lake and the grandeur of Taihu…” More information on Dongqian Lake Town++