Xidongting Lake Wetland Reserve

Xidongting Lake Wetland Reserve

The Xidongting Lake Wetland Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve.

The Xidongting Lake Nature Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve established in January 1998 with the approval of the People's Government of Hunan Province. It is located in Hanshou County in the western part of Dongting Lake, bordering South Dongting Lake to the east, Anxiang and Nanxian Counties to the north, Changde's Dingcheng District to the west, and the low mountainous and hilly areas in the southern part of Hanshou County to the south. Its geographical coordinates are between 111°48′50″–112°16′40″ east longitude and 28°49′50″–29°08′50″ north latitude. The total area is 35,680 hectares, including 26,960 hectares of wetland. Its core area is located around Dalianzhang, Muping Lake, and Zhongweizhou in Xidongting Lake, covering an area of 7,000 hectares.

The administrative office of the nature reserve is a public institution at the division level, with subordinate institutions such as the Wetland Education Center, Monitoring and Patrol Stations, and the Forest Police Station Reserve Office. The Xidongting Lake Nature Reserve is situated at the lower reaches of the Yuan and Li Rivers. It not only receives water from these two rivers but also accommodates floodwaters from the Songzi and Taiping outlets of the Yangtze River. The low mountainous and hilly areas in the southern part of Hanshou County are the foothills of the Xuefeng Mountain Range, through which eight rivers—including the Cangshui, Langshui, Longchi River, and Yanbao Mountain River—flow from south to north into Xidongting Lake. This has created a landscape within the reserve that features dense shoals, crisscrossing rivers and lakes, and vast water bodies, forming its unique topography and wetland scenery. "Flooded, it becomes a lake; receded, it turns into shoals" is its main characteristic. Xidongting Lake is a typical through-flow lake in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In spring and summer when water levels rise, the floods surge and blend with the sky; in autumn and winter during the dry season, shoals emerge, ditches and creeks spread out, and reed marshes lie deep and serene.

The region has a mid-subtropical monsoon climate, characterized by mild weather, abundant sunshine, and plentiful rainfall. The average annual temperature is 16.7°C, with precipitation ranging from 1,200 to 1,350 mm and a frost-free period of 274 days. Torrential rain is the main hazardous weather in the area.

Xidongting Lake Wetland is formed by the convergence of the Yuan and Li Rivers, featuring a swampy landform where water submerges the land into a lake and recedes to reveal shoals. Xidongting Lake connects to distant mountains and embraces the Yangtze River, with vast, boundless blue waters, renowned worldwide for its ever-changing beauty and rich abundance. The area is dotted with winding waterways, abrupt hills, lakes beyond lakes, and islands within the lake. Fishing boats dot the waters, green reeds sway, fish leap beneath the surface, and gulls and egrets soar overhead. The scenery changes with the seasons and takes on a thousand forms within a single day. The cold wind whips up waves like snow across a thousand miles, resembling the landscapes of northern China; the setting sun casts a golden glow over the vast waters, sharing a similar grandeur with watching the sunrise atop Mount Tai.

The area is crisscrossed with waterways and dotted with numerous shoals and islands. Across the vast lake surface, 140 rarely visited lake shoals and islands are scattered like stars. The land here is fertile, the climate warm and humid with distinct seasons, and the area is rich in produce. It is home to 865 species of wetland plants, 207 species of birds, and 114 species of fish. Among them, there are more than 10 species of national first-class protected animals, such as the Chinese sturgeon, white crane, hooded crane, and scaly-sided merganser. The reed beds on the lake shoals cover an area of over 54,000 hectares, making it one of the largest reed communities in the world. The lake is broad with lush aquatic vegetation and abundant aquatic life. Since ancient times, it has been rich in freshwater fish such as carp, silver carp, mandarin fish, mackerel, bream, catfish, silver fish, grass carp, and anchovy, as well as turtles and soft-shelled turtles, earning its reputation as a natural base for specialty aquatic products. The wild green foods on the lake shoals—wild celery, wild artemisia selengensis, asparagus lettuce, and polygonum—known as the "Four Treasures of Dongting," are highly cherished.

Address: Yanwanghu Town, Hanshou County, Changde City

Type: Lake Wetland

Recommended Visiting Time: About 1 day

Opening Hours:

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Ticket Information:

Admission: 110 RMB; Boat Tour: 45 RMB per person.