Dahua Yantan Lake Scenic Area

Dahua Yantan Lake Scenic Area

The Yantan Lake Scenic Area is located in Dahua County, Guangxi. It is a 56-square-kilometer reservoir lake formed after the construction of the Yantan Hydropower Station, a key national project of the Eighth Five-Year Plan. With its clear green waters stretching far and wide, the lake features over a hundred peninsulas and islands scattered across it in picturesque arrangements of various shapes, creating enchanting scenery. Along its many bays, Yao and Zhuang ethnic villages are dotted everywhere — every household faces the lake, and every home has boats moored nearby. The area is filled with fish farming cages spread across the bays, forming a unique “water village” scene. Additionally, the 16-kilometer-long Red River Three Gorges feature steep peaks, deep valleys, and rugged cliffs. There are also vivid and lifelike rock formations resembling figures such as the Sleeping Beauty Mountain, the Lion Guarding the Water City, and the Divine Eagle Protecting the Gorge.

Yantan Lake was formed in the early 1990s when the 1.21-million-kilowatt Yantan Hydropower Station was completed and its dam was closed, creating over 200,000 acres of water area. It spans four counties — Dahua, Bama, Donglan, and Tian'e — covering a 166-kilometer-long section of the middle reaches of the Hongshui River. Drifting along the waves and taking in the surrounding landscape, you will be intoxicated by the stunning natural beauty that greets you at every turn.

The beautiful lake water is one of the highlights of Yantan Lake. Not only is the water crystal-clear and shimmering, but due to the surrounding mountains, sunlight, and reflections from the peaks, the lake also displays various colors — sometimes glistening like gold, other times emerald green as if dyed, and occasionally deep blue as though frozen. During your visit, you’ll experience a range of impressions: at times the view is expansive, like sailing out of a bay; at others, towering cliffs press in on both sides, resembling passage through a narrow gorge. It truly captures the poetic essence of “gazing up or down at the mirror-like lake under two azure skies, with a single leaf-like boat floating on boundless glassy water.”

The majestically rugged peaks are another defining feature of Yantan Lake. Some slopes are gentle, while others are steep; some ranges are long and rolling, while others consist of solitary, peculiar cliffs; some forested hills are low and flat, while others have sword-like peaks that soar thousands of feet. In terms of specific shapes, the mountains are incredibly diverse: some resemble two monkeys cuddling, others a lizard reaching skyward, a monk turning his back, Guanyin looking sideways, a general riding a horse, ten fingers pointing to the sky, an olive snail crawling slowly, a seal moving across sand, bamboo shoots pointing to the heavens, or a lotus blooming by the lakeside... The “Sleeping Beauty” Mountain stretches over a kilometer and rises 300 meters high; its “head” rests against the dam of the Yantan Hydropower Station, and its “hair” sweeps gracefully over the surface of the lake. Its figure is well-proportioned and full, with prominently raised “breasts,” clear contours, and elegant lines, making it more captivating than any human body art masterpiece painted by master artists.