Cocoa Suili Lake

Cocoa Suili Lake

Cocoa Suili Lake is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Cocoa Suili Lake is located in Fuyun County, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, about 25 km from the county town. It is also known as Wild Duck Lake.

It was formed by an earthquake-induced subsidence, covering an area of about 1.8 square kilometers with an average depth of 2 meters. The lake contains more than 20 large and small floating islands and is abundant in aquatic plants. Most remarkably, the reeds in the water grow directly on the surface without roots, drifting with the wind, creating ever-changing scenes with the breeze. The lake’s scenery shifts along with the movement of the reeds. Every summer and autumn, thousands of wild ducks, moorhens, and red-necked geese gather here to breed. The ducks are often seen in pairs, foraging and playing in the water, staying together faithfully. If one mate dies, the other will never pair again for life, often seen flying alone low over the lake—a heartbreaking sight that moves the heart. “A small river flows with beautiful imaginings; with you, everywhere becomes a paradise of life.” This poem might be the best portrayal of their tender love. Wild Duck Lake combines the delicate beauty of West Lake with the labyrinthine reed marshes of Baiyangdian, presenting a picturesque watery landscape where “sandpipers gather in flocks” and “fish swim near the shallow bottom.” In the distance, towering bare mountains with visible folds and gullies can be faintly seen, while across the lake, tens of thousands of acres of open, flat grassland are dotted with leisurely grazing herds of cattle and sheep, strolling through flowers and grass, tranquil and serene—making one marvel at how nature could craft such a perfectly exquisite landscape painting.