Star Lake is Zhaoqing's centrepiece: seven limestone crags arranged in a pattern that mirrors the Big Dipper rise from a lake of interconnected pools, linked by causeways and dotted with pavilions, temples, and caves. Walking the causeways early in the morning, before the tour groups arrive, with mist still hanging over the water and the peaks silhouetted against the pale sky, delivers the kind of scenery that southern Chinese landscape painting has been depicting for a thousand years.
The caves in the rock faces contain inscriptions dating back to the Tang dynasty, carved by officials and poets who visited and could not resist leaving a record. Several of the peaks have temples on their summits accessible by stairway. The whole scenic area can be walked in half a day, but the changing light at dawn and dusk makes a longer stay worthwhile. Boat trips on the lake offer a different perspective on the rock formations and are popular with families.