Hongze Lake

Hongze Lake is China's fourth largest freshwater lake and the dominant natural feature of Suqian's southern reaches. The lake and its associated wetlands form a substantial nature reserve — home to migratory birds, freshwater fish, and an aquatic ecosystem of considerable richness — and boat trips on the water offer an expansive, horizon-filling experience that contrasts sharply with the density of the southern Jiangsu cities.

The lake is best known to Chinese visitors for its hairy crabs and freshwater fish, and the restaurants around the lakeside in Sihong and Huai'an counties are among the best in northern Jiangsu for eating these things. In autumn, when the crab season peaks and the migratory birds arrive, the lake has a particular vitality. The Sihong Hongze Lake Wetland Park on the western shore provides the most developed access point for visitors.

things to do sight nature
A story
Hongze Lake was created by human intervention. The lake's current form dates largely from the Song and Ming periods, when hydraulic engineers deliberately flooded the area by raising the banks of the Huai River to create a reservoir that would regulate water levels throughout the Grand Canal system. The people who lived on the land that became the lake floor were relocated — an early example of the large-scale hydraulic engineering that has characterised Chinese water management for two millennia.