Dongqian Lake is Zhejiang's largest natural freshwater lake, stretching for about twenty kilometres southeast of Ningbo's city centre through a landscape of low wooded hills. The lake is ringed by a cycling path and served by an electric shuttle, and the combination of water, hills, and occasional fishing villages makes it an easy and pleasant half-day excursion from the city.
The lake's western shore has been developed as a scenic area with restaurants, guesthouses, and boat rental. The eastern shore is quieter and more rural, and cycling the full circuit takes about three hours at a relaxed pace. Several small temples and Song-dynasty stone carvings are scattered around the lakeside, and the mist that settles over the water on autumn and winter mornings gives the lake an atmospheric quality that the busier western shore can't quite capture. Boats can be hired by the hour for fishing or simply for getting out onto the water.