Chaohu Lake in Chaohu City

Chinese Name: 巢湖
English Name:  Chaohu Lake
Type: Tourist Attraction , Points of Interest & Landmarks, Cuture Attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 1 Day
Opening Hours: All Day
Ticket: Free
Location:  Hefei, Anhui

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Why is Chao Lake so Special?

Chao Lake also known as Chao Hu, situated in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province. It is the largest in Anhui and one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China, which acrosses three counties in Hefei in the middle of Anhui Province. Mushan Island is in the lake.The silver fish, shrimps, and crabs of Lake Chao are called the Three Treasures. It enjoys the grand name of “Land of Plenty”. About 5 million people live near the lake and use it for irrigation, transportation and fishing.

Chaohu Lake Scenic Area is a large-scale national park which integrates the functions of scenic sightseeing, environmental preservation, sports experience, popular science research, leisure and recreation, tourism and vacation.

Legend of  Chaohu Lake

According to legend, the site of the lake was once a prosperous city named Chaozhou. Because of sins of its people, it was cursed by the heavens and ordered to be destroyed by flooding. The task was to be carried out by a white dragon who was only able to find one good person, an old lady (‘Lao’ in Chinese) surnamed Jiao. After the destruction of Chaozhou, only the old lady and her daughter were saved. They became the two islands emerging from the lake.

Main Attractions of Chaohu Lake

Natural Landscape Features

Chaohu Lake Scenic Spot has beautiful scenery, abundant biological resources, and beautiful landforms and hydrological landscapes. Among them, the representative scenic spots are Ziweidong, Yinping Mountain, Guishan, Sidingshan, Chaohu Wetland, Dongan Forest Park, Pingdingshan “Golden Nail”, Chaohu ichthyosaur fossils, Hongshizui, Heishizui and so on.

Cultural Landscape Features

Chaohu Lake is one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation; with a large number of talented people and profound culture, Chaohu Lake is the home of human attractions; its cultural sites are rich and confusing, and the ancient towns such as Zhongmiao and Sanhe have unique features. Sanhe Ancient Town Scenic Area was selected as National 5A Scenic Area in 2015. It is the first 5A Scenic Area in Hefei City.

• Mushan Island(姥山岛)
  Mushan Island is the largest island of Chao Lake, about 3.5 kilometers  from the temple. Now there are three pavilions and three gentle hills on the island. On the top of the highest peak someone has build the seven story Wenfeng Tower about four hundred years ago. It hosts 802 statues of the Buddha and 25 pieces of stone tablets.You can reach the island by yacht or a sightseeing ferry, which dock north of Zhongmiao Temple. 
• Zhongmiao Temple(中庙)
  Zhongmiao Temple stands At the north bank of the lake, which Initially built in the Han Dynasty (202BC – 220 AD), it has been renovated for several times. Along the 75 meters long central axis there are three grand buildings, including Gate Palace, Mahavira Hall, and Pavilion of Buddhist Sutra. These bright red temples are quite eye-catching against blue water.

How to Get There

Chaohu is located in the middle section of Hefei-Wuhu Expressway. Whether to Hefei or to Wuhu, it takes only half an hour to take the high-speed bus, which is very convenient. Chaohu Long-distance Passenger Station is mainly for vehicles to adjacent provinces and cities. It departs from 30 to 1 a day, and can be reached by bus No. 3, 9 and 18 in the city. Chaohu Bus Station (North Station) Ticket Office, located in Juchao District, Changjiang East Road. Take a bus from Hefei Bus Station and it takes about 1.5h. Then, take local bus H101 to Chao Lake Scenic Area.

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