Erhai Lake

        The Erhai Lake, located at the eastern foot of the Cangshan Mountain, is a fault basin. It is the second largest plateau freshwater lake with the reputation of “Plateau Pearl” and it is also an important water source. Over the years, Erhai Lake is of the lowest water level of 1964.30 m, with a water area of 244.5 km2, and storage capacity of 2.534 x 109m3; it is of the highest water level of 1966.00 m, with a water area of 252.1 km2, and storage capacity of 2.959 x 109m3.The Miju River is in the north of the Erhai Lake, Boluo River in the south, Eighteen Streams of the Cangshan Mountain in the west, and Yulong River and Fengweiqing in the west. All these rivers flow into the Erhai Lake. Xi’er River is the only water outlet of the Erhai, flowing into the Lancang River westward.

        The Erhai Lake is surrounded by Cangshan Mountain like a screen in the west and by Yu’anshan in the east. The Erhai Lake has extremely beautiful space environment as poetry said “Ceaseless lake water is like a mirror for the sky, the mountain is surround by green mountains like screens”. The Erhai Lake is known as "Silver Cangshan and Jade Erhai" and "Plateau Pearl”. Countless poets and men of letters wrote down poetries to express their admiration for the Erhai Lake since ancient time. The lake was described as “wind causes white surf, while rain brings mist” by Yang Qikun, the Qingpingguan (prime minister) of the Nanzhan Kingdom, in his poem collected in Complete Poems in the Tang Dynasty. Guo Songnian in the Yuan Dynasty described the Erhai Lake in his travelogue, Traveling in Dali, as “vast, boundless, and mist-covered”. All this is too numerous to mention one by one.

        The Erhai Lake features mild and humid climate with beautiful landscape and pleasant scenery. The ancients summarized it as “three islands, four islets, five lakes, and nine bays”.

        Three islands: Jinsuo Island, Jiyu Island, and Chiwen Island;

        Four islets: Qingshabi Islet, Daguanping Islet, Yuanyang Islet, and Malian Islet;

        Five lakes: Tai Lake, Lianhua Lake, Xing Lake, Shen Lake, and Zhu Lake;

        Nine bays: Lianhua Bay, Daguan Bay, Panji Bay, Fengyi Bay, Luoshi Bay, Niujiao Bay, Bo Bay, Gaoju Bay, and Hezhu Bay.

        With the changes of morning and night in four seasons, all landscapes show a magnificent and changeful prospect. Thus, the ancestors had summarized it as “Eight Sceneries of Erhai” as following: the grand view of lake and mountain, islands amongst the mist, mirror on the lake, steep bank of mountain amongst the mist, boat in the middle of dark blue wave, the four pavilions, the autumn scenery, and the moon reflection on the lake surface. The above-mentioned four pavilions were four famous pavilions that were constructed in succession by ancestors for embellishing and enjoying the sight of the Erhai Lake in Dali, including the Heavenly Mirror Pavilion (located on the east bank), the Zhuhai Pavilion (located in Erhai Park Tuan Hill), the Haoran Pavilion (also known as Fengle Pavilion, located in Cai village, Dali), and the Water Moon Pavilion (located in the north end of Shuanglang Town, Erhai Lake, Dali, and stood facing the Zhuhai Pavilion).Although the four famous pavilions has collapsed in ruins to be rebuilt, the poems and beautiful lines for these scenic spots is constantly recorded in historical records. Li Yuanyang, a scholar of Bai nationality in Ming Dynasty, once wrote a poem to praise the beautiful scenery of the Water Moon Pavilion. We can easily learn the prosperous cultural landscape of the Erhai Lake in Dali since the ancient time.

        The Erhai Lake is abundant in aquatic resources, including various fishes, water birds, shrimps, spiral shells, clams, otters, water chestnuts, reeds, and edible seaweeds. Fishes include the well-known Schizothorax taliensis, as well as carps, oil fishes, Pseudolaubuca engraulis, small white fishes, crucian carps, grass carps, and black carps.

        In addition, the Erhai Lake is the most important birthplace of the ancestors of the Bai nationality. So far, a total of more than 30 sites in Neolithic times are found in the Erhai Lake and its surrounding hillsides. Jinsuo Island in Haidong Town is a famous site in Neolithic times. Recently, it was found that the Yuji Island in Shuanglang Town is also an important site in Neolithic times and the Bronze Age. Except for a large number of stone artifacts and pottery for production and living, many bronze wares, swords shaped like the Chinese character of San (Mountain), iron swords with bronze handles, and pottery molds for these weapons were excavated. Thus, this indicated that the Yuji Island is an important production base for smelting and casting bronze wares for the ancestors of Bai nationality, even in Iron Age. The traces for each era were left over by history. It seems that we can hear the footsteps of the ancestors of Bai nationality from stage of savagery to civilization. Therefore, you could say that the Erhai Lake is the cradle of the Bai nationality.

Jinsuo Island

Erhai Lake Wind Surf

Corner of Erhai Lake

Boating on the Erhai Lake