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| East Lake |
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The city's most popular tourist site, with 2 million visitors each
year.
Located in the eastern suburbs of Wuhan, the East Lake is the biggest
lake in a city within China and one of the major tourist attractions
in Wuhan. With surrounding park, occupies an area of 88 sq. km,
which is 5 times larger than the West Lake in Hangzhou. including
water area of 33 km.
The East Lake itself is a big botanical garden with more than 370
kinds of trees, 80 kinds of birds, and 390 kinds of flowers, in
which plum blossom and lotus are of most famous ones. With zigzagging
lake banks and crisscrossing ponds and brooks, also called the Lake
of Ninety-Nine Bays, this vast piece of water is so clear that you
can see the bottom easily. With unique design of gardens and a strong
taste of "Chu" culture, China Plum Research Center and
China Lotus Flower are headquartered here.
The East Lake Park is divided in to 6 sections: Scattering among
them are attractions such as the Double-moon Pavilion amidst the
trees, the Tingtao (wave- hearing) Corridor by the lake, the Xingyin
(reciting) Pavilion at the water front, the Guanyu (fish watching)
Pavilion by the blue pond, the Shuiyun Tower at the lakeside, the
Qubo Embankment with dancing ripples, the Shimmering-Lake Pavilion,
the Zhubei Pavilion amidst the pines, the Yunyi Pavilion amidst
the green lawn. Also in the area are Hubei Provincial Museum and
residence of former Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai,
Zhu De, etc., now open to the public.
The scenery around the lake is lovely, including flowers and willow
trees as well as pavilions and terraces. A ride in one of the tour
boats is a tranquil experience. |
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