Qiandao Lake--Qiāndǎo Hú

Qiandao Lake (Chinese: 千岛湖, Pinyin: Qiāndǎo Hú, literally means Thousand Island Lake), a man-made lake located in Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, east of China, formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydroelectric station. 1,078 large islands dot the lake and a few thousand smaller ones are scattered across it. That's the reason why it's called thousand island lake in Chinese. The lake covers an area of 573 km² and has a storage capacity of 17.8 km³. The islands in the lake cover about 86 km².

Xin'an River hydroelectric station 

Qiandao Lake, known for its clear, and sometimes drinkable water, is used to produce the renowned Nongfu Spring brand of mineral water. It is also home to lush forests (over 90%), and exotic islands. Its more popular attractions include Bird Island, Snake Island, Monkey Island, Lock Island (featuring supposedly the world's biggest lock), and the Island to Remind You of Your Childhood.

Nongfu Spring  

The lake gives Zhejiang an important tourist attraction. Newer housing developments have sprung up since the late 1990s at a reasonable cost to buyers looking for lakeside residences.

The dam creating the lake is 105 m (344 ft) tall with a crest length of 466.5 m (1,531 ft). Xin'an Dam was the first dam constructed in China with a height greater than 100 m (328 ft) and its power plant has an installed capacity of 845 MW.

There are hourly buses that connect Qiandao Lake with the provincial capital, Hangzhou, under which it is technically under jurisdiction. A railway development project to the area was ceased as it was considered damaging to the natural sights of Qiandao Lake. An expressway will be linking Hangzhou, Qiandao Lake, and Huangshan, Anhui by 2008.