Chinese Name:抚仙湖

Key Words:The second deepest lake in China;Pearl of Highland

Location:5 Km from Chenjiang County, 63 km away from Kunming

Coverage:212 square kilometers

Overview：

At a place of 5 Km from Chenjiang County, 63 km away from Kunming, there is the second deepest lake ¡n Fuxianhu Lake in China. It has the water area of 212 square kilometers, lake banks length around 90 kilometers, average depth of the lake about 87 meters, the deepest to 155 meters, the volume of water reaching to 18.5 billion cubic meters. It riches in the Kanlan Fish (anti-wave fish) well known for its soft and gentle meat. There is a small island in the water with the area of 5.6 ha (a ha=10000 square meters). It is so especially for its clean water without pollution where is very ideal place for the vacations and holidays.

Fuxian lake has a shape of inverted gourd.Fuxian Lake ranks the 1st in Yunnan and the 2nd in china in terms of depth, it is second only to the deepest lake in china - the volcanic crater lake of Changbai mountain (cháng bái shān tiān chí 长白山天池) in northeast china. It is the 3rd largest lake in Yunnan Province (the largest lake in Yunnan is the Dianchi lake and the 2nd largest one is Erhai lake . Its total water capacity is 18.9 billion cubic meters which is 12 times of Dianchi lake and 6 times of Erhai lake.

It is a half-closed plateau lake, so the water of the lake comes from the surrounding streams and rivers, underground springs and rainfall. The lake is so clear that the deepest visibility can reach 12.5 meters. Thus the water quality of Fuxian Lake ranks the 1st in Yunnan and it is also one of the clearest inland fresh lake in China.

Highlights

Gushan island

Gushan island is the only island in Fuxian Lake. It was originally called Yinhai mountain (yín hǎi shān 银海山) and linked to a nearby island by an iron bridge. Later the bridge was destroyed by an earthquake, then the mountain was renamed Gushan, meaning "isolated mountain". A new archway was built at the dock as entrance of the resort.There are eight temples, five halls and three pavilions erecting on this island. In the Ming Dynasty, this island was famous for its Buddhist temples and Daoist buildings. The most important building on the island is a brilliant copper pagoda. Standing on a huge base, the pagoda is a 13-layer construction decorated by colorful paint and inscriptions of Buddhist sutras. Many new pavilions, paths, and bridges were constructed so as to connect all the scenic spots on the island. Up to now Gushan island has been developed into a comprehensive resort with good facilities for tour, entertainment and accommodation.

Kanglang Fish

“Kanglang” means “to fight against waves”, since Kanglang fish like to against waves. There is a great deal of wind and rolling waves on Fuxian lake, and the lake used to be teeming with Kanglang fish. The fish swim from deep water to shallow waters near the bank to spawn every year from the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn. So the fish season lasts from March to September. People make full use of the fish’s habits and characteristics in fishing. Wooden water wheels are used to pump water out of fish caves, and Kanglang fish will swim against current, then into the fish cages placed in the water beforehand.

Living in the high quality water of Fuxian lake, Kanglang fish is delicious and fresh. The fish can be air-dried, salted, deep-fried, steamed, or boiled in copper pots. However this fish species is nearing extinction due to overfishing in recent years. So the price is very high, and the way of the sale is also strange. Due to the fish live in pairs, they do everything in pairs including swimming, eating and spawning like a couple of lover, so the local people sell the fish in pairs for respecting their love.

Luchong Village

Lying in the weatern shore of Fuxian Lake, Luchong village is reputed for its tranquil beach, banian trees and hospitable villagers. Here people can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Fuxian lake and penholder-shaped Bijia hill (bǐ jià shān 笔架山), also can play some interesting aquatic games.

Fishing Separeting Stone

Situated in the south of Fuxian Lake, Haimen Rivers links Fuxian Lake and Xingyun Lake (xīng yún hú 星云湖). Although Haimen Rivers is only one kilometer long, it is an absolutly valuable place to visit. There are three Chinese characters on the rivers bank - "jieyushi" (jiè yú shí 界鱼石), meaning "fishing separeting stone". Maybe people will have a question--why are they written here? In fact, such a special name comes from a unique phenomenon - the fish in Xingyun lake and Fuxian Lake never swim across the Jieyu Stone. It seems that they understand the stone as the boundary of the tow lakes. It is said that Emperor Qianglong (qián lóng huáng dì 乾隆皇帝) in the Qing Dynasty wrote the three characters on the stone to mark the wonder.

Tours Including Fuxian Lake

2Days Fuxian Lake Holiday Tour

Attractions Near Fuxian Lake

Maotian Mountain National Geo-park

Maotian Mountain National Geo-park is located in Chengjiang County, about 2.5 hours away from Kunming by car. It is famous for its trove of prehistoric Chengjiang fossils. The fossils are imprints of life forms from 530 million years ago. There are 200 fossil species exhibited, from worms to "giant ancient shrimp with fierce claws and a large-toothed mouth". People regard it as "The Original Base of anthropoids". This mystery is listed into China World Heritage Site Candidates.

Isolated Island

A few hundred meters off of the southwest shore of Fuxian Lake, Solitude Hill is an island made by the peak of a mountain that rises precipitously from the bottom of the lake, which with a maximum depth of nearly 160 meters (525 feet) is one of the deepest in Asia.

The Ancient Guansuo Opera in Chengjiang County，Yuxi

It is a clan of the ancient Nuo Plays, spreading in the Yangzong Area of Chengjiang County. So that named for the main character of Hua Guangsuo, showing the heroic achievements of Zhu, which is one of the Three Kingdoms. It’s usually put on during the Spring Festival, entertaining gods and offering sacrifices to the sky for longevity and harvests.