Huating Lake 花亭湖

About Huating Lake

Huating Lake (花亭湖) is the Hualiangting Reservoir (花凉亭水库) in Taihu County (太湖县), Anqing (安庆), Anhui; its tourist area lies 4 km north of the county town, and its waters rise in the Dabie Mountains (大别山).

The lake lies on the Changhe (长河), the main source of the Wan River (皖河), which flows on to the Yangtze. Hills close in on every side and islands are scattered across the water. The tourist area covers 52.72 km² and holds national scenic area, national wetland park and national water conservancy scenic area status.

Work on the reservoir began in 1958, stopped in 1962 and resumed in 1970; the main structure was essentially complete in 1976 and the last unfinished parts in 2001. The dam has a rolled clay core with sand shells. Beyond flood control, the reservoir waters farmland in four counties: Susong (宿松), Wangjiang (望江), Huaining (怀宁) and Taihu.

The lake also covers the old family home of Zhao Puchu (赵朴初), later president of the Buddhist Association of China and a vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. His ancestors had built a house on the Siqian River (寺前河) in the Daoguang (道光) era, known as the Zhuangyuan mansion (状元府) because the forebear Zhao Wenkai (赵文楷) had come first in the imperial examination in the Jiaqing (嘉庆) reign. Zhao Puchu lived there from 1911 until 1920, and the house was flooded by the Hualiangting Reservoir, whose construction began in 1958. His ashes were returned to Taihu in October 2004.

On Phoenix Hill (凤凰山) beside the lake, Xifeng Chan Temple (西风禅寺), first built in the Tang dynasty as Lion Hermitage (狮子庵), is described as a place of practice of Hongren (弘忍), the Fifth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism. It was destroyed in fighting in 1856 and rebuilt with donations in 1919, and its name board was written by Zhao Puchu.

What to look for

• Xifeng Cave (西风洞), a shelter under a leaning rock that faces west and holds dozens of people, with a statue of Hongren inside
• Xifeng Chan Temple (西风禅寺), whose surviving middle and upper halls date from the Republican period
• The cliff inscription "高山流水" (high mountains and flowing water), the largest in the Xifeng Cave area
• Zhao Puchu Cultural Park (赵朴初文化公园) in Siqian town (寺前镇), with his tree burial site and a memorial hall modelled on the Zhuangyuan mansion
• Qianyuan Island (千缘岛) and Moon Bay (月亮湾), core sights on the lake
• Ciren Lianhua Ferry (慈忍莲华渡), the tourist pier

Location & getting there

Getting to Huating Lake

• Search for 花亭湖 with 安庆市 and 太湖县.