Daihai Lake 岱海

About Daihai Lake

Because the lake has no natural outlet, changes in rainfall and water use strongly affect its level and salinity. This is a landscape to view from the established lakeside visitor sector rather than a place to assume swimming or boating is available. A short shore walk reveals both the open-water basin and the planted landward margins that frame it.

Daihai sits in a fault basin and is classed as an inland tectonic lake, the third-largest inland lake in Inner Mongolia. It is kidney-shaped, about 20 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide, with a water surface of about 160 square kilometres, an average depth of 9 metres and a maximum depth of 18 metres. Because the lake has no outflow, evaporation is strong and its water is highly saline, with a mineralization of about 2.6 grams per litre.

Under the Qin dynasty, Daihai and the neighbouring Huangqi Lake marked part of the northern boundary of Yanmen Commandery, on the frontier of the Chinese empire. The lake was originally fed by twenty-two rivers, but most of these have since dried up, leaving mainly seasonal streams; its main recharge now comes from precipitation, surface runoff and groundwater within its drainage basin.

Daihai's water level has fallen and its surface has shrunk over the years, with rising salinity, fish disappearing and algae proliferating; the lake is classified as severely polluted, with localised summer algal blooms producing moderate eutrophication. On 16 May 2020, construction began on the Daihai Ecological Emergency Water Replenishment Project (岱海生态应急补水工程) downstream of the Gongba River Reservoir near Liusumu; once complete, it is intended to draw water from the Yellow River in wet years to help curb the lake's shrinkage.

What to look for

• The enclosed lake basin and its broad water-and-hill horizon.
• The shore flats and planted landward edges around the established tourism sector.

Location & getting there

Getting to Daihai Lake

Travel to Daihai Tourism Resort in Liangcheng County's Daihai area, using the signed resort approach from the S102 corridor.

• Confirm the current public shore access before travelling; lake levels and restoration work can alter the distance from older facilities to the water.