Weishan Lake 微山湖

About Weishan Lake

Weishan Island offers a manageable cultural focus within this much larger landscape. Its memorial sites include the tomb associated with Weizi and the Railway Guerrillas Memorial Garden. Choose an island visit or a particular wetland sector in advance: the lake’s many shore attractions use different approaches and cannot be treated as one park.

Weishan Lake lies on the border of Shandong and Jiangsu, administered by Weishan County in Jining. Together with the connected Zhaoyang, Dushan and Nanyang lakes it forms the wider Weishan Four Lakes (微山四湖), which run 120 kilometers north to south, up to 25 kilometers wide, and cover a water area of 1,266 square kilometers, the largest freshwater lake in northern China. In the narrow sense, Weishan Lake itself is the lower lake south of a dam built across the lake's waist in 1960.

The basin began forming some 400 million years ago, when the North China region subsided into shallow sea and marsh; over the past seven million years, crustal movement produced depressions that collected runoff from the hills of central Shandong. The present lake took shape after a Yellow River breach during the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty, when floodwaters and silt raised the western bank of the Si River and the river long occupied the area as wetland.

It is counted among China's six major freshwater lakes. Its Weishan Lake Wetland Red Lotus Scenic Area (微山湖湿地红荷风景区), with more than 100,000 mu of red lotus, is a national 4A-level scenic area (国家4A级景区), giving the lake its title of 'China's Lotus Capital' (中国荷都).

What to look for

• The reed-and-lotus lake landscape around Weishan Island, changing with the season.
• Weizi’s memorial precinct and the island’s Railway Guerrillas Memorial Garden.

Location & getting there

Getting to Weishan Lake

For the island route, go to the mainland Weishan Lake Tourist Area Visitor Centre and take the boat to Daguan Wharf on Weishan Island. Arrange island transport from the landing. Tengzhou’s Red Lotus Wetland is a separate lake sector with a different approach.