Qilu Lake () is a plateau lake in
Yunnan Province
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
, in southwestern
China. The lake has a total area of about 36.86 square kilometers. The average depth is 4.03 m, with an elevation of 1796.75 m. the water storage capacity is about 1.486×10
8m
3.
The lake is named after the Qilu mountain (nowadays called Xiushan), directly south of Tonghai county seat. During the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
, the lake used to be larger and reach up to the base of this mountain. The lake has no outlet rivers, but water can leave the area through
karst caves.
It has a rich aquatic life, supporting a large population of
shrimp,
carp,
black carp
The black carp (''Mylopharyngodon piceus'') or Chinese black roach is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish and the sole extant species of the genus ''Mylopharyngodon''. It is native to lakes and rivers in East Asia, ranging from the Amur Basin ...
,
herring, and
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...
.
[http://history.kunming.cn/index/content/2009-06/30/content_1908616.htm]
According to local legend, the area around the lake used to be flooded and was called Tonghai. A monk used a
shippei
A is a bamboo staff which curves slightly, approximately 15 inches (or half a metreKoun, 205-206) long, which is used as a "symbol of a Zen master's authority" in Zen Buddhism.Baroni, 300 In contrast to the '' keisaku'', the shippei was often used ...
to make a hole in the lake bed and allow water to flow out.
[
In the 20th century, the lake size was reduced due to soil erosion and land reclamation, as well as the lake becoming polluted. Since the 1990s, measures have been taken to reverse this.][
]
Notes
{{Lakes of China
Lakes of Yunnan
Geography of Yuxi