South Dongting Lake (), also known as The pearl of the Yangtze River, is a large freshwater lake located in the north of the province of

Hunan, China Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi t ...

, in the

Dongting Lake Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the la ...

region. The South Dongting Lake occupies approximately one-eighth of the total combined area of all

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s in the world. The lake is internationally regarded as an important wetland and has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2002.

Geography

South Dongting Lake is located in the southwest of

, with an area of 1680 square kilometers. It has the characteristics of

with water immersion as

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and water falling as oasis.Brief Introduction of South Dongting Lake
yiyang.gov.cn. 2016-07-07.

References

Lakes of Hunan Ramsar sites in China {{Hunan-geo-stub