Caohai Lake & Jiudongtian Scenic Area

Located in the outskirts of Weining County of Guizhou Province, Caohai Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Guizhou Plateau. Usually, the lake occupies an area of about 30 square kilometers (about 7413 acres) with an elevation of about 2,200 meters (about 7217 feet). The whole lake is surrounded by green mountains, therefore it forms a unique natural environment - warm in winter and cool in summer.

In the lake, there are plenty of aquatic animals and plants, waterfowls and fish. All of these add more color to the lake. For example, every year from March to April, Caohai Lake is decorated by numerous flourishing flowers which live under water; while large areas of azalea will cover the fields around the lake in autumn. For this reason, autumn is considered to be the best season to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this lake. In addition, visitors can take boats to enjoy the lake in closer proximity. There are also some aquatic animals living here such as bitterns, wild geese, wild ducks and long-tailed pheasants.

With its rich aquatic plants and mild climate, Caohai Lake is one of the best habitats for birds. In early spring and late autumn every year, more than 100,000 birds will migrate here. These include the black-necked crane, the red-crowned crane, the white stork and the white-tailed sea-eagle and so on. So this lake is also called "the Kingdom of Birds". The black-necked crane is the only plateau crane left in the world, and the best time to admire the black-necked crane is in winter.

There are two ways to get there. One is taking a train to Guiyang and then taking a bus to Weining County. The other one is taking a train to Liupanshui City and then traveling further by bus.

The Jiudongtian Scenic Area is located on the border between Nayong and Dafang counties in Guizhou Province. Being situated about 228 kilometers (around 142 miles) from the Guizhou provincial capital of Guiyang, it covers an area of about 10 square kilometers (around 2471 acres). It has rare features which are to be found both above and below ground. These include both 'u' and 'v' shaped valleys, limestone caves and underground streams. Some geologists consider that Jiudongtian is a marvelous natural phenomenon which outshines any other limestone region in the world.

The Liuchong River runs under the earth at the Jiudongtian Scenic Area. At this point the river is named the Guazhong Underground River. Downstream the underground river runs across mountain ridges and comes to the surface at nine points. This gives the appearance of nine pearls threaded onto a pearl necklace. Tourists who travel along the underground river are amazed when the darkness under the earth is suddenly broken by bright daylight as the river momentarily surfaces. The nine caves have various shapes; some are like gourds whilst others, for example, are shaped like the leg of an elephant. Each cave contains spectacular karst features. Furthermore, located in the second cave, there is the Jiudongtian Hydropower Station which is the only natural limestone cave power station in China. Other features to be found in the caves include a large natural bridge, an extensive underground lake and several waterfalls.

Tourists can travel in this scenic area either along the underground river or on foot via a cement road.