Dongting Lake

The second largest freshwater lake in China, Dongtinghu, is located on the right side of the Yangtze River. The size of the lake varies depending on the season: from the middle of summer to the beginning of autumn, the Yangtze is incredibly flooded.

The area varies greatly depending on the time of the year. The maximum area can reach about 2,670 km2 during the wet season, and the minimum is about 710 km2 during the dry season.
The length and width also fluctuate. The average length is about 60-70 km, and the width is about 40 km (much more in peak season).
The maximum depth usually does not exceed 5-6 meters, on average the depth is even less.

In China, it is believed that the national dragon boat festival originated on the shores of Dongting in the 3rd century BC after the poet Qu Yuan committed suicide in the waters of the lake.

When the fifth month arrives and its fifth day arrives, a grandiose action begins in China: racing on bright boats, the outlines of which necessarily resemble dragons. The Duanwu festival marks the beginning of summer (according to the lunar calendar) and, as a rule, coincides with the onset of heat. On this day, the Chinese consume huge amounts of zongzi (rice with stuffing wrapped in reed or bamboo leaf) and make wormwood charms for themselves and colored thread ornaments for their children right during the holiday.

Dongting is also known for the featherless porpoise, a mammal similar to a dolphin or whale that still lives in the waters of the lake. The population of this species decreased by exactly 2 times from 1997 to 2007. Since then, the number of porpoises in the Yangtze, Poyanghu and Dongting has continued to decrease by about 7% annually. This means that the gray porpoise has every chance to repeat the sad fate of the Chinese river dolphin. The latter was discovered in Dongting just a hundred years ago and, according to the Chinese Commission on Extinct Animals, has now ceased to exist.

For decades, irreparable harm has been methodically inflicted on the Dongting ecosystem. There are 101 paper factories operating on the shores of the reservoir, each of which continuously and uncontrollably drains its production waste into the lake. In addition, the flora and fauna of the reservoir are suffering due to intensive shipping and sand mining. The flooding that occurred on the Yangtze River in the summer of 2007 further aggravated the situation: then about two billion mice were forced to flee the islands. Having settled in the vicinity of Dongtinghu, the rodents caused serious damage to agricultural land in the reservoir area.

While environmentalists around the world are sounding the alarm about the situation in Duntihu, the Chinese government, together with Norway, has begun to implement a project to revive the ecosystem of the reservoir. This means that there is a possibility that the biosphere of the lake will be restored.