Kunming Lake, Summer Palace, Beijing
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Kunming Lake (昆明湖) forms the centre of the Summer Palace gardens in Beijing, China. In fact, the lake takes up most of the parks area, covering 2.2 square kilometres or three quarters of the garden grounds. The lake is relativly shallow, with a depth of just 1.5 mtres. The lake is largely man made though a small pond existed on the site before development. The lake was created by Guo Shoujing, originally as a reservoir for the nearby capital, during the Yuan dynasty (1291). The area was converted into the imperial garden between 1750 and 1764, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Work was undertaken to expand the existing lake at that time. The spoil from excavating the lake was used to form the nearby Longevity Hill. The lake develops a thick lair of ice during the winter, during which time it can be used for skating. In the summer, a large number of small boats cover the lake.