Dongting Lake

Dongting Lake
Location	Hunan province
Coordinates	29°19′N 112°57′E / 29.317°N 112.950°E / 29.317; 112.950Coordinates: 29°19′N 112°57′E / 29.317°N 112.950°E / 29.317; 112.950
Primary inflows	Yangtze, Xiang, Zi, Yuan, Li
Primary outflows	Yangtze
Basin countries	China
Surface area	2,820 km² (flood season: 20,000 km²)

Dongting Lake
"Lake Dongting" in Chinese characters
Chinese	洞庭湖
Literal meaning	"Grotto Court Lake"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dòngtíng Hú Wade–Giles Tung4-t'ing2 Hu2 IPA [tʊ̂ŋ.tʰǐŋ xǔ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Duhng-tìhng Wùh Jyutping Dung6-ting4 Wu4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tōng-tîng Ôo

Dongting Lake is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River. Hence the lake's size depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan, "South of the Lake".

Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing. It is the site of Junshan Island and is a home to the Finless Porpoise, which is endangered in China.

In the July–September period, flood water from the Yangtze flows into the lake, enlarging it greatly. The lake's area, which normally is 2,820 square kilometers or 1,090 square miles (data before 1998), may increase to 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 sq mi) in flood season, when vast amounts of water and sediment from the Chang Jiang flow into the lake. The lake is also fed by four major rivers: the Xiang (湘), Zi (资), Yuan (沅) and Li (澧) rivers. Small rivers also flow in, the most famous one being Miluo River where a famous poet Qu Yuan committed suicide. In addition, the Xiao River (瀟) flows into the Xiang near Yongzhou, before the Xiang flows into the lake. Ocean-going vessels can travel through the Xiang to reach Changsha.

The earliest rice paddies yet discovered in the world were in the Liyang plain, which was then on the western edge of Dongting lake. The state of Chu occupied the region in the Eastern Zhou period, and its territory there was taken over by Qin (state) in the 3rd century BCE. During the Han Dynasty, Yunmeng Marsh (Chinese: 云梦大泽; pinyin: Yúnmèng dàzé literally "Great Marsh of Cloud Dream"), which lies to the north of Dongting Lake in Hubei Province, served as the main flood-basin of the Yangtze. The rich sediment of the marsh attracted farmers. Embankments were built, keeping the river out, and the Dongting Lake area south of the Yangtze gradually became the river's main flood-basin. The Han state was actively involved in the colonization of the region, maintaining dikes in Liyang to protect farmland from flooding.