Qiandao Lake

Qiandao Lake, a human-made lake located in Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, China, was formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydroelectric station in 1959. 1,078 large islands dot the lake and a few thousand smaller ones are scattered across it. The lake covers an area of 573sqkm and has a storage capacity of 17.8km3. The islands in the lake cover about 86sqkm.Qiandao Lake is used to produce the Nongfu Spring brand of mineral water. Over 90% of the area is forested. The islands in the lake include Bird Island, Snake Island, Monkey Island, Lock Island (featuring supposedly the world's biggest lock), and the Island to Remind You of Your Childhood.The lake has made Zhejiang a popular area for tourists. As a result, housing development has increased in the area since the late 1990s.The dam creating the lake is located at and is 105m tall with a crest length of 466.5m. Xin'an Dam was the first dam constructed in China with a height greater than 100m and its power plant has an installed capacity of 845 MW.HistoryThe valley was flooded in 1959 to create the lake for the Xin'an River Dam project.At the foot of Wushi Mountain (五狮山, "Five Lion Mountain") lies an ancient city known as Shicheng (狮城, "Lion City"). It was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–200) and was first set up as a county in AD 208. This city acquired the name Shicheng from nearby Wushi Mountain, which became known as Wushi Island since it became partially submerged by the reservoir. At present Shicheng remains submerged and undisturbed at a depth of 26-, it has been explored by Big Blue, a dive operator based in Shanghai.