Chishan Lake is the source of Qinhuai River, the mother river of Nanjing, which is the ancient capital of six dynasties. It is located in Jurong, Zhenjiang City. There is a famous Maoshan Mountain in the southeast, with steep peaks and strange caves. In the northwest, there is Baohua Mountain, the “first famous mountain of Vinaya School”. Its “beauty of forest and the foot of the mountain, wonderful ridges and peaks, deep caves and valleys, and the spectacular of misty clouds” amaze the world. The river flowing between the two mountains finally enters the southwest corner, becoming the largest natural lake in the upper reaches of Qinhuai River and the main source of Qinhuai River. Therefore, Chishan Lake is also known as “the first lake of Qinhuai River”.
With a lake of clear water and a mountain of beautiful scenery, Qinhuai’s cultural history has been passed down for thousands of years. Chishan Lake not only nourishes Qinhuai culture, which is well-known both at home and abroad, but also breeds splendid prehistoric Hushu Culture, which was ripe because of the lake and went down along the lake. The splendid Hushu Culture originated from Chishan Lake, spread to Nanjing, and was deeply rooted on both sides of Qinhuai River. In 1959, historians officially named “Hushu Culture”, which is equally famous as “Hemudu Culture”. It represents the 5000 years of splendid civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
Chishan Lake National Wetland Park has a total area of 13 square kilometers and a wetland coverage rate of 89%. It is rich in wetland types such as rivers, lakes and swamps. Its unique ecological pattern of “vast lakes, surrounded by rivers, interwoven tidal flats and dotted with islands” breeds rich biological resources. At present, the park is divided into five areas, such as wetland conservation area and ecological restoration area. Visitors can learn popular scientific knowledge of wetlands in bird watching house, bird protection hall and water conservancy culture exhibition hall, and enjoy the ecological beauty in lotus culture corridors, greenway around lakes, water culture stone carvings, camping bases and river/lake system theme parks.
