East Lake in Wuhan
Attractions Overview
It is a national 5A scenic spot, a national civilized scenic spot demonstration site and the first batch of national key scenic spots. Mao Zedong loved East Lake all his life and called it "the place of white clouds and yellow cranes."
Chinese Name: 武汉东湖生态旅游风景区
English Name: East Lake in Wuhan
Type: Wuhan Scenic Area, Wuhan famous spots & Artificial attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours
Opening Hours: 07:00~19:00
Location:Located in the east of Wuchang, Wuhan City, Hubei Province
Why is East Lake So Special?
East Lake, the biggest scenery tourist attraction in Wuhan and also the largest lake within a city in China, because of its winding banks and crisscrossing ponds and brooks, it is called ‘a lake with 99 bays’. The East Lake Scenic Area was formed from many famous scenic spots along the bank. The six major ones are Tingtao (Listening to Surging Waves), Mo Hill (Millstone Hill), Luoyan (Diving Wild Goose), Baima (White Horse), Chuidi (Playing Flutes), and Luohong Hills.
Where is East Lake
It is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River and in the east suburb of Wuchang. It covers an area of 87 square kilometers (33 square kilometers of water area) that is five times greater than the area of the West Lake in Hangzhou.
History of East Lake
East Lake has been a tourist attraction since ancient times.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei set up an altar to worship heaven in Moshan, East Lake. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong visited East Lake 44 times and received 94 groups of foreign dignitaries from 64 countries. Zhu De wrote a poem more than 50 years ago: “East Lake temporarily makes West Lake better and will be better than West Lake in the future”. When
Mao Zedong once lamented in the East Lake Hotel: “Here is the Yangtze River. You can swim in summer. The scenery of camphor trees, osmanthus trees and bamboo in the East Lake is really good. The East Lake is really good!” After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Comrade Mao Zedong made many important decisions in East Lake.
On April 27 and 28, 2018, President Xi Jinping held an informal meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi at Wuhan East Lake Hotel.
Main Attractions of East Lake
Six Major Scenic Spots in East Lake Scenic Area. Among the six scenic areas, Tingtao and Mo Hill scenic areas are the most two notable and are open to visitors.
Ting Tao Scenic Area
The lake gate leads to the tingtao scenic spot, where rare redwoods are especially elegant in late autumn. The classic and elegant Tinglang Tower (Tingtao Xuan) is one of the famous buildings in the region, as well as the water and cloud land (Yunshui Lane) as tea houses and Tingtao Restaurant, which provides local fish dishes. In the north, in the center of this area, is the poetry pavilion (xingyin pavilion), which was built to commemorate the works of qu yuan, the great patriotic poet of Chu state. Chu was one of the seven warring states before Qin, China’s first feudal dynasty. There are many exhibits about Qu Yuan in this building, including his great literary masterpiece. In addition, China’s first fable sculpture park displays wonderful sculptures and fables here.
Mo Hill Scenic Area
Characterized by beautiful landscape, abundant plants, the customs of the State of Chu and unique gardens, the Mo Hill Scenic Area attracts many tourists. In this area, the Chu cultural theme park displays the Chu culture in China. The Botanical Viewing Garden where more than 360 kinds of plants are nursed in 13 special gardens with flowers blooming all the year round – orchids and cherry blossoms in spring, lotus in summer, osmanthus in autumn, and plum blossoms in winter – is also admirable.
The Other Four Scenic Spots
East Lake, another scenic area of the Five Lakes, includes Luo Yan (diving geese), Baima (white horse), Baima tomb, flute player (flute), Zhu Zhen (sixth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644) and Luo Hongshan, which are famous for their tranquil environment. This is the seat of Wuhan University.
Bird Forest
In addition, the bird forest with 200 species of birds, the mysterious East Lake Ocean Park, the largest bathing beach in inland China, and the friendship forest where representatives of many other cities and local people plant trees symbolizing friendship are all worth visiting.
Best Time to Travel East Lake
The best time to pay a visit is in April to October.
The summer when lotus blooms is worth visiting, but Wuhan is very hot in summer. Early morning, evening or sunset will be the best time for sightseeing and photography.
How to Get There
- Take bus 401, 402, 413, or 625 to Wuhan Zhiwuyuan.
- Take bus 14, 411, 552, 578, 701, 709 or 810 to Donghulu Sheng Bowuguan.
Useful Travel Tips
| Entrance Fee | Tingtao Scenic Area: Free Mo Hill Scenic Area: Free Luoyan Scenic Area: CNY 13 Chuidi Scenic Area: CNY 7 |
|---|---|
| Opening Hours | 9:00 – 16:30 |
- A boat tour will be a good way to explore the lake.
- East lake holds various festivals in different periods every year, such as lantern festival, cherry blossom festival and dragon boat festival cultural exhibition.
- Lake Ek is so big that you cannot cover all the places around it in one day. It is suggested to spend half a day visiting one or two scenic spots by the lake and then going to other major scenic spots in Wuhan.
- For ordinary tourists, it is suggested to visit Dingtao Scenic Area, Wuhan University and Hubei Provincial Museum for a one-day tour.
- If you want to visit cherries in April, it is suggested to go to Mount Mo scenic area.
