National Parks of ChinaOverview
| Designation | National Park of China (fourth batch) |
| Province | Anhui |
| Location | Anhui |
| Latitude, longitude | 31.5, 117.6 Google Maps |
| Top sights | Mushan Island |
| Area | 760 km² |
| Highest point | 115 m |
| Nearby cities | Anhui, Hefei, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou |
| Nearby sites | Caishi, Zhongshan (Purple Mountain), Nanjing, Mount Langya, Mount Tianzhu, Huangshan (Yellow Mountains), Mount Jiuhua, Qishan and Pingtian Lake, Huating Lake |
| Themes | Lakes, Hills |
Lake Chao
Lake Chao is one of China’s five great freshwater lakes, 760 km² of water, named for its shape like a bird’s nest (chao).
Around it are the Longtan Cave ape-man site at Hexian, the Wu River where Xiang Yu cut his own throat, the tomb of the Three Kingdoms general Zhou Yu, the shrine of the Song calligrapher Mi Fu and the “humble room” of the Tang poet Liu Yuxi. On Yinping Hill on the south shore a clump of wild peonies, “the first wonder flower under heaven”, grows on the cliff, recorded in the county annals for over three hundred years. The Bantang hot springs 7 km north-east of the city, one spring cold and one hot, are a health resort.
It is in the fourth batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 2002.
Travel tips
Getting there: Lake Chao lies southeast of Hefei. Trains and long-distance buses run from Hefei to Chaohu city in roughly half an hour to an hour; Zhongmiao on the north shore is the landing area for Lao Mountain Island, and can also be reached by car from Hefei.
Lao Mountain Island: the largest island in the lake, about 3.5 km off Zhongmiao on the north shore, reached by boat. The Wenfeng Pagoda and the Shengfei Temple are on the island, and a small path circles it.
Wind and boats: the lake is wide, and boats may stop when the wind is strong, so go early and leave some spare time.
Banting hot springs: about 7 km northeast of the city, a spa area with much of the lodging.
Time: half a day for the island; adding other lakeshore sights takes one or two days.
Season: spring and autumn are best; summer is wide open but hot; winter winds are cold.
Where to stay: Hefei is the most convenient; Chaohu city and Banting also have lodging.
Nearby: Caishi at Ma'anshan lies to the east, and Mount Zhong in Nanjing is farther.
Mushan Island
Mushan is the largest island in the lake, 3.5 km from Zhongmiao on the north shore, 0.86 km² and 115 m high, with winding shores and cliffs, clad in pine and bamboo: three hills from afar, nine peaks close to. Guo Moruo wrote “gazing at Lake Chao in its golden waves, I love the island’s hair sleek as oil”. At its foot is the Shengfei Temple of the Jin dynasty and on its summit the famous Wenfeng Pagoda, also called the Watching-for-Son Pagoda, of 1631. Two reef islets, the Shoe Islands, appear and vanish beside it in the waves.