Jinhu Lake

Jinhu Lake is the centrepiece of the Taining UNESCO Global Geopark and the most photogenic element of the Danxia landscape. The artificial reservoir fills a narrow valley flanked by vertical red sandstone cliffs, their bases riddled with caves that can be explored by motorised boat. The water lanes between the cliff walls are narrow enough in places that the boat barely fits, and the close proximity to the red rock, with the dark water below reflecting it, creates a colour saturation that photographs struggle to reproduce.

Boat tours of the lake operate from a pier near the main scenic area entrance and typically take two to three hours for the full circuit of the main gorges and caves. The most dramatic light is early morning and late afternoon; the boats start operating at sunrise and the first tours of the day are the least crowded. Sunrise is the single best experience the lake offers: arrive before 6am for the combination of mist on the water, low red light, and near-total quiet before the day-trippers arrive.

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A story
Jinhu Lake did not exist before 1969, when the construction of a hydroelectric dam created a reservoir that flooded a river valley and submerged several villages. The drowned landscape has been colonised by the red sandstone cliffs above it: the rising water levels eroded new caves at their bases, and the vertical walls now drop directly into the water, their reflections colouring the lake a dark red at sunrise and sunset. The flooding destroyed what was there, but the new landscape is undeniably extraordinary.

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