Qiandao Lake

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Qiandao Lake (Chinese: 千島湖, literally means lake of thousand islands）is a man-made lake located in Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, China. Qiandao Lake is a man-made lake formed since the completion of the Xinanjiang hydroelectric station. There are 1078 large islands in the lake with a few thousand more smaller ones. It covers an area of 573 square kilometers, it has a storage capacity of 17.8 cubic kilometers. The total area of the islands in the lake is about 86 square kilometers.

The lake is an important tourist attraction of Zhejiang. Newer housing development have sprung up since the late 1990's, and is at a reasonable cost to buyers looking for lakeside residences.

There are hourly buses that connect Qiandao Lake with the provincial capital, Hangzhou, under which it is technically under jurisdiction. A railway development project to the area was ceased as it was considered damaging to the natural sights of Qiandao Lake. An expressway will be linking Hangzhou, Qiandao Lake, and Huangshan, Anhui by 2008.

Known for its clear, and in some areas, drinkable water, lush forestation (over 90%), and exotic islands, its more popular attractions include Bird Island, Snake Island, Lock Island (featuring supposedly the world's biggest lock), and, bizarrely enough, the Island to Remind You of Your Childhood.

In 1994, three bandits raided a boat full of Taiwanese tourists and set it on fire, killing all 32 passengers onboard in a notorious event named the Qiandao Lake Incident. The PRC's rough handling of the incident upsetted many people in Taiwan, hence escalating the event into a political incident that resulted in an increase of support for independence in Taiwan.