Originally built over 2,000 years ago, Kunming Lake will again be a wonder in the near future.
As an important water storage and supply project in ancient Xi’an city, today’s capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi province, Kunming Lake covered an area of about 25 square kilometers over 2,000 years ago. Known as the first man-made lake in China, the historical wonder of Kunming Lake will be recreated according to a plan made by authorities in Xi’an.
The Kunming Lake and Doumen Reservoir project is one of the major water projects under construction during the 13th Five-Year Plan period in China and part of an effort made by local authorities to boost Shaanxi’s development. The project can help achieve the integrated governance of mountains, water, forests and farmlands and systematic and flexible water control. It can recreate the vision of an ancient Xi’an city surrounded by lakes and contribute to improving Xi’an’s water system.
The project covers a total planned area of 30.43 square kilometers. The area of water accounts for 10.4 square kilometers, comprised of two lake zones named South Lake and North Lake, covering an area of 3 and 7.4 square kilometers respectively, with a total volume of 46 million cubic meters.
The first phase of the project is the construction of Qixi Park, located at the central area of the north bank of Kunming Lake. The park will cover an area of over 1.3 square kilometers, with the area of water accounting for about 0.47 square kilometers. With clear water, high nice buildings, blue sky, green grass, fragrant flowers and various trees, Qixi Park, after being open to the public, will become a new tourist spot and a new “oasis” in Xi’an.
