East Lake (dōng hú 东湖), the biggest scenery tourist attraction in Wuhan (wǔ hàn 武汉) and also the largest lake within a city in China, is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River (cháng jiāng 长江) and in the east suburb of Wuchang (wǔ chāng 武昌). It covers an area of 87 square kilometers (33 square kilometers of water area). Because of its winding banks and crisscrossing ponds and brooks, it is called “a lake with 99 bays”. And it gains the reputation of “the lake looks like sea, the sea seems as the lake”. The East Lake Scenic Area was designated by the State Council as one of the first group of key national scenic areas in 1982.

Rich Culture Heritage
The East Lake Scenic Area is the biggest tourist centre of ancient Chu (chǔ 楚) culture. It is famous for Chu style and Chu charm. Xingyin Pavilion (xíng yín gé 行吟阁) is the nationwide famous scenic spot. It is named as Xinyin because when Quyuan (qū yuán 屈原), the patriotic poet of the Warring States period, get here alone, and made poem to express desolation. Xinying means make poems while walking. The Lisao Stele (lí sāo 离骚) gains its reputation for the beautiful lyrics on it. The Chu Talent Park (chú cái yuán 楚才园) introduces a lot of ancient celebrities. There are also some other renowned and inspiring scenic spots such as Chu Bazarre (chǔ shì 楚市), Quyuan Statue (qū yuán sù xiàng 屈原塑像) and Quyuan Memorial(qū yuán jì niàn guǎn 屈原纪念馆).

Unique Gardens
        
The Plum Garden (méi yuán 梅园) in the scenic area is the best of the four plum gardens in china. It introduces 309 species of plums on its 12,00 mu land. There are 262 registered plum species in the world, and plum garden has 152 of them. It’s also the china plum research centre.
The Lotus Garden (hé huā pǔ 荷花圃) introduces 505 species of lotus and over 20 kinds of water plants. And it is the china lotus research centre.
The Sakura (cherry blossom) Garden (yīng yuán 樱园) of the East Lake covers the area of 150 mu. The 5000 sakura trees are in full blossom in spring. It’s one of three world famous sakura gardens (the other two are Hirosaki Sakura Garden in Japan and Washington Sakura Garden in America).
There are also Laurel Garden (guì huā yuán 桂花园), Azalea Garden (dù juān yuán 杜鹃园), Rose Garden (qiáng wēi yuán 蔷薇园), Pine Garden (sōng bǎi yuán 松柏园), and Bonsai Garden (pén jǐng yuán 盆景园) etc.



The Sea of Birds (niǎo yǔ lín 鸟语林)
The Sea of Birds (niǎo yǔ lín 鸟语林), located at the bank of East Lake, covers the area of 30 mu. It is the only theme park of bird viewing, domesticating, propagating, science educating, bird saving and curing in China. And it is also the theme park with the most bird shows.

Ceremonies
“Festivals every month, flowers every season” add to the charm of Eastlake. There is a string of flower festivals all year round. The notable are orchid in spring, lotus in summer, laurel in autumn and plum in winter. Every year, there are colorful festivals with different themes: Folk Art Festival, China Plum Festival, Sakura Festival, Peony Flower Festival, Dragonboat Festival, Gardening Festival in Fall etc. It attracts a lot of tourists every year. If you are lucky enough, maybe you can enjoy the beautiful scene of it or take part in it.
 
East Lake Scenic Area
Location: Wuchang, Wuhan City, Hubei Province
Opening Time: 7:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.
Tickets: The price of the tickets varies from the different scenic spots in East Lake Scenic Area.
Transportation:
Take bus No. 14, 63,501,701, or tourist bus No.1.

Every season you get to East Lake Scenic Area, you can see beautiful scene. Visitors can enjoy many varieties of fish, water birds and plants in East Lake. The famous Wuchang fish is a unique product of East Lake. Orchids, lotus, cherry bay and plum blossoms also highlight the marvelous lake.