Daming Lake-----"Lake of the Great Splendour"

Daming Lake is the largest lake in the city of Jinan, Shandong province and one of city's main natural and cultural landmarks. Located to the north of the historical city center, the lake is fed by the artesian karst springs of the area and hence retains a fairly constant water level through the entire year.

As a natural lake in the heart of a bustling city, Daming Lake has an average depth of two meters, while the deepest parts measure up to four meters. One of the lake's most distinctive features, as indicated, is its constant water level; come flood or come drought, Daming Lake retains the same water level year-round. Another pleasing natural and ecological oddity of Daming Lake is the fact that it houses neither snake nor frog.

As a central site in the historical center of Jinan, Daming Lake has been the setting of many events in the history of the city. From March 2006 to April 2007, the Daming Lake Park was renovated and extended to connect all portions of the park for unified access. To achieve this, 1788 housing units were demolished. Since the expansion, the Daming Lake Park covers a total of 103.4 hectares, 29.4 hectares (land: 20 hectares, lake 29.4 hectares) of which were added in the expansion.

The Daming Lake was built into a garden in 1985. After dredging up, cleaning, renovation and expansion of the building, the lake has become one of the famous scenic spots in Jianna City. Main spots in the Daming Lake Park include Lixia Pavilion, North Pole Pavilion, Jiaxuan Ancestral Temple, Minghu Pavilion, Tiegong Ancestral Temple, Xiayuan Garden, and Little Canglang Pavilion.

Entering the south gate and walking along the curved bridge to the west, one will find the Xiayuan Garden, built in 1909 by imitating the Tianyi Pavilion in Ningbo of Zhejiang Province. Constructed with rockeries, pavilions, bridges and corridors, the garden is quiet and tastefully laid out. The garden also has numerous precious carved stones of past dynasties. To the west of the Xiayuan Garden is the Jiaxuan Ancestral Temple, built in 1959 in memory of Xin Qiji, a great poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In the center of the lake stands the Lixia Pavilion, an octagonal multi-eave construction.

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