Poyang Lake-the ancient battlefield

Poyang Lake, located in the north of Jiangxi Province on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, got its name from the Poyang Mountain nearby. It was also called in history Lize, Pengze or  Guanli Lake.

An eternal poem in the Tang Dynasty (618 BcC-907 BC) portrayed the grand scenery of the lake: Sunset clouds fly with the solitary wild duck; autumnal waters merge with the limitless sky.

Poyang Lake is first famous for its large area of 2933km², the biggest freshwater lake in China.

The Lake is charming for its youth. It is one of the youngest lakes in China, which took its shape in around 400 BC with a history of about 1600 years. At that time, the main course of the Yangtze River moved southward, which blocked the drainage of the other five rivers. Thus created a huge lake in the ancient Poyang Plain. The lake is mysterious for its drastic change every year. In the flooding season, the water seems to be reaching the sky, covering a vast area of 3960km². However, in autumn and winter when the flood comes to a stop, the water level in the Yangtze River drops. Then the area becomes a plain land with flourishing white reed and yellow cogon grass dotted with small lakes with a total area of only over 100km². No wonder the local people describe the lake as vast in summer and narrow like a string in winter.
The lake is distinguished for its cultural heritage and is mentioned in history for its being a battlefield in ancient times. Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1206BC£­1368 BC), the peasants rebelled against the emperor. In a battle between the two armies leaded by Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang in the waters around the Kangshan Island on the Poyang Lake, Zhu defeated Chen to death, which set a foundation for Zhu to reunite the whole country.

Beside that, there is Mt. Lushan in the northwest, crowned with the fame of "the finest under heaven". The mountain is endowed with imposing peaks, changeable sea of clouds, falls pouring straight down and agreeable weather with cool summers plus dramatic historical events: That's a mountain with a natural cave of the immortals and all the finest scenery upon the most risky peaks.