Malaysia (Pre-Covid 19 - Reminisce My Good Old Days - The Lake / Waterfall & I ) June 2021 Part 1

Having made 22 visits to China since my first package tour in 1997, little did I realise that I had to date visited a total of 7 famous lakes in China (plus another 19 lakes which are popular in China), thanks to my strong passion & drive in travelling ! A little learning is a dangerous thing but a little travelling (bit by bit, year after year) is a wonderful thing in life ! The 7 Most Beautiful Lakes rated by travel writers in China I had so far visited were :

1) West Lake, Zhejiang (2017) 

2) Kanas Lake, Xinjiang (2006)

3) Lugu Lake, Yunnan (2014) 

4) Erhai Lake, Yunnan (2019)

5) Tianshan Tianchi (Heavenly Lake), Xinjiang (2006)

6) Taihu Lake, Jiangsu (2017)

7) Heaven Lake (Crater Lake), Changbai Shan, Jilin (2011)

Other lakes which I had visited in China in recent years were :

8) Lihu Lake, Wuxi, Jiangsu (2017)

9) Kunming Lake, Summer Palace,  Beijing

10) West Lake, Huizhou, Guangzhou (2014)

11) Dianchi Lake, Kunming, Yunnan (2019)

12) Chui Hu (Green Lake), Kunming, Yunnan (2019) 

13) Qianghai Wetland, Xichang, Sichuan (2014)

14) Five Flower Lake, Jiuzhaigou, Si Chuan (2009) 

15) Tiger Lake, Jiuzhaigou, Si Chuan (2009)

16) Jingpo Lake, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang  (2015)

17) Fuhai Lake, Yuanming Yuan (Old Summer Palace), Beijing (2015)

18) Heilongtan (Black Dragon Lagoon), Lijiang, Yunnan (2019) 

19) East Lake (Dong Hu), Wuhan, Hubei (2010) 

The other famous lakes nominated are Namtso Lake & Lake Yomdrok (both in Tibet), Poyang Lake (Jiangxi), Qinghai Lake (Qinghai). Dongting Lake (Hunan) & Thousand-islands Lake (Zhejiang). Hopefully I could visit them in the near future ! 

The other beautiful lakes in the world I visited in recent years were :

1) Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia (also one of the 10 largest lakes of the world - 2009)  

2) Lake Bled, Slovenia (2019)

3) Dead Sea. Jordan (2008)

4) Lake Lucerne, Switzerland (2012)

5) Phewa Lake, Nepal (2013)

6) Plitvice Lake, Croatia (2019)

7) Dal Lake, Srinagar, India (2007) 

8) Pangong Tso Lake, Himalayas, India (2007)

As for the 10 Best China Waterfalls, I had visited the following magnificent 7 : 

1) Detian Waterfall, Guangxi (2019)

2) Huanggoshu Waterfall, Guangzhou (1998)

3) Hukuo (Tea Kettle Spout) Waterfall, Shaanxi / Shanxi (2017)

4) Nuorilang (Promising Bright Bay) Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (2009)

5) Zhenzhutan (Pearl Shoal) Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (2009)

6) Changbai Falls, Jilin (2011)

7) Shuzheng Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (2009)

The other 3 Best China Waterfalls I have yet to visit are Duopotang Falls & Longmen (Dragon's Gate) Waterfall (both in Guizhou) & Gudong Waterfalls (Guangxi). 

In my 2019 visit to Eastern USA & Canada, I visited the following waterfalls ! 

1) Niagara Falls, New York State, USA (2019)

2) Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (2019) 

3) Montmorency Waterfalls, Quebec, Canada (2019)

The Best Moments of my travelling days visiting famous waterfalls & lakes in China ....

" China is the 4th country in the world which has the most lakes ie 23,800. The 1st is Canada - 879,800 lakes followed by Russia - 201,200 & USA - 102,500. Saudi Arabia is known as Land of No Rivers, is the world largest country without a lake or river ! 

There are thousands & thousands of waterfalls across the world. Iceland has one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls than any other country ie 10,000 + waterfalls. Norway has the most highest waterfalls in the world. Angel Falls (979m) in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall on land. Yellow Fruit Tree (Huanggoshu) Waterfalls (78m high & 101m wide) is one of the largest waterfalls in China & East Asia " 

1) China - Detian Waterfalls, Nanning, Guangxi Province (my free & easy together with my wife & travel buddies to Southern China in Nov 2019) - Asia's largest transnational waterfalls bordering China & Vietnam, surrounded by picturesque karst peak, one of the most scenic waterfalls in the region; a long day for this visit taking a bus from Nanning to this Chinese / Vietnamese border to view the Detian Waterfalls !  

2) Huanggoshu Waterfall, Guizhou (package tour with my ex-colleague to Yunnan & Guizhou in Sept 1998) - one of the largest waterfalls in China & East Asia, located on Baishui River in Ansun, Guizhou, it is 77.8m high & 101m wide, the main waterfall is 67m high & 83m wide. 

3) China - Hukou Waterfall, Linfen, Shanxi (free & easy visit with my USJ travel buddy to China in 2017) - largest waterfall on the Yellow River, 2nd largest yellow waterfall in the world. 

4) China - Zhenzutan Waterfall (Pearl Shoal), Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (my solo free & easy visit to China in Sept 2009) 

5) China - Nuorilang (Promising Bright Bay) Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (my solo free & easy visit to China in Sept 2009) - the wildest highland waterfall in China, Jiuzhaigou is a network of valleys in Sichuan province, the northern Shuzeng Valley, Nuorilang Waterfall cascades from the edge of a large tree-fringed lake, the Zharu Monastery is a place of worship for the park's Tibetan villages, in the south, Rize Valley's mountains are covered with ancient forests. Fallen trees are scattered on the bottom of the striking, multicolored Five Flower Lake. 

6) China - Changbaishan Falls, Jilin (my solo visit to North Eastern China in Sept 2011) - a 68m waterfall in Changbai Mountain range, most dramatic during the summer snow-melt season from Lake Tianchi or "Heaven Lake" which is frozen over until late June or July. 

7) China - Shuzheng Waterfall, Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan (my solo free & easy visit to China in Sept 2009) 

8) China - Erhai Lake, Yunnan (package tour with my wife to Yunnan in Nov 2019) - an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, also known as Yeyuze or Kunming Lake in ancient times. 

9) China - West Lake, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province (my free & easy visits & package tours with my family members to China in Nov 2017) - a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, divided into 5 sections by 3 causeways, numerous temples pagodas, gardens & natural / artificial islands within the lake, had so far made 4 visits over the last 2 decades to this famous lake in China !  

  

10) China - Taihu Lake, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province (package tour with my wife & sister-in-laws to China in Nov 2017) - a lake in the Yangtze Delta & one of the largest lakes in China, lies in Jiangsu province & significant part of its southern shore forms its border with Zhejiang 

 

11) China - Kanas Lake, Xinjiang (my free & easy visit with my brother to Xian, Gansu & Xinjiang in May 2006) - a lake in Altay, Xinjiang, located in a valley in the Altai Mountains near the northern tips of Xinjiang & the province borders with Russia, Kazakhstan & Mongolia

12) China - Tian Shan Tian Chi -Heavenly Lake (my free & easy visit with my brother to Xian, Gansu & Xinjiang in May 2006) - an alpine lake in Xinjiang, north west China

13) China - Heaven Lake, Changbai Shan, Jilin (my free & easy solo visit to North East China in Sept 2011) - a crater lake on the border between China & North Korea, lies within a caldera stop the volcanic Paeklu Mountain, a part of the Baekdudaegan mountain range & the Changbai mountain range. 

14) China - Lihu Lake, Wuxi, Jiangsu (package tour with my wife & sister-in-laws to China in Nov 2017) - also known as Wuli Lake, shaped like a gourd ladle which extends into the Taihu lake in Wuxi, almost as big as West Lake with picturesque landscape all year round, there are 15 parks in the surrounding.  

15) China - Kunming Lake, Summer Palace,  Beijing (my free & easy solo visit to China in May 2015) - the central lake on the grounds of Summer Palace, together with the Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake forms the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens, with an area of 2.2 sq km, Kunming Lake covers approx 3/4 of the Summer Palace grounds. 

16) China - West Lake, Huizhou, Guangzhou (my free & easy visit with my wife to southern China in Dec 2014) - a man-made recreation lake in Huicheng District of Huizhou. 

17) China - Dianchi Lake, Kunming, Yunnan Province (my free & easy visit with my wife to Southern China in Feb 2019) - also known as Lake Dian & Kunming Lake, a large lake located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau close to Kunming, its nickname is "Sparkling Pearl Embedded in a Highland" modelling the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace in Beijing. 

18) China - Chui Hu (Green Lake), Kunming, Yunnan Province (my free & easy visit with my wife to Southern China in Feb 2019) - an urban park established in the 20th century on the west side of Wuhua Mountain, the lake is often described as "Jade in Kunming", consists of 4 sub-lakes by bridges, the lake was originally a water reservoir for the city, during the winter months, black-headed gulls from Siberia migrate to Green Lake. 

19) China - Lugu Lake, Yunnan Province (my free & easy solo visit to China in Sept 2014) - located in the northwest of the Yunnan plateau with the middle of the lake forming the border between the Ninglang County of Yunnan Province & the Yanyuan County of Sichuan 

20) China - Qianghai Wetland, Xichang, Sichuan (my free & easy solo visit to China in Sept 2014) - a very scenic wetland park,  2nd largest lake in Sichuan, 4.5 times that of West Lake of Hangzhou, 31.2 sq km, big & beautiful garden.

21) China - Five Flower Lake, Jiuzhaigou, Si Chuan (my solo visit to China in Sept 2009) - Jiuzhaigou is a network of valleys in Sichuan province, the northern Shuzheng Valley, Nuorilang Waterfall cascades from the edge of a large tree-fringed lake, the Zharu Monastery is a place of worship for the park's Tibetan villages, in the south, Rize Valley's mountains are covered with ancient forests. Fallen trees are scattered on the bottom of the striking, multicolored Five Flower Lake. 

22) China - Tiger Lake, Jiuzhaigou, Si Chuan (my solo visit to China in Sept 2009) 

23) China - Jingpo Lake, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province (my solo visit to North-Eastern China in Aug 2015) - a lake located in the upper reaches of the Mudan  River among the Wnada Mountains in Ningan County, Heilongjiang, earlier names for the lake include Meituohu Lake, Huhanhai Lake & Bilten Lake. 

24) China - Fuhai Lake, Yuanming Yuan (Old Summer Palace), Beijing (my solo visit to China in July 2015) - Fuhai Lake meaning Lake of Fortune, a scenic lake where dragon boat races were held during the Qing Dynasty, tourists can now join a boat ride around the lake overlooking a traditional bridge. 

25) China - Heilongtan (Black Dragon Lagoon), Lijiang, Yunnan (package tour with my wife to Yunnan in Nov 2019) - beautifully landscaped & surrounded by classical Chinese structures, the lagoon or pool is enormous with an area of 40 hectares & it provides a haven for bird & water-life with spectacular plants, within the park, there are ancient monuments such as Longshen Temple, Deyue Pavilion, Suoci Bridge & Hanyue Stage, in the background is the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.  

26) China - East Lake (Dong Hu), Wuhan, Hubei Province (my solo visit to China in 2010) - located on the south bank of the Yangtze River & in the east suburb of Wuchang, Wuhan City, one of the largest lake within a city in China, covers an area of 87 sq km, 5 times bigger than  West Lake in Hangzhou, because of its winding banks & crisscrossing ponds & brooks, it is called a lake with 99 bays.