Hongze Lake

Where is Hongze Lake?

Countries on its shores: China.

Middle of the lake: 33.31° N, 118.71° E

The story behind it

Long ago, Hongze Lake was much smaller than today. The emperor Yangdi, who ruled China about 1 400 years ago, gave it its name. Then, in 1194, the mighty Yellow River changed its course and flowed south. Its mud blocked the Huai River, and the water of the Huai spread out into the lake, which grew much bigger. The water kept rising for centuries. By 1680 it had swallowed the old city of Sizhou and the tombs of the ancestors of the Ming emperors. Much later the tombs were repaired, and a wall 2 700 metres long now protects them from the water. Most of the lake is too shallow for anything but small boats, and it is famous for its crabs. The size of the lake changes with its water level, and it has become smaller since the 1950s because people take its water for their fields.

Find it on the globe

Hongze Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.