Dongting Lake
| Dongting Lake | |
|---|---|
| Tung-tʻing Lake | |
| Location | Hunan Province |
| Coordinates | 29°18′36″N 112°57′00″E / 29.31000°N 112.95000°E |
| Primary inflows | Yangtze, Xiang, Zi, Yuan, Li |
| Primary outflows | Yangtze |
| Basin countries | China |
| Surface area | 2,820 km2 (1,090 sq mi) flood season: 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) |
| Official name | Dong-ting hu |
| Designated | 31 March 1992 |
| Reference no. | 551 |
| Dongting Lake | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Lake Dongting" in Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 洞庭湖 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Grotto Court Lake" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dongting Lake (Chinese: 洞庭湖) is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan, "South of the Lake".
Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of dragon boat racing and is home to the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise.