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'{{Redirect|Taihu|other uses|Taihu (disambiguation)}} {{short description|Large freshwater lake in Jiangsu, China}} {{multiple issues|{{expert needed|1=China|reason=Taihu is The Lake in ancient China and deserve more passages about the cultural and economic activities around it|date=February 2019}} {{Missing information|the geography of Lake Tai and the Lake Tai plain|talksection=Geography|date=December 2021}} {{update|date=February 2019}}}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Lake Tai | native_name ={{native name|zh|太湖}} | other_name = Taihu, T'ai-hu | image = Lake Tai_1.jpg | caption = Lake scenery at Wuxi | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = southern [[Jiangsu]] and northern [[Zhejiang]] | coords = {{coord|31|14|N|120|8|E|type:waterbody_region:CN-32|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_map = China Jiangsu#China Zhejiang#Eastern China | pushpin_label = Lake Tai | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Jiangsu##Location in Zhejiang | type = | inflow = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = China | length = | width = | area = {{convert|2250|km2|sqmi|sp=us|abbr=on|sigfig=3}} | depth = {{convert|2|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = | elevation = | islands = 90 | cities = [[Huzhou]], [[Suzhou]], [[Wuxi]] }} {{Infobox Chinese |c={{linktext|lang=zh|太湖}} |p=Tài Hú |wuu=Ta Wu |l=Great Lake}} [[File:Lake Tai Beauty.jpg|thumb|View from the water's edge]] '''I HAVE SKIBIDI RIZZ Taihu''' ({{zh|c=太湖}}), also known as '''Lake Tai''' or '''Lake Taihu''', is a lake in the [[Yangtze Delta]] and one of the largest [[freshwater]] [[lake]]s in China. The lake is in [[Jiangsu]] province and a significant part of its southern shore forms its border with [[Zhejiang]]. With an area of {{convert|2,250|km2|sqmi|sp=us|sigfig=3}} and an average depth of {{convert|2|m|ft|sp=us|sigfig=2}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.szkp.org.cn/suzhoudili/szdl/200606/06634333.htm |work=The Suzhou Science Window |script-work=zh:苏州科普之窗 |script-title=zh:太湖 |trans-title=Lake Tai |publisher=Science and Technology Association of Suzhou City [苏州市科学技术协会] |language=zh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611164233/http://www.szkp.org.cn/suzhoudili/szdl/200606/06634333.htm |archive-date=2007-06-11 }}</ref> it is the [[List of lakes of China|third-largest freshwater lake entirely in China]], after [[Poyang Lake|Poyang]] and [[Dongting Lake|Dongting]].{{efn|Though encompassing a larger surface area than Poyang Lake, the majority of [[Lake Khanka]] (Xingkai) is in Russia's [[Primorsky Krai]].}} The lake contains about 90 islands, ranging in size from a few square meters to several square kilometers. Lake Tai is linked to the [[Grand Canal of China|Grand Canal]] and is the origin of a number of rivers, including [[Suzhou Creek]]. In recent years, Lake Tai has been plagued by pollution as the surrounding region experienced rapid [[Chinese industrialization|industrial development]]. ==Formation== Scientific studies suggest that Lake Tai's circular structure is the result of a [[meteor impact]], which resulted in [[shatter cones]], [[Shock metamorphism|shock-metamorphosed]] [[quartz]], [[microtektite]]s, and shock-metamorphic unloading fractures.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wang Erkang |author2=Wan Yuqiu |author3=Xu Shijin |date=May 2002 |title=Discovery and implication of shock metamorphic unloading microfractures in Devonian bedrock of Taihu Lake |journal=Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences |volume=45 |issue=5 |page=459 |doi=10.1360/02yd9048 |s2cid=195300513 }}</ref> The prospective [[impact crater]] has been dated to be greater than 70 million years old and possibly from the late [[Devonian Period]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=K. |last1=Wang |year=1992 |bibcode=1992lmip.conf...77W |title=A late Devonian impact event and its association with a possible extinction event on Eastern Gondwana |journal=Lunar and Planetary Inst., International Conference on Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution |last2=Geldsetzer |first2=H. H. J. |page=77}}</ref> However, new research suggests that present evidence shows no impact crater structure or shock-mineral at Lake Tai.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Deformation Features of Quartz grains In the Sandstone of Taihu Area: Taihu Impact Origin Controversy|last = Dong |display-authors=etal |date = 2012|journal = Geological Journal of China Universities}}</ref> Fossils indicate that Lake Tai was dry land until the ingression of the [[East China Sea]] during the [[Holocene epoch]]. The growing [[River delta|deltas]] of the [[Yangtze]] and [[Qiantang River|Qiantang]] rivers eventually sealed off Lake Tai from the sea, and the influx of fresh water from rivers and rains turned it into a freshwater lake. ==Scenic locations== [[File:LakeTaiThreeKingdoms.jpg|thumb|Shore of Lake Tai in [[Wuxi]]'s Three Kingdoms Park]] There are [[limestone]] formations at the foot of the adjacent Dongting Mountain ({{lang|zh|洞庭山}}). These "[[Chinese scholar's rocks|scholar's rocks]]" or "[[Taihu stone]]s" are often prized as a decorating material for [[traditional Chinese garden]]s, as exemplified by those preserved in nearby [[Suzhou]]. Three of the lake's islands are preserved as a [[Protected Areas of the People's Republic of China#National Parks of China|national geological park]] under the name [[Sanshan Islands, Wuxi|Sanshan]]. They are famed as a former haunt of local bandits.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} [[Mei Yuan]] is also located in Lake Tai, along with [[Yuantouzhu]]. Yuantouzhu received its name ("Turtle Head Isle") from the shape of its outline. ===Ferris wheel=== {{Anchor|Star of Lake Tai}}The "Star of Lake Tai" is a giant, {{Convert|115|m|ft|sp=us|adj=on}} [[ferris wheel]] on the shore of the lake.<ref>{{cite news|author=文涛|script-title=zh:"太湖之星"摩天轮即将开放|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2008-09/01/content_9749226.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922160252/http://news.xinhuanet.com/photo/2008-09/01/content_9749226.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 22, 2008|access-date=January 15, 2013|newspaper=[[Xinhuanet]]|date=September 1, 2008|language=zh}}</ref> Completed in 2008, it takes 18 minutes to complete one revolution. Passengers can enjoy the scenery of Lake Tai and the city center. At night, lighting effects are switched on around the wheel.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} ===Landmarks=== * [[Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort]] is situated on the southern shore of the lake. ==Business and industry== The lake is known for its productive fishing industry and is often covered by fleets of small private fishing boats.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrett |first=Rick |url=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=560975 |title=China offers open waters |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |date=February 3, 2007 |access-date=October 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228095250/http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=560975 |archive-date=February 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Since the late 1970s, harvesting food products such as fish and crabs has been invaluable to people living along the lake and has contributed significantly to the economy of the surrounding area. The lake is home to an extensive ceramic industry, including the [[Yixing]] pottery factory, which produces [[Yixing clay teapot]]s. ==Pollution== [[File:Lake Tai 2.jpg|thumb|Lake scene at Wuxi]] {{further|Water resources of the People's Republic of China|Pollution in China}} Pollution of the lake has been ongoing for decades despite efforts to reduce pollution that were not sustained and thus proved ineffective. In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of industries in the lake region tripled, and the population also increased significantly. One billion tons of wastewater, 450,000 tons of garbage, and 880,000 tons of animal waste were dumped into the shallow lake in 1993 alone. The central government intervened and initiated a campaign to clean up the lake, setting a deadline to comply with pollution standards. When the deadline was not met, 128 factories were closed on New Year's Eve in 1999. Compliance improved somewhat afterwards, but the pollution problem remained severe.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ma|first=Jun|title=China's Water Crisis|year=2004|publisher=International Rivers Network|location=Norwalk, CT|isbn=1-891936-28-X|pages=163–164}}</ref> In May 2007, the lake was overtaken by a major [[algae bloom]] and by major pollution with [[cyanobacteria]].<ref name="IHT">{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Kahn |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/14/asia/14china.php |title=In China, a Lake's Champion Imperils Himself |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |date=October 13, 2007}}</ref> The Chinese government called the lake a major [[natural disaster]] despite the anthropogenic origin of this environmental catastrophe. With the average price of bottled water rising to six times the normal rate, the government banned all regional water providers from implementing price hikes.<ref>{{cite news |work=NBC News |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18959222 |title=Algae smother Chinese lake, millions panic |date=May 31, 2007 |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]]}}</ref> (The lake provides water to 30 million residents, including about one million in Wuxi.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/16/content_6622243.htm |title= China's third-largest freshwater lake faces algae threat |newspaper=China Daily |date= April 14, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2008 |agency=Xinhua}}</ref>) By October 2007, it was reported that the Chinese government had shut down or given notice to over 1,300 factories around the lake. Nonetheless, [[Wu Lihong]], one of the leading environmentalists who had been publicizing pollution of the lake, was sentenced to three years in prison for alleged extortion of one of the polluters,<ref name="IHT"/> but, undeterred, alleged in 2010 that not a single factory was closed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/chinaumweltschutz100.html |work=Tagesschau |title=Umweltschützer in China - Der unbeugsame Herr Wu |date=May 18, 2010 |language=de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100521030340/http://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/chinaumweltschutz100.html |archive-date=May 21, 2010 }}</ref> Jiangsu province planned to clean the lake;<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7065095.stm |title=China to clean up polluted lake |work=[[BBC News]] |date=October 27, 2007}}</ref> chaired by then prime minister [[Wen Jiabao]], the State Council set a target to complete the task by 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2008-04/04/content_6591233.htm |title=Taihu cleanup plan |newspaper=China Daily - Across China: Beijing |date= April 4, 2008 |access-date=April 20, 2008 |page=4}}</ref> However, in 2010 ''[[The Economist]]'' reported that pollution had broken out again and that Wu Lihong, released from prison that April, was claiming that the government was trying to suppress news of the outbreak while switching to other supplies in place of lake water.<ref>''[[The Economist]]'', 7 August 2010 p 49.</ref> ==See also== *[[List of possible impact structures on Earth]] ==References== {{Wikivoyage}} {{Commons category|Lake Tai}} ===Notes=== {{notelist}} ===Citations=== {{Reflist|2}} {{National parks of China}} {{Lakes of China}} {{Jiangsu topics}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Lakes of China|Tai]] [[Category:National parks of China|Taihu]] [[Category:Lakes of Suzhou|Tai]] [[Category:Lakes of Zhejiang|Tai]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Zhejiang]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Jiangsu]] [[Category:Bodies of water of Jiangsu]]'