Qishan Lake Travel Guide

Qishan Lake, a beautiful large reservoir located in Lincheng County, Hebei Province, is an excellent place for tourists to experience natural scenery and cultural landscapes. Originally named Sanqi Reservoir, it has a total storage capacity of 170 million cubic meters and controls a catchment area of 384 square kilometers. It not only serves as a flood control reservoir but also supports irrigation, power generation, fish farming, and other multiple functions. The construction of the reservoir began in August 1958, and after two years of hard work, the main project was completed in August 1960. From 1990 to 1991, the reservoir underwent reinforcement and danger removal, and the flood control standard was upgraded to withstand a flood that occurs once every hundred years for design and once every two thousand years for verification, providing tourists with a safer and more reliable visiting environment. The Qishan Lake scenic area is equipped with complete engineering facilities, including a dam, water conveyance tunnels, flood discharge tunnels, spillways, and a power station. The dam, as a clay inclined wall dam, has a top width of 5.5 meters, a maximum dam height of 33 meters, and a total length of 1428 meters. Standing on the top of the dam, one can enjoy the magnificent view of the rippling blue waves of the lake. The circular pressure water conveyance tunnel is located at the north end of the dam, with a diameter of 1.8 meters, allowing tourists to closely feel the magical scene of water flowing through the tunnel. The two rectangular pressurized bottom discharge tunnels are located at the south end of the dam, with dimensions of 3 meters by 2.5 meters, and a maximum discharge capacity of 252 cubic meters per second. When discharging floodwaters, the water is turbulent and heart-shaking. The three spillways are a major highlight of Qishan Lake. The first spillway is located on the right side of the dam and is an open non-vacuum practical weir with a maximum discharge capacity of 3015 cubic meters per second, with roaring water and an imposing momentum. The second and third spillways are located to the right of the first spillway, both are open broad-crested weirs, with maximum discharge capacities of 1623 cubic meters per second and 916 cubic meters per second, respectively, forming one of the most spectacular sights of Qishan Lake. In addition, the power station located behind the water conveyance tunnel at the north end of the dam is also a place not to be missed by tourists. The power station has 3 units with a total capacity of 500 kilowatts, and the maximum annual power generation is 710,000 kilowatt-hours. This place is not only for power generation but also a good place to understand the principles of hydraulic engineering.