Lake, reservoir or tourist attraction?

If you’ve been in China, you probably bought that bottle of water with a red cap available pretty much everywhere! But I bet you never wondered about its source right!? Well, Thousand Island Lake, 千岛湖 is the source of the Nongfu Spring Water! Apparently, the lake also supplies water to neighbouring cities like Hangzhou. It owes its birth to a failed reservoir project that resulted into a big lake with sprawling islands. Consequently, tourism was developed and led to the growing presence of hotels and water activities around the lake. Boats cruising the lake offer visits to two or three islands. We chose to take the speed boats as they are available at any time and also take you to three islands. The tour costs 295¥ per person. There’s a cheaper option, but it’s only available on scheduled hours. To have a view of the islands, the view point at the top is accessible by cable car or by walk. As it was hot and humid, we chose the comfort of sitting in a cable car at an extra cost of 50¥ per person. We were told that walking all the way up takes about 30 mins. There’s also a small shop for snacks and refreshments. Nothing to boast about for the second island which felt rather plain. We walked around for a waterfall and a fish pond. On the Monkey island, you can buy fruits in a bowl to feed the monkeys. How to go - 🚗 A local friend drove us there. It was about a two hour drive away from Hangzhou. OR 🚆 Take a train to Qiandao Hu Railway station 千岛湖站, then 🚕 to the wharf. #lakeview#staycation#laketour#summervacation#boattour#travelstories#zhejiang#weekendgetaway