Longtan Lake Park

Longtan Lake Park (simplified Chinese: 龙潭湖公园; traditional Chinese: 龍潭湖公園; pinyin: Lóngtánhú Gōngyuán; lit. 'Pool of the Dragon'), is a recreational urban park located in Dongcheng District (formerly in Chongwen District) of Beijing, just east of the Temple of Heaven. It is one of the largest modern parks inside the 2nd Ring Road of Beijing. There is also a large outdoor bird market in the park.[1] Located at the center of the park is a large lake called which features many moon bridges, rock gardens, dragon boats, tea houses and restaurants.[2] '

Longtan Lake Park
Longtan Lake Park
Longtan Lake Park Show map of Beijing Longtan Lake Park Show map of China
Type	Urban park
Location	Beijing, China
Coordinates	39°52′36″N 116°26′05″E
Area	120 hectares
Created	1952
Status	Open all year

The major landscape in this park is the Longtan Lake, which translates as Dragon Pool. The lake used to be a huge man-made cave on the ground. The cave was created during Jiajing Emperor's reign of Ming Dynasty, when people in Beijing dug earth and mud there to make bricks for the city wall of Beijing Outer City. After that, the cave became the drainage area of the old Beijing, and became a lake of waste water.

In 1952, the Beijing government decided to solve the environmental problem caused by the lake of waste water. They drew away waste water from the lake, and invited Liang Sicheng, a famous architect and landscape designer, to re-design this area to be a public park. The waste water was removed and replaced with freshwater to create a, new, scenic lake. Some other attractions are also located in the park, such as a temple dedicated to Yuan Chonghuan, a collection of tablets, a series of hills, a waterfall and the "Gardens of Chinese Dragons".

Satellite image of Longtan Park. (1967-09-20)