Lake Tai

Taihu covers around two thousand three hundred square kilometres between Jiangsu and Zhejiang, shallow, island-studded and central to the culture of the Jiangnan region. Its limestone shores produced the taihu stones, rocks eroded by water into perforated, contorted forms, quarried for centuries and placed as focal points in gardens from Suzhou to Beijing; the best were left in the water for years to weather further. The lake supports fishing, tea growing on the surrounding hills, and the Dongshan and Xishan peninsulas with orchards and old villages. Severe algal blooms since the 2000s, driven by nutrient pollution, have been a persistent problem and have prompted large clean-up programmes.

What you actually see

• The taihu stones - the perforated rocks that furnish classical gardens.
• The island shores - Xishan, Dongshan and the lake's many islets.
• The tea and orchard hills - biluochun tea and fruit grown around the shores.
• The scale - one of the largest freshwater lakes in China.

When to go

March to May and September to November; algal blooms are worst in the hot months from June to September, when parts of the lake turn green and smell. Spring blossom on the peninsulas and autumn are the best windows.

Honest expectations

Water quality is a long-standing problem and summer blooms can be unpleasant. Access is fragmented between separate ticketed scenic areas. Swimming is not advisable. The lake is large and seeing it properly needs a car.

Nearby

Yuantouzhu is on the Wuxi shore; Suzhou lies east.