North Lake

2 min read

North Lake is located 16km north of Shihezi city formerly known as great Quangou Reservoir, which is the first plain reservoir built in Manas River drainage basin in 1956. Theshape of the reservoir is nearly round, and it has a total area of about 10km”, with a storage capacity of 4, 200m3, and a annual regulating water content of nearly 100 million m3: The water level changes under the influence of irrigation season. with the deepest water level of 9m, and the general water level of 4m.

It is located in the overflow belt at the edge of the North Slope of Tianshan Mountains, and natural springs scatter in the reservoir area. The reservoir is mainly supplied by these springs and part of the water from Manas River and groundwater The reservoir is also an important fishery base, including more than a dozen species of fish, such as carp, silver carp, black carp, grass carp, silver fish, and parabramis pekinensis and other aquatic products such as shrimp, shellfish, crabs, bullfrogs, and so on. The swamp and marsh in the southern part is the home to a variety of birds. There are dozens of birds cruising on the water and hatching in the grass There are also a variety of wild ducks sheldrakes, grey goose, cormorants, swans, larus argentatus, mandarin ducks, egrets, and other unknown birds. In every spring, hundreds of kinds of birds contend in singing, covering hundreds mu of the water area like a piece of colorful brocade. The northern part of the reservoir area is the desert region covered with the typical vegetation of rose willow, haloxylon, and reaumuria soongorica. and so on.

In 1985, Shihezi City People’s Government built a tourism region named North Lake Park in the reservoir area. more than 10 million yuan has been successively invested for building corridors, pavilions, and water docks, equipting yachts, pleasure-boats, jet skis water landing platform, and carrying out swimming, boating, surfing, fishing and other activities. The assorted tourism facilities such as restaurants and shops have also been built.

At present, there are numerous boats floating on the rippling water in the scenic spot the coastal corridors wind along the shore, and pavilions scatter here and there; and the weeping willow beside the lake wave in the wind, Fishermen sit on the shore leisurely, and swimmers chop waves in the lake; birds fly over and fish jump from the water, showing great vitality.

Currently there is always an unprecedentedly grand occasion of”North lake Tourism and Culture Festival”appearing around July 16.