Chengching Lake

The Chengching Lake is located in Kaohsiung County's Niaosong Township. It is the largest lake in the Kaohsiung area, developed originally as a reservoir to meet the needs for water for industrial use. Later on, the lake was improved through environmental landscaping. Today, it offers the beauty of a forested park. The lake was opened to the public as a tourist destination in 1960.

The lake has a surface area of more than 300 hectares. The highway that has been built around it stretches for a total of seven kilometers. The tranquil beauty of the area has led it to be given the sobriquet, "West Lake of Taiwan". The best known of the lake's attractions is the Bridge of Nine Turns, which was built in 1960. It is 230 meters long and 2.5 meters wide, and does indeed have nine turns.

Under the hills around the lake is an aquarium that was originally built in 1961 as an antinuclear underground bunker. Its winding, 200-meter length was later remodeled into a tourist aquarium with exhibits of all sorts of oceanic organisms divided into six display areas -- special animals, treasures of the sea, shellfish, coral, strange rocks, and sperm whales. It is a place that is perfect for both entertainment and education.