China's largest freshwater lake, swelling and shrinking dramatically with the seasons.
Surface area
3,500 km²
Maximum depth
about 25 m
Elevation
12 m
Continent
Asia
Countries
China
Did you know?
Poyang can swell to several times its dry-season size when the Yangtze floods, then shrink to winding channels.
Little-known fact
Each winter it becomes the most important wintering site on Earth for the rare Siberian crane.
Highlights
- China's largest freshwater lake
- Swells and shrinks each year
- Winter home of Siberian cranes
Life in the Poyang Lake
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Waterbirds
Sarus crane
The tallest flying bird on Earth; its lifelong pairs dance and call in duet across Asian wetlands.
Common kingfisher
A dazzling blue-and-orange dart that plunges from a perch to spear fish in an instant.
Grey heron
A patient, statue-still angler that stalks the shallows of rivers and lakes across the Old World.
Water plants & reeds
Sacred lotus
A revered Asian water plant whose leaves are so water-repellent that dirt rolls straight off them.
Interactive · 3D dive
How deep does a lake go?
A lake is layered from the sunlit, weed-filled shallows down to a cold, dark bed. Tap a zone to dive the submersible through the water column — and meet the life that belongs at each depth.
Tip: hover the column to tilt it · tap a layer to dive
Littoral Zone
The warm, bright band close to shore where sunlight reaches the bottom. Reeds, water lilies and rooted plants grow thickly here, making it the busiest, most crowded part of the whole lake.
Who lives here