Chengcing Lake

Chengcing Lake (Chinese: 澄清湖; Hanyu Pinyin: Chéngqīng Hú; Tongyong Pinyin: Chéngcing Hú; Wade–Giles: Ch'eng-ch'ing Hu), also known as the Cheng Ching Lake, Dabei Lake (大貝湖), or Toapi Lake (Chinese: 大埤湖; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tōa-pi-ô͘) in Taiwanese, is an artificial lake located in Niaosong, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The lake is not far from downtown Kaohsiung and the major suburban district of Fengshan. The lake is a source of the water supply network and a tourist area of the Kaohsiung region. A portion of the lake with its shore is administrated as a gated park. A chateau of Chiang Kai-shek, the former president and military leader of Taiwan, is located in the park. Around the lake shore, Chiang also established an underground military headquarters, which has been adapted into a public aquarium, the Cheng Ching Lake Exotic Marine Life Museum. It was originally built as a tunnel in 1961, as protection against a nuclear attack. The Bridge of Nine Turns across the lake was built in 1960. It is 230 meters in length by 2.5 meters wide, including nine right-angled turns. The restored Zhongxing Pagoda the lake area's tallest structure, standing 43 meters high, with good views from the top, which can be reached via winding stairs.