Qionghai Lake, located in Xichang City, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, is the second largest freshwater lake in Sichuan Province. Historically known as Qiongchi, it is a fault lake formed in the Early Pleistocene. Shaped like a snail, the lake stretches approximately 11.5 kilometers from north to south and about 5.5 kilometers from east to west, with a circumference of roughly 35 kilometers and a water area of approximately 30 square kilometers.
The average water depth is 14 meters, with a maximum depth of 34 meters. The water surface elevation ranges from 1507.14 to 1509.28 meters, and the water level fluctuation is small, with a catchment area of 27 square kilometers. Hydrologically, it belongs to the Anning River system, a tributary of the Yalong River, which is itself a tributary of the Jinsha River in the main Yangtze River basin. The lake discharges into the Anning River and serves as the water source for industrial, agricultural, and urban domestic use in Xichang City. It is also an important tourism resource. In May 2002, the Sichuan Qionghai-Luoji Mountain Scenic Area was designated as a National Scenic Area in the fourth batch. The scenic area is open all year round, with daily operating hours subject to actual conditions.
