How was the Ming Tombs Reservoir formed?

The construction of the Ming Tombs Reservoir was ordered by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, on 1958, and was successfully completed on June 30th of that year. The reservoir area is 20 times that of Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, with a total storage capacity of more than 60 million cubic meters. The reservoir dam is built between Mangshan Mountain and Hanbaoshan Mountain, and it is of inclined wall type, with a total length of 627m, a height of 29m, a bottom width of179m and a top width of 7.5m..

On the outer slope of the dam, there are five characters "Ming Tombs Reservoir" inscribed by President Mao Zedong, which are inlaid with white marble on the purple andesite slope protection, which is very spectacular. At the top of the dam, a beautiful veranda with classical architectural style was built, with handicrafts, cold drinks shops and snack bars. There are cruise docks at both ends of the dam, which provides convenience for tourists to take a boat.

Extended data

The Ming Tombs Reservoir is a mountain basin reservoir, covering an area of 75 1 hectare, including 440 hectares of land and 3 1 1 hectare of water surface. Mountains surround the reservoir, especially the majestic Mangshan Mountain on the north bank. The wide water surface reflects the mountains, giving people the feeling of "high gorge out of Pinghu". At the junction of the foot of the mountain and the water surface, there are many inlets and staggered branches, and the scenery is quiet and pleasant.

There are large terraces and sloping fields on both sides of the middle and upper reaches of the reservoir, with stable water surface and little change in water depth. The water surface is affected by different openness, water depth and environmental color, showing different landscape effects. For example, near the dam, the mountains are high and deep, and the mountains are reflected on the water. The upper reaches of the reservoir have wide water surface, gentle bank slope and wide field of vision. Under the setting sun, the distant mountains are continuous and the clear water is rippling.

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