Fine view reappears in Shanxi

Taking photos of the hall and Huquan Spring, after the lake came back to life, on Sept 29. [Photo/dtnews.cn]

The Water God Hall, an ancient architectural complex firstly built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), in Guangling county, near the city of Datong, Shanxi province, used to have a beautiful lake around it, from Huquan Spring, but, when it dried up earlier this year, the county found itself in a difficult situation and the government had to respond quickly to get to the root of the problem and bring the lake back.

The hall is a county landmark and an important heritage site under State protection, as of 2006. It consists of an old architectural complex on Hushan Mountain, the lake, and a large forest that has been attractive spot for people from all over the country for a long time. So, when the lake quickly disappeared all the way to its bottom, on July 10, it was a real disaster.

But, after a careful examination of the ecology and environment and some work, the splendid view of a hall in the middle of the lake has reappeared and is attracting crowds of locals who come to enjoy the scenery.

A study team had to monitor water levels and do some dredging and ask hydro-engineers to do some research on it. Then stricter measures on the number of wells drilled and the illegal use of water resources were applied. Thanks to these, water began appearing again, on Sept 6, and its volume increased so that now it has an average depth of more than 1 meter.