China's biggest freshwater Poyang Lake has been put on flood alert after its water levels rose above the alert lines Tuesday.

The water level is still rising as a result of the upstream flood crest in the Yangtze River and the high water level in Dongting Lake in Hunan Province of central China.

According to Jiangxi provincial hydrological departments, the Yangtze River has been flowing into Poyang Lake at a rate of 6,270 cubic meters per second since July 11.

Located in Jiangxi Province, Poyang Lake covers an area of 3,583 square kilometers.

In the low-water season, the lake resembles a river with many branches because of its irregularly-indented shorelines. It receives the flow of the Ganjiang, Fujiang, Xinjiang and Xiushui rivers.

Its water enters the Yangtze River through only one channel and during flood seasons, Poyang Lake helps keep down floods on the big river by retarding and storing the waters of the tributaries to the Yangtze River.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2003)