Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake in the northwestern Qinghai Province ranks top of China's five most beautiful lakes in a latest competition activity by the magazine of China National Geography to select the country's most beautiful places.

Located at about 3,200 meters above sea level, the lake covers 4,300 square kilometers. It has abundant fish and other aquatic creatures, which in turn attracts large flocks of birds to perch in the islands of the lake.

The other four of the most beautiful lakes selected by the magazine are Kanas Lake in Xinjiang, Namtso Lake in Tibet, Heaven's Pool (Tian Chi) in northeast China's Jilin Province and and West Lake in east China's Zhejiang Province.

More than 10 Chinese academicians and 100 experts formed a panel to select the most beautiful places in 15 categories.

The panel also selected China's most beautiful mountains, canyons, caves, islands, coastlines, deserts, cities, villages, waterfalls, forests, prairies, glaciers and wetlands.

(CNTA.com October 19, 2005)