Wanlv lake, home of the mineral water
Wanlü or Wanlv lake is the biggest man made lake in south China and is a popular scenic touriust spot in Guangdong. Its located in Heyuan city. I recently paid it a visit.
Since winter had arrived in GD, it was very cold here. Many layers are needed as there can be a bracing wind from over the lake. The lake is HUGE and cant be walked/biked around in one day.
Mineral water
This lake provides the drinking water for the famous Nongfu mineral water company. A large privder of bottled water in south china/hk/macau. The lake water is very clean and fresh and needs very little purification. Nongfu is a nice tasting bottled water and is very cheap.
Go in the summer
In the summer months, you can do many activities on/in this lake. Kayaking, swimming and water sports are all available to you. But since This was January these were not available to me. You can still get boats to the various islands (there are hundreds of them) but it was so darn cold I dont advise it.
The water is actually warm. It must be heated from geothermal springs. It was a stark contrast the the chilly air around us, I was even tempted to jummp in for a dip! The lake does provide beautiful scenery and some great photo opportunities. You can simply meander around and soak in the sights and the fresh air.
Hakka Culture
One thing I do recommend is seeing the Hakka culture performance. You can get an insight into the past culture of the local people, and it involves song and dance and wonderful costumes. The ticket was 30RMB
Want to go?
I would definatey recommend Wanlv lake and Heyuan in general as a place to visit. The air is clean, the scenery is beautiful and it is very quiet.
You can get a train to Heyuan train station, many stations can cannoect to here. I got the fast train from Guangzhou South station. Then we got a taxi to Wenlv Lake (Chinese: 万绿湖) directly, all taxi drivers will know this .
There are lots of places to but water/snacks. And they have a fantastic restaurant on sight.
Please follow my blog for more to come about Heyuan
Wanderust Welshman 
I would presume Heyuan is a region of Guandgong province and a not a separate province as mentioned. I would also say it’s a safe bet that “wanlv” is simply a typo they make on many Chinese signs for the letter u. I am a travel writer myself based in Dongguan for over 6 years, so I appreciate what you are doing. I saw the welshman name for this site, so was wondering if you are from Wales like me? Could you tell me how much is the taxi to the lake from gz south station and also how you heard of the place.
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I don’t state Heyuan is a province, its a city in GD province, Its not a typo they make on signs either, both are considered acceptable pingying versions for this word. From GZ station it is over 100 iles so I have no idea on the cost of a taxi from GZ South. You can get a train from GZ to Heyuan then get a taxi. I stayed in Heyuan for several days so arranged my own driver
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