East Lake Scenic Area is located in the east of Wuhan city, which is famous for its convenient transportation and is named as “the thoroughfare to nine provinces”. The East Lake Scenic Area extends over 82 sq. km in which the lake covers 33 sq.km. It is the biggest “city lake” of China. The East Lake Scenic Area was designated by the State Council as one of the first group of key national scenic areas in 1982. In 2000, it was evaluated as AAAA scenic area by the State Travel Bureau. In 2002, it was rewarded the ISO14001 Environmental Quality Certificate. Every year, the East lake receives over 2 million tourists, from both local and abroad.

    The East Lake Scenic Area is the biggest tourist centre of ancient Chu culture. It is famous for Chu style and Chu charm. Xingyin Pavilion (make poem while walking) is the nationwide famous scenic spot. Lisao Stele gains its reputation for the beautiful lyrics on it, the Chu Heaven Platform, which is located at the peak of the Mo Mountain, offers a platform to overlook the whole city. And the Chu Talent Park introduces a lot of ancient celebrities. There are also some other renowned and inspiring scenic spots such as Chu Bazarre, Quyuan Statue ( Quyuan, the patriotic poet of the Warring States period) and Quyuan Memorial.
    Around the East Lake Scenic Area, there are 26 famous universities such as Wuhan University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology and China University of Geosciences etc, 56 science institutions of different levels, such as Wuhan Botanic Garden of China Academy of Science, and the famous “Optic Valley” - the national optoelectronic industry base is located in the East Lake New Tech Development Zone. Jiufeng Forest Reserve, Hubei Provincial Museum and Hubei Provincial Art Gallery add to the attractiveness of the East Lake.