9 . Hongze Lake is in the west of Jiangsu Province. It is the fourth largest freshwater lake in China.

    1     It was a small group of shallow（浅的）lakes in the past, and known as Fuling Lake. In the Tang Dynasty, it got the name Hongze Lake. As time went by, the small lakes finally turned into Hongze Lake.

There are many kinds of fishes in Hongze Lake.     2     Reeds（芦苇）almost cover the whole lake. And the large-area reeds may even prevent boats from getting through.

In the northwest of Hongze Lake, there is a nature reserve. It is Hongze Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve. It was first built on July 1, 1985. The reserve has an area of 49,365 hectares（公顷）. It is home to many birds. There are swans, cranes and other national first and second-class rare and protected birds here.     3     Every year, a lot of tourists come here to watch these birds and many wildlife lovers come to take photos.