The world is so big that you never know how far away the two extremes will be. For example, the caspian sea, the world's largest lake, has an area of 386,400 square kilometers; the world's smallest lake does not even use the unit of "square kilometers". Benxi Lake Park in Benxi, Liaoning Province, which locals prefer to call Houhu Park, is the smallest lake in the world with an area of only 15 square meters. The area of 15 square meters may not be as large as the living room of many people's homes; but although the lake is small, it is not simple.
Lakes, like mountains, need to meet a series of geological conditions: "Natural water bodies accumulated in relatively closed depressions on land, with lake basins and water bodies they carry, lake basins are natural depressions with relatively closed surfaces that can store water". In other words, it is not a small pond that can be called a lake. Although the area of Benxi Lake is only 15 square meters, the day and night water flow reaches 20,000 tons; although the lake surface is small, the flow is not small.
Benxi Lake is located in the north of Benxi City, under the cliffs of Woyun Mountain in the big fort, there is a large artificial lake in the park, the bridge on the lake is a boating, it is an artificial lake built after liberation, and the water source of the artificial lake comes from the "world's smallest" Benxi Lake. Benxi Lake is a small lake located in the cave, which has been recorded in the Qing Dynasty.
The lake was originally named "Cup Rhino Lake", because it resembled a wine glass made of rhino horns, so it was named; but because this name was too elegant to remember, it was renamed Benxi Lake during the Qing Yongzheng period. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, Gao Shengyao, a priest in Liaodong Province, wrote the five characters of "Benxi Lake in Liaodong Province" and chiseled it above the cave entrance; thus the reputation of this Liaodong victory gradually became known to everyone.
The lake water in the cave is cold to the bone, no matter how hot the summer is, when you come to the spring in the cave, it is like entering the air-conditioned room, and the heat suddenly disappears. And every year in autumn, this is also the first place in Benxi to get cold. At the same time, the lake water will also rise or fall with the season. Every May, the surface water flows into the bottom of the cave along the rock gap, and the lake enters the boom period; after winter, the lake water gradually decreases, and people will enter the cave with candles after winter, swim two or three miles, and explore the scenery in the cave.
In 1950, when the lake was once dry, geological prospectors entered the bottom of the cave and found that the cave had a peculiar landscape full of stalactites, but unfortunately, tourists cannot see such a scene now. Later, Benxi Lake declared the Guinness World Record for "the world's smallest lake", which was finally approved. At present, there are many stone tablets in the park that are engraved with the words "Guinness World Records", which has become a major tourism feature of Benxi.
There is also a Cihang Temple in the park, a Guanyin temple built in the late Ming Dynasty. Because the temple is close to Benxi Lake, locals often regard Benxi Lake and Cihang Temple as one. In recent years, the temple of wealth has also been built in the park, and on the first, fifteenth and major festivals of the first month of the new year, there will be a special number of people who come to pray for incense. In addition, the park is also a good place for surrounding residents to exercise and socialize leisurely. Many people come here to dance square dances, play badminton, practice swords, and follow the climbing stone ladders to the top pavilion to relax and cool off, overlooking the whole park.
Although Benxi Lake is small, it is "complete", a park attraction should have, here are all. Someone praised: "Not as vast as Hongze, but magical with small." "Today's Benxi Lake water moisturizes Benxi people day and night, becoming an indispensable spiritual home for one party."