Dongjiang Lake is located in Zixing City, Chenzhou City, Hunan Province, on the upper reaches of the Leishui River (Dongjiang River), a tributary of the Xiang River. 95% of the lake's water surface lies within Zixing City. The lake is approximately 103 kilometers long and at its widest point about 6.2 kilometers wide, with a surface area of 160 square kilometers. It is currently the largest artificial lake in central and southern China. It is an artificial lake formed by damming the river on the upper reaches of the Xiang River system.
Dongjiang Lake has an average water depth of 61 meters and a maximum depth of 141 meters, with a total storage capacity of 9.15 billion cubic meters and a normal storage volume of 8.12 billion cubic meters. By storage volume, it ranks among the top 10 freshwater lakes in China. It is one of only two reservoirs in China with a storage capacity exceeding 5 billion cubic meters and Class I water quality. Its average annual inflow reaches 4.48 billion cubic meters, and during the dry season it can supply an average of 1.5 billion cubic meters of water per year to the Xiang River basin. Its catchment area covers 4,719 square kilometers, involving 819 rivers and streams across three counties (Guidong, Rucheng, and Yizhang) and one city (Zixing) in Chenzhou, totaling 29 townships, of which Zixing City involves 7 townships.
Dongjiang Lake has high value for protection, scientific research, education, and tourism, and also serves ecological and socio-economic functions such as flood control and disaster mitigation, irrigation and power generation, and fishery production. It is the only scenic spot in Hunan that holds six "national-level" designations simultaneously: National AAAAA Tourist Attraction, National Scenic Area, National Eco-Tourism Demonstration Zone, National Forest Park, National Wetland Park, and National Water Conservancy Scenic Area.