Comparing to Lotus Pond, Chengcing Lake is less popular among sightseers. This place is more like an ordinary residence. In morning, you can see local residents playing chess, fishing and practicing taiji here at pavilion on riverside. Along the riverbank, there are few distinctive restaurants could be found here. The most famous one is De Yue Lou (得月樓). Its Chinese architectural structure and provision of the lake view makes it a perfect spot to enjoy the sunset and the breeze. Sadly, at the moment we visited, this restaurant was closed long ago and chance of reopening is slim.
The Grand Hotel in Taipei is world-famous and is selected to receive all previous Taiwan presidents and essential foreign guests. However, it is not the only branch of the hotel in Taiwan. There is another one built at Chengcing Lake, Kaohsiung in Southern Taiwan. The lake view of this one may be more appealing, but its condition and facilities are relatively outdated in modern era.
Same as majority of beautiful places within Taiwan, it is not an exception that it has a guesthouse of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣公行館) at Chengcing Lake in Kaohsiung. Since Chiang’s family gradually cut off its political background, these guesthouses, which were once built for Chiang Kai-shek’s on-trip accommodation, have been either remodeled to hotels or preserved as heritages; this one in Chengcing Lake is modified into an aquarium and garden.
