China’s quake lake as a tourist spot

BEIJING – China hopes to turn a dangerous "quake lake" into a tourist spot as part of rebuilding efforts in its quake-hit southwest, state press said.

The Tangjiashan lake was the biggest of several lakes created when the May 12 earthquake struck Sichuan province, triggering landslides that blocked rivers and led to the build up of large bodies of water.

Now Chinese officials in the region are seeking to profit by developing the lake into a tourist spot, Xinhua news agency said.

For weeks, the build-up of water behind the Tangjiashan quake lake threatened up to 1.3 million people living downstream in the densely populated Mianyang region, before it was successfully secured earlier this month.