Dongting Lake, or Lake Dongting (Chinese: 洞庭湖; pinyin: Dòngtíng Hú; Wade–Giles: Tung-t'ing Hu) is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Hence the lake's size depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lake: Hubei means "North of the Lake" and Hunan means "South of the Lake" in Chinese.
Dongting Lake is famous in Chinese culture as the place of origin of Dragon boat racing. It is the site of Junshan island, and is a home to the Finless Porpoise, which is endangered in China.