The task was to be carried out by a white dragon, who was only able to find one good person, an old lady ("Lao" in Chinese) surnamed Jiao.

Tourist sites around the lake include Mushan Island, Zhongmiao Temple, Tongyang River, Mount Yinping, and the Immortals Cave.

[citation needed] About 5 million people live near the lake and use it for irrigation, transportation, and fishing.

The Chinese government borrowed from the Asian Development Bank a $250 million loan in 2011 to fund "investments in traditional environmental infrastructure, such as sewerage networks, wastewater treatment plants, and solid waste management" along with policy changes like discouraging use of chemical fertilizer among area farmers.

According to an ADB press release in 2015, the program to clean up the lake has been successful based on "strong and consistent political leadership, integrated planning and analysis, effective management structures, and financial engineering.