The lake is part of the homeland of the Thao people, one of the Indigenous communities of Taiwan. The Thao have lived around the lake for hundreds of years, fishing in special raft-like boats and telling stories about how the island in the middle of the lake came to be there.
In the mornings, mist often rolls across the surface of the water. The mountains around the lake sometimes disappear into the clouds, and then come back into view a few minutes later. Photographers love coming here at sunrise because the light keeps changing.
You can travel around the lake in lots of ways - by ferry across the water, on a cable car that swings over the hills, by bicycle along a path that hugs the shore, or just by walking. The bike path around Sun Moon Lake is famous; it has been named one of the most beautiful cycling routes in the world.
Around the lake are tea farms growing a special kind of black tea called Sun Moon Lake tea, or 'Red Jade' tea. The mist and the warm days are perfect for growing tea leaves slowly. Farmers pick the leaves by hand, dry them, and roll them into tiny twists before they are brewed.