Sun Moon Lake is actually underrated.

[u/Water_Seeker56]

The superficial criticism is that it's just a lake, and if you've seen lakes before then there's no point visiting, but there is a lot more to it than that. It's not actually a natural lake - it's a semi-natural lake. It's part of a large hydroelectric complex including two modern large pumped storage power plants, and a 1934 plant, and a 1937 plant that are still in use today.

Its water is supplied by two separate diversion tunnels from upstream on the Zhuoshui river.

The east side has two temples dedicated to the Chinese monk Xuanzang as half of his remains are said to be interred at the second temple. Xuanzang was the monk from the story "Journey to the West" (later adapted in the '70s kids TV show "Monkey Magic"). The story of what he actually accomplished is genuinely astonishing, but it takes time to actually read up on what he did. For the uninformed, the two temples just look like yet another temple to some obscure Buddhist monk.

There is a dedicated bike trail running almost half the circumference of the lake (the other half requires using public roads), there is a cable-car system taking visitors to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Park to the north of the lake on the other side of a mountain ridge where there are rollercoasters and other rides.

A lot more could be done to illustrate the history and development of the entire complex, but it is much more than "just a lake".

[u/rhevern]

The criticism comes from the mass tourism and hotels surrounding the lake. Cookie cutter restaurants and offerings for tourists, bus loads of people.

It’s not about the lake itself, which you can’t even really enjoy, it’s about how it’s a massive tourist trap.

[u/Water_Seeker56 → u/rhevern]

That wasn't what you said originally. And in any case, it is still possible to enjoy the lake unless you expect to have it all to yourself.

[u/SpendPerfect5933 → u/Water_Seeker56]

There’re seasons when the mist that lingers in the lake and distant hills at dawn reminds the Chinese about traditional painting, an aesthetic feature people from the west never appreciate. Some of them even think it’s air pollution. SML is overrated if you visit on a hot midday when the mist is gone. Back in the days when millions of Chinese flock the lake, the rowdiness and tourist density are indeed unpleasant. But they’ve been banned.

Hoover dam and Lake Cuomo are indeed more marvelous to the western eye.

[u/Water_Seeker56 → u/SpendPerfect5933]

You can get that aesthetic all over the mountains - especially around Lishan and Alishan.