Anguli Nur lake, in Hebei province neighboring Beijing, was once four meters (13 feet) deep and covered 6,000 hectares (14,820 acres), the Xinhua news agency said.

But continuous drought and over-exploitation of water by the Bashang area of nearby Zhangjiakou city caused the lake to dry up, Xinhua said.

Lack of water in the lake will likely endanger 10,000 hectares of surrounding grassland, local residents said.

For centuries the lake also served as a major habitat of birds and fish, including some rare species of aquatic birds, the report said.

The area was an imperial summer resort and hunting ground more than 1,000 years ago.