Dongting is a city located in China. It is situated in an area historically defined by its proximity to Dongting Lake, a large, shallow body of water in northeastern Hunan Province.
The region is geographically significant due to the lake's role as a flood basin for the Yangtze River, which causes the lake's volume to fluctuate depending on the season. The names of the neighboring provinces, Hubei and Hunan, are derived from their positions relative to the lake, meaning "North of the Lake" and "South of the Lake," respectively.