Today 28th December, the 19th Chagan Lake Ice-Snow Fishing and Hunting Cultural Tourism Fest Opening Ceremony was held.
The tourism festival begins with an opening prayer ceremony to the lake for good luck and a bountiful catch.
This is then followed by second ceremony to "awaken" and bless the net that will be used for fishing. Then, the lucky "First Fish" is caught, which is then sold at an auction for a high price. The other festivities then commence in full.
This year's tourism festival allows visitors to experience the local snow and ice customs, participate in fishing operations, taste Kantong cuisine, enjoy the regional culture, and enjoy organic home-grown food and many others. There is a total of 19 activities to choose from, catering to people of all ages.
In the traditional auction process，the First Fish shot 2999999 rmb!
Previous first fish auction price list:
In 2014, the final auction price of the first fish was 369,999 yuan
In 2015, the final auction price of the first fish was 788,888 yuan
In 2016, the final auction price of the first fish was 858,888 yuan
In 2018, the final auction price of the first fish was 999,999 yuan
In 2019, the final auction price of the first fish was 2,966,666 yuan
In 2020, the final auction price of the first fish was 2,999,999 yuan
Chagan Lake
Chagan Lake (Chagan Hu) is a lake in Songyuan City, Jilin Province of China. The name "Chagan" is from Mongolian, meaning sacred, pure or white, so the lake is often referred to as Sacred Lake or Holy Water Lake by local people. The Lake is the known as one of China's 10 top fresh water lakes. Covering an area of 420 square kilometers, it measures 37 km in length from south to north, and 17 km from east to west. The lake is known for traditional winter fishing that dates back to prehistoric times.
The annual Chagan Lake Winter Fishing Festival (usually starts in mid-December and ends in the end of the next January) is held to remember the old winter fishing tradition. On the first day of the festival, the locals hold an interesting ceremony call "offer sacrifice to the lake, wake up the net". The activities including perform a Mongolian religion dance, read Buddhist scriptures, sing eulogies, drink farewell wine and so on. The fishermen place many articles of tribute on the ice to pray for a good harvest for fish. Then they drill many holes through the thick ice and then place net or fishhooks under the ice. The net and its catch is then hauled out of the largest hole by means of a capstan turned by Mongolian horses. The Lake set a Guinness World Record of a single net that yielded 104,500 kg fish in 2006, and broke its own by 168,000 kg of fish in 2009.
Chagan Lake is the only place that preserves the oldest Mongolia fishing method. In 2008, Chagan Lake Mongolia ice-fishing was designated as a national intangible cultural heritage of China by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Chagan Lake is the best winter destination for your winter holiday. There you can enjoy ice fishing, taste the delicous fish cuisne, see the locals how to catch fish and snatch many snap nice pictures about the fish, fishermen, sunset, beautiful lake scenery and tourists.
Entrance Fee: Free
Time: From 28th December 2020 to February 2021
Opening Hours: 8:00-18:00
Tips: If you go to Chagan Lake for watching ice-fishing, please note that the fishermen place the fishing net in early morning, and the net and its catch is usually hauled out of the ice holes at 11:00 - 14:00.
Address: 查干湖渔场 chá gān hú yú chǎng (The northwest part of Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, Songyuan County, Jilin Province)
