A waterside view of the Cha'gan Lake in Jilin province

Ice fishing in Cha'gan Lake

Ice fishing is something that you can only do in northeast China, and it is definitely something you should not miss when traveling in Jilin. The Cha'gan Lake covers about 40,000 hectares of land, and the water is about 2.5 meters deep on average. It is the largest terminal lake in Jilin province.

Though it is the largest lake in Jilin, it is not very well known to most tourists. Therefore, the natural beauty of the lake has not been spoiled by human presence. Since ancient times, it has always been a paradise for wildlife and birds, including foxes, rabbits and badgers.

Fishing is the major industry for people living along the Cha'gan Lake, where the fishing line is about 128 kilometers. The lake produces 3, 000 tons of fish every year. Winter fishing along the Cha'gan Lake dates back to ancient China and was especially popular during the Liao (916-1125) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties.

Here is what you do when ice fishing in Cha'gan Lake. First, you find a place on the surface of the lake where the ice surface is about 1 meter thick. Then dig a hole on the ice surface every 8 or 9 meters, usually hundreds of holes for one draught. Because the fish lie deep in the water and are very heavy, it usually requires several horses to drag the fishing net to the ice surface. Each fish weighs about 10 kilograms.

By Liu Mingtai