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A Song of Ice and Fire

Volcanoes meet ice and snow, making Jilin a perfect winter destination

The Sacred White Mountain

Formed by violent volcanic eruptions, the precipitous and mystical Mount Changbai continues to intrigue the curious and the brave

The frozen peaks of Mount Changbai in winter

Standing on top of Mount Changbai (长白山) with a temperature of minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius on a clear, sunny day in early winter, lucky visitors won’t even notice the cold. Instead, they are distracted as a breathtaking view unfolds before them: a vast mirror-like blue lake stretching for three to four kilometers, set in a giant crown of sixteen grayish-white peaks.

Straddled between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea), Mount Changbai is the tallest peak both in Northeast China and on the Korean Peninsula. Beneath the peaceful scenery is a powerful volcano lying dormant. The crater lake, Tianchi (天池), or “Heaven Lake,” was the result of a particularly destructive eruption that blew off the top of the volcano’s cone. After cooling down, the crater accumulated precipitation. Together with underground water supplies, this formed China’s deepest lake with an average depth of 204 meters.

The name “Changbai” means “ever-white” in Chinese, which was inspired by the mountain’s appearance. Winter on the mountain is long and cold, with snowfall as early as late September. The snow doesn’t thaw until mid-June at its peaks, which are over 2,500 meters high. The pumice, a type of light-colored volcanic rock prevalent on the mountain, also has helped it to earn its name. Changbai is both the name of the main peak, and the mountain range it is part of, which extends for over 1,300 kilometers through China’s northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning.

Mount Changbai has erupted several times in the recent past, most notably the “Millennium Eruption” that took place in the tenth century. It is regarded by scientists as one of the largest eruptions of the Common Era, yet many details of the event remain unknown. Of the few historical accounts, a Japanese temple chronicle described “white ash falling like snow” on one November evening in 946. Together with other analysis, researchers were able to pinpoint the eruption date to the very year. Despite its magnitude, the eruption didn’t seem to have serious effects on southern areas (hence the lack of historical records in central China and the Korean Peninsula), which made it even more intriguing for scientists. The precise environmental impact of this event is still being studied.

Mount Changbai has been worshiped by dwellers in the area for centuries. Around the fifth century, an ancient ethnic group called the Wuji lived near Mount Changbai, which they referred to as “Tutaishan” (shan means “mountain” in Chinese). According to the Book of Wei, historical records of the Northern Wei dynasty (386 – 534), the local Wuji people prohibited defecation on the mountain. They also believed that the wild beasts on the mountain would never hurt humans, and those who ventured onto Tutaishan often returned with ample wild produce.

The name “Changbai” was adopted around the tenth century by the Khitans and the Jurchens living in the area. After the Jurchens founded the Jin dynasty (1115 – 1234), Mount Changbai was worshiped as a god and protector of the kingdom. The Jin emperors gave Changbai several titles over the years, from “king” to “Magnificent Holy Emperor,” and constructed temples of worship. One such temple built in 1193 was recently excavated: the Baomacheng Site (宝马城遗址) in Antu county, located 50 kilometers north of Mount Changbai.

In more recent history, both the Manchu people, the successors of the Jurchens and founders of the Qing dynasty (1616 – 1911), and ethnic Koreans regard Mount Changbai as their “Holy Mountain” and have countless legends inspired by it. While Mount Tai in Shandong province has been an object of imperial worship in ancient China since the time of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor in the third century BCE, Qing emperors held their hometown mountain in higher regard. The Kangxi Emperor even argued that Mount Tai was an extension of Changbai, despite the great distance and the Bohai Harbor lying between the two peaks.

Dawn at the Mojie Scenic Area in the foothills of Mount Changbai, a destination known for its fairyland-like winter scenery

Despite historical references and imperial attention, the actual geography, natural environment, and especially the high-altitude meant areas of Mount Changbai remained unknown to the outside world. It was not only because the mountain was designated a forbidden zone for over 200 years by the Qing court; its steep climb, varied landscape, thick woods, wild beasts, lingering mist, and harsh weather all hindered explorers from taking a clear and full look at the mysterious mountain.

In 1908, near the end of the Qing dynasty, the situation was finally changed by a low-ranking official. Liu Jianfeng (刘建封), a 43-year-old substitute magistrate from a local county, became the first person to carry out a fullèscale scientific expedition and survey of Mount Changbai. He was the first person to identify the origins of the Songhua (松花江), Yalu (鸭绿江), and Tumen rivers (图们江). In his three expeditions, he investigated the summit and major ranges, and recorded his findings in two books and one photo album, which remain important references today.

For over 200 days in a year, Tianchi Lake is shrouded in fog, but lucky visitors can catch a rare panoramic view

Travelers ride snowmobiles into the mountains

Changbai still offers countless mysteries and surprises as its contemporary exploration continues. In 1987, after a huge storm, a team of forestry staff went to the mountain to inspect the damage. Instead, they stumbled upon a giant canyon, characterized by spiky black rocks on its almost vertical cliffs, and a rapid stream running through the bottom. The giant mountain crack stretches for 70 kilometers, varying from 300 meters to just a few meters wide, and is 150 meters deep—all formed by volcanic activities and water erosion. Named the Jinjiang Canyon (锦江大峡谷), it had never appeared in any previous records—a brand new discovery hidden deep in the woods.

More recently, in 2004, a lava tunnel that may have been created during the Millennium Eruption was identified by the local earthquake administration. While crawling through a small opening only 70 centimeters wide, explorers were led into a spacious section in which the volcanic rocks had kept their original lava-flow shape. Experts believe the site to be an important artifact of Changbai’s unique natural history, and decided to close off the area as a protected zone.

For everyday visitors, there are plenty of sites where they can enjoy Changbai’s fiery and icy charm. The winter scenery of Mount Changbai is best appreciated from its northern slope (the southern slope is closed in winter) due to its safer road conditions. Buses and utility vehicles can transport tourists right to the summit. Changbai in winter is a wonderland with snow as thick as 2 meters, frozen waterfalls, hot springs with rising steam, and silver frost-covered tree branches.

For ski lovers, especially seasoned skiers who want to boldly venture into Changbai’s winter wonderland, the Changbaishan International Natural Snow Skiing Park (长白山国际天然滑雪公园) on its western slope is not to be missed. Open from December to April, the park is China’s only naturally occuring ski area. There are no fences or ski lifts in the park; skiers have to take snowmobiles to the summit. From there, visitors will be treated with magnificent views of mountain ranges, various routes to ski on, and plentiful high-quality snow.

Hot springs fueled by geothermal energy on the volcanic Mount Changbai

The First Person to Unveil Changbai

One drizzly morning in July 1908, an expedition led by Qing dynasty official Liu Jianfeng had their way blocked by three bears. One team member fired three shots to scare the creatures away, but instead, one bear charged at them. Just as it prepared to sink its jaws into a man who fell down in panic, another member shot the bear dead.

This was but one of many dangerous episodes in Liu’s adventure through the uncharted Mount Changbai. With a team of 16, five of whom were cartographers, Liu was tasked with the mission to investigate the geographic divide of Fengtian (present-day Liaoning) and Jilin provinces, and to trace the origins of three local rivers. On one occasion, Liu fell off his horse and toppled into a ravine, sustaining serious injuries. During heavy storms, the team had to tie strings around their waists to cross the slopes because of loose rocks threatening to force them down the mountain.

Despite the risks and hardships, the team spent four months on foot, covering a total of 450 kilometers. They investigated the summit, major ranges, and rivers, producing detailed notes, photographs, drawings, and maps. Liu also identified and named the 16 peaks surrounding Heaven Lake. This included the highest peak on China’s side, Baiyun (“White Cloud”) Peak (白云峰), at 2,691 meters. Liu later embarked on two more expeditions to Changbai. He not only recorded his findings, but also collected folk tales from the region.

Liu was so taken by the experience, that he later nicknamed himself the “Fisherman of Heaven Lake.” When the Qing court decided to set up a new county, Antu county, at Changbai’s southern foothill in 1909, Liu was appointed its first magistrate. During his time there, Liu organized Changbai’s first forest police, built roads, and repaired river channels for local residents.

The revolution of 1911 soon swept across the nation, which ultimately ended the Qing dynasty. A supporter of the republic, Liu declared Antu county the “Datong (‘Great Unity’) Republic.” The attempt was swiftly suppressed by Qing troops. Liu fled and remained an activist for the rest of his days. While his expeditions to Mount Changbai may just have been an interlude in his life as a revolutionary, his achievements have served as a valorous reminder for every explorer to follow in his footsteps.

More Volcanic Views

Another classic destination for admiring Jilin’s striking volcanic landscape is the Longwan Volcanic Cluster National Forest Park (龙湾群国家森林公园), located in the Longgang Mountains (龙岗山脉), part of the western Changbai Mountains. Within an area of 200,000 hectares, travelers can find over 160 volcano cones and eight crater lakes, the densest cluster in the country. These crater lakes, called maars, were created very differently from Heaven Lake. While the latter formed when the top of the volcano cone was blown off during an eruption, maars are large pits in the ground created by explosions when underground water hits hot lava.

Dalongwan (大龙湾) is the largest maar of the cluster, and the best suited to accommodate travelers. While here, they can take a boat ride on the jade green lake or hike around the area dotted with scenic spots. The lakeside is especially pleasant in May when dazzling azaleas are in full bloom.

Hikers can also head to Sifangdingzi (四方顶子), the highest volcano cone in the cluster at 1,333 meters tall. The name literally means “Square Top,” as the summit is a vast flat land of over 30 hectares. Travelers will see some of the most strangely shaped trees on the highland meadow. A 62-meter-tall viewing tower provides additional elevation at the top with an astonishing 360-degree view.

Hitting the Slopes

One of China’s top destinations for snow sports, Jilin is full of world-class ski resorts you shouldn’t miss

Vasaloppet China, the country’s biggest cross-country ski event, takes place around December in Jingyuetan National Forest Park in Changchun

The Olympic Winter Games may be held in and around Beijing in 2022, but it’s Jilin which plays host to some of the best ski resorts in the country. Jilin’s geographical position means it is ideally situated for the weather fronts that roll in from Siberia to deposit delightfully light and dry powder in the province’s alpine forests.

The ski industry has only recently taken off in China, and Jilin’s new state-of-the-art resorts continue to expand year on year. After Beijing won the right to hold the 2022 games in 2015, the government set about making China a nation of snow enthusiasts. In 2016, the National Development and Reform Commission announced plans to have 300 million people participating in winter sports by 2022—double the current total number of skiers worldwide. This would mean around a fifth of China’s population could be taking up winter sports. The plans include the construction of over 1,000 ski resorts to make China a renowned international ski destination.

Jilin has already ridden this wave to become one of China’s most popular ski destinations, with three of the nation’s four main ski areas occupying more than 400 hectares. The province welcomes over 2 million ski visitors per year. Three of Jilin’s resorts—the Changbaishan International Resort (长白山国际度假区), Lake Songhua Resort (万科松花湖度假区), and Beidahu Ski Resort (北大湖滑雪场度假区)—receive well over a million ski visitors annually, making them among the most popular skiing destinations in China. They feature six, five, and four detachable aerial ski lifts, respectively.

Jilin also produced China’s first ever Winter Olympic medalist, Ye Qiaobo, who took silver in the 500-meter speed skating event at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. She later earned a bronze medal in 1994’s Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway and twice won the World Sprint Speed Skating Championships.

In a 2021 interview with the Economic Information Daily newspaper, director of the Changchun Sports Administration, Li Xiaojie, stated that Changchun, the capital city of Jilin province and the location of a number of ski areas, spends 1.2 million RMB a year from a sports lottery fund to develop winter sports in the city’s schools. The city also developed the New World of Ice and Snow (长春冰雪新天地) park featuring over 140 ice sculptures to rival Harbin’s Ice Festival in the winter months.

In Jilin city, Beishan AllèWeather Cross-Country Ski Resort (北山四季越野滑雪场) opened in 2019. The complex is the first of its kind in Asia, with a 1,600-meter outdoor track and 1,300-meter indoor track allowing athletes to train all year round.

As facilities and access improve, more and more tourists are heading to Jilin for the winter holidays. The local government hopes to entice visitors with the promise of a Winter Olympics “experience,” if not the actual events, in Jilin. With development in Jilin’s winter sports continuing to ramp up, now’s the perfect time to strap on your skis and hit some of the best slopes in China.

Changbaishan International Resort

Changbaishan International Resort is one of the largest and most advanced ski resorts in the country, with international hotel brands, wellèstaffed ski schools, and a base village modeled on the famous Whistler ski resort town in Canada. Built at a cost of over 20 billion RMB, and opened in 2012, the resort’s high level of facilities and service make it wellèsuited for families and those looking for comfort on their ski holiday, while a couple of steep slopes provide excitement for thrillèseekers—China’s national alpine ski team often trains here.

Located to the west of the Changbaishan National Nature Reserve (长白山国家级自然保护区), the resort enjoys between 1.5 and 2 meters of snowfall a year. From atop the resort’s 1,200-meter-high mountain, there are spectacular views of the surrounding forests and snowy peaks.

Ski season starts around mid-November each year

Changbaishan International Resort is one of the most modern ski areas in China

Though small by European standards, Changbaishan International Resort still features a ski area of over 700 hectares on a single mountain that contains 43 slopes. These ski runs cater to all abilities, with steep bumps on the higher altitude slopes for more advanced skiers. When darkness falls, the lights on the piste go up and the mountain takes on a whole new feel, with skiers able to ski long into the night.

The resort places a high emphasis on safety, with marshals stationed at the top of each run ready to help skiers in need of assistance, while nets adorn the slopes to prevent skiers veering off patrolled areas or encountering hazards like rocks and trees.

More than 10 hotels occupy the resort village (including international brands like Westin, Sheraton, and Hyatt), all within walking distance of the slopes. The village also features a water park, golf course, theater, hot springs, and a street dotted with restaurants serving Korean, northeastern Chinese, and Western cuisine. The resort even offers a service where staff pick up children from the airport and provide round-the-clock childcare so that youngsters can ski even if their parents can’t be there.

The resort is easily accessible by air, with the Baishan Changbaishan Airport (白山长白山国际机场) just a 20-minute drive away.

Lake Songhua Resort

Unlike Changbaishan International Resort, the Lake Songhua Resort southeast of downtown Jilin city is not a new development. In fact, its predecessor was the inaugural ski field of the People’s Republic of China, first built in 1962, and originally used to train winter sports athletes. Back when it first opened, there was just one ski run and one building at the bottom of the slopes.

In 2015, a freshly made over Lake Songhua Resort opened with investment from Vanke, one of China’s largest real estate developers. Today, Lake Songhua Resort offers a modern skiing experience within Jilin city, located in Fengman district, just 19 kilometers from the city center. The world-class facilities helped the resort be crowned “China’s Best Ski Resort” at the World Ski Awards four years in a row from 2017 to 2020.

Lake Songhua Resort’s ski area is spread over two mountains in a “V” shape, with 34 slopes across the resort which sees around a meter of snow each year. What the resort lacks in size and snow coverage, it makes up for with convenience and the stunning scenery of the Songhua Lake. Both international hotel chains and cheaper guesthouses cater to most budgets, while beginners can learn to ski at the ski school. There are also plentiful dining options in the resort including KFC, barbecue joints, Japanese cuisine, and local Dongbei (东北, northeastern Chinese) food outlets.

Mount Daqing (大青山), the highest peak in the resort at 935 meters, has a love story behind its name. Long ago, in the village below the mountain, a man named Old Zhang lived alone with his daughter, Daqing, a beautiful young woman. At the valley entrance, another villager named Aunt Wang lived with her son, Shanshan, a handsome, strong, and honest man of 19. Daqing and Shanshan worked in adjacent fields each day, and over time they came to know each other, gradually falling in love as they toiled together. Just as their families were starting to discuss their marriage, a fortune teller emerged and revealed that their zodiac animals were illèmatched, and that they shouldn’t marry. Hearing the news, the two lovers felt like knives had been plunged into their hearts.

With each day that passed, Shanshan became thinner and thinner, and Daqing sunk into a deep depression, until each of them decided they would rather be dead than alive—only once they left this world could they be together. Just before Shanshan died, he asked his mother to bury him atop the mountain with Daqing, and she agreed. Soon after Shanshan passed away, Daqing’s health began to deteriorate. As she approached her own death, she asked her father to bury her with Shanshan, and he agreed. In death they were finally together, buried atop the mountain. To commemorate their story and the love they felt for each other, the villagers named the mountain “Daqing.”

Beidahu Ski Resort in Jilin city

Beidahu Ski Resort

Located just a few kilometers south of Lake Songhua Resort, Beidahu is a popular destination not just for winter sports fans, but also for professional competitions. Completed in 1994, Beidahu served as the snow sports venue for several national winter games, as well as the 2007 Asian Winter Games, the 2016 – 2017 FIS Freestyle Ski Aerials World Cup, and various other professional events.

The name “Beidahu” (北大湖，originally 北大壶,“the big teapot of the north”) came from the shape of the landscape around it. Three sides of the resort are surrounded by mountains, with the highest peak sticking out in the middle, just like the narrow spout of a teapot. The surrounding mountains often help to shelter skiers from the worst of windy conditions.

With the highest peak standing at 1,408 meters, the ski area has a vertical drop of 930 meters, while also featuring some stunning runs that wind through the trees at lower altitudes. The focus in Beidahu is very much on the skiing, rather than the off-slope experience as at Changbaishan and Lake Songhua. Long, steep runs at the top of the resort offer challenges for advanced skiers. There’s a snow park for freestylers, and a large number of intermediate slopes further down offer more gentle riding. Beidahu also has areas for off-piste skiing through the trees—perfect if there’s fresh powder snow. Located within the Songhua Lake Scenic and Historic Area (松花湖风景名胜区), Beidahu is surrounded by stunning scenery for guests to explore when not slicing through the snow.

Though more accommodation has sprung up at Beidahu, most notably the vast Club Med hotel that opened in 2016, the resort area still has a more traditional feel to it compared with other ski resort villages in Jilin province, with just a couple of large lodges at the bottom of the slopes rather than the multitude of international hotels found elsewhere. The smaller resort village means there are fewer après ski activities to enjoy, though local restaurants offer traditional Dongbei food at affordable prices.

As a result, the resort can feel quieter and less commercial than its more modern competitors. Local guesthouses located further from the slopes, some of which boast delightful kang (炕, a traditional northeastern fire-heated bed), are a cheaper accommodation option.

Three Other Resorts

Changbaishan Luneng Resort

Like the bigger Changbaishan International Resort, Changbaishan Luneng Resort (长白山鲁能胜地旅游度假区) is also located near the Changbaishan National Nature Reserve. Luneng is much smaller than the two other resorts listed here, but that brings with it its own charm. Many local guesthouses are quaint wooden structures decorated with hanging lanterns, offering traditional kang, and homey local food. Luneng is a great affordable alternative for beginners who won’t benefit much from the more extensive terrain at the bigger resorts.

Jingyuetan Ski Resort

Jingyuetan Ski Resort (净月潭滑雪场) is the go-to ski resort for Changchun locals, and is located in the suburbs to the south of the city. As well as gentle ski slopes perfect for beginners, the area also has sledges, skimobiles, and dog-pulled sleighs for hire. The ski area is located next to the pristine Jingyuetan Lake (净月潭), perfect for photos when visitors want a break from skiing.

Tiandingshan Ski Resort

Tiandingshan Ski Resort (天定山滑雪场) is a new ski resort in the Lianhuashan Ecotourism Resort (莲花山生态旅游度假区) to the east of Changchun city. Opened in 2019, it is the largest ski area in Changchun. The first phase of the resort consists of 16 slopes, making a 7-kilometer run from the top of the resort’s single mountain, which is serviced by two chairlifts. The resort is about 40-minute drive from the city center.

Winter Wonderland

Four winter activities in Jilin you shouldn’t miss (besides skiing)

Wusong are one of Jilin’s most famed winter sceneries

Every November, chilled Siberian air coming down from the north meets the warm moisture from the Pacific Ocean over Jilin’s mountainous terrain, often resulting in heavy snowfall. With temperatures as low as minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius in some parts, and a varied landscape, Jilin is one of the most exciting destinations for winter traveling in the country. Besides ski resorts, this northern province has much more to offer. Here are four activities travelers shouldn’t miss.

Capture a Perfect Winter Photo

There’s no better way to mark your trip than by capturing an iconic winter image: Jilin’s rime ice-covered trees, or wusong (雾凇). Regarded as one of the “Four Natural Wonders of China” (the other three are the sunrise on Mount Tai, the tidal bore of the Qiantang River, and the sea of clouds on Mount Huang), Jilin’s wusong are a highly sought-after photography subject, attracting professionals and amateurs alike from all over the country every winter.

These silver woods often appear by the waterside when moisture freezes on trees overnight, resulting in a captivating but fleeting sight that’s only visible within a few hours after sunrise. Occurring from December through to February, wusong are also figuratively referred to as “ice bloom,” or “snow willow.”

Although wusong are found across the province, the ideal spot for photography is Wusong Island (雾凇岛) on the Songhua River in northern Jilin city. Due to the active Fengman Hydropower Station (丰满水电站), located about 50 kilometers upstream, the section of the river around it does not freeze in winter, and from this area, ample water vapor rises to cloak the island and form a crystal dreamland.

Travelers can enjoy various winter activities at Zhenzhu village (top left) and Shennong Manor Hot Spring Resort (top right), or venture into the forest on Laoye Ridge (bottom), among other destinations

As well as the island, there are plenty of other wusong destinations in the wider suburban areas, though they require more traveling to reach. One such location which boasts a corridor of over 30 kilometers of rime scenery can be found in the upper reaches of the Songhua River in Huadian, southeastern Jilin city.

Go on a Winter Forest Safari

To immerse oneself in the season, visitors can venture into Jilin’s woods after a snowfall. It is an otherworldly experience to walk in the white woods, under blue skies, through snow a meter deep. The winter forest is also far from lifeless. Seasoned guides will point travelers to prints of paws, claws, or hoofs, and sometimes even “murder scenes” of the animal world: from marks left on the snowy ground, one can tell that a hungry hawk has just grabbed an unsuspecting rabbit.

The Laoye Ridge (老爷岭) along the northern Changbai Mountains is an ideal destination for a winter safari. On the ridge, a seasonal lake, Laolike Lake (老里克湖), is surrounded by a forest of fir, spruce, yew, birch, maple, and pine trees. The snowy season here lasts as long as six to seven months, earning it the name “Snow Ridge.” Travelers can take snowmobiles for a thrilling ride into the woods, and make various stops to play in the snow. For a more relaxed time, stay in the Biquanhu Resort (碧泉湖度假村) inside the Lushuihe National Forest Park (露水河国家森林公园) in the northwestern Changbai Mountains, and explore the surrounding forest by foot. The dense forests across the Changbai Mountains also boast marvelous rime scenery given the right temperature and weather conditions.

Stay in a Snow Village

The peaceful mountain villages in rural Jilin offer winter getaways as well as folk cultural experiences. Nestled in the hills of northeastern suburban Jilin city, Erhe village (二合村) features fairytale-like scenery, and comfy guesthouses hosted by locals. Dubbed the “Homeland of Snow,” Erhe village first received attention from a series of stunning winter photographs posted online by adventurous photographers around 2015. To subsidize their income, the locals seized the opportunity to build the village into an alluring destination with a horse sleigh, local diners, village museums, and even a ski field nearby. Celebrating Chinese New Year in the village is an especially fun and memorable experience.

An alternative rural stay is located in the southwestern Changbai Mountains, at Zhenzhu village (珍珠村) on the Songling Ridge (松岭), featuring untamed natural scenery all around. Nicknamed the “Snow Village,” it’s home to about 125 families who are descended from migrants from Shandong. It used to be a logging village, and related customs are still kept intact and practiced here.

Dip in a Hot Spring

After a chilly day on the road, dipping one’s frosty body into the various hot springs found across Jilin promises to relax and rejuvenate. Fueled by subterranean heat in the region, and rich in minerals, these hot springs are believed to have medicinal properties. What is especially prized is the water channeled from the Julong Hot Springs (聚龙温泉群) on top of Mount Changbai, which is available at various hot spring centers at the northern foothill of the mountain. There are also open-air pools available during winter.

Of Ice and Men

The annual “winter catch” at Chagan Lake revives a millennia-old fishing tradition as a cultural spectacle

Fishermen leave for Chagan Lake before sunrise

Under the purple twilight, a sleigh pulled by a dozen horses soars over untouched snow; running parallel, head fisherman Zhang Wen’s secondhand Subaru forges through the fog. His flashlight dances into the darkness, searching for the red flag marking where his team left their net the previous night. In the frozen blanket of white, stretching from horizon to horizon, there is no telling where the ground ends and the lake begins.

In a motorcade of cars and horses, over 50 fishermen navigate tracks diverging in over a dozen different directions. Making a hairpin turn, one old car sputters out in a snowbank, and everybody is out, pushing and cursing. No good; it’ll need to be towed. The driver hops into a friend’s vehicle. It is minus 27 degrees Celsius; the mucus freezes in your nostrils.

Equal parts of romanticism and reality, Chagan Lake (查干湖, “White Sacred Lake” in Mongolian) in Songyuan, northern Jilin, boasts a prehistoric tradition of ice fishing that tourists can still witness today. Before dawn, a squadron of fishermen go about their daily winter routine of pulling a 2,000-meter-long net under the surface of the ice.

For millennia, this 420-square-kilometer lake in the Front Gorlos Mongolian Autonomous County, over 200 kilometers from the provincial capital of Changchun, has been venerated for its plenitude and sacredness. In the Liao (907 – 1125) and Jin (1115 – 1234) dynasties, emperors used to host banquets of roasted carp on Chagan’s shores to entertain their ministers. Legend has it that Genghis Khan burned incense by the lake in 1211 after conquering the surrounding territory. In 2018, President Xi Jinping stopped at Chagan during a tour of the northeast, crediting the local government’s stewardship for the lake’s environmental regeneration.

As ecotourism and cultural tourism become vogue industries, Chagan fishermen’s winter catch has been declared one of the “Eight Wonders of Jilin” and an intangible cultural heritage by the provincial government, making it a new attraction on the itineraries of travelers in China.

Driving about town, one sees walls and windows plastered with the motto, “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” Equating ecological health to financial wealth seems to have been a step in the right direction for Chagan Lake, whose recently restored ecological prosperity has brought new riches to the ancient fishing communities along its shores.

As the dawn pales into a bottomless blue, a fisherman raises a wooden drill into the air, gripping the handles tightly with both hands, and thrusts it downward with expert strength.

The ice shatters into slush, and a gaping wound opens into the obscure depths. For a second, it looks like the entire sheet beneath will splinter and swallow them whole.

An elaborate opera of ice, steel, and rope grinds into motion, orchestrated by horses and men. First, the fishermen plant metal turnstiles which, rotated with the strength of two or three horses, extends the vast net underwater toward the next hole. The men then drive their horses in constant circles around the axis, which stands like a winter maypole under the cloudless sky.

This choreography goes on for hours: the men shout, the whips sing, the horses pant, and ice cracks as the net slithers, octopus-like, beneath the ice. Zhang Wen, the head fisherman or batou (把头), lumbers across the snow, waving, shouting orders to groups of men, and moving flags to signal the locations and timing of the setting and raising of the net.

“Not everyone can be a batou,” says Zhang. “You need to master technique and management, and be responsible for everyone’s safety. With four nets, we need to get 300,000 jin [150,000 kilograms] of fish up before the Lunar New Year for the whole country to eat.

Horses push a turnstile to extend the net under the ice

“The responsibility is great. It’s a hard job, but when the fish come out, it’s a happy thing,” says Zhang. “You don’t feel tired anymore.”

For over 30 years, Zhang has risen at five every morning during the December to early February ice-fishing season. Zhang’s biggest ever catch, which included one net weighing 168,000 kilograms, set a Guinness World Record in 2009.

“People ask us why we use such old technology. Sure, we could use modern tools: electric drills, machines instead of horses,” admits Zhang. “But we are doing it in a traditional way. We could catch way more fish than we do, but we purposely catch much less.”

Chagan’s fishermen are not compensated for their haul so much as their roles. Their fishing grounds are a state-owned enterprise, so independent fishing is banned. The region was designated a provincial nature reserve from 1986, and a national nature reserve since 2007.

Dozens of men are needed to pull the net, heavy with fish and bycatch

Visitors can select their own live fish as the net comes up—if they can keep hold of them

Today’s fishers receive a state subsidy of 120 RMB a day, 320 RMB for batou. The realization has dawned around town that there is more money to be made in tourism than catching carp.

“If they fished here with modern tools, would anyone come to see it?” one visitor points out. A native of Chagan, his family has since moved to an apartment in nearby Ningjiang district that is “so modern, it doesn’t even have a kang,” he says, wistfully remembering the traditional hearth at the center of northeastern homes. Once a year, he returns to the ice for a dose of nostalgia.

By late morning, their nets lowered without a hitch, Zhang and his team huddle in their workers’ cabin, a wooden trailer brought along on wheels, boiling dumplings and instant noodles. Their flanks drenched in sweat, the horses dig their snouts into nosebags of fodder, their long eyelashes encrusted with ice.

In the early afternoon, a thickly bundled audience gathered around the two-kilometer-long net slowly churning out of the lake. Steam rises from the nets into golden mist, through which gradually emerge mussels, catfish, and all shapes and sizes of carp.

Finally, a pangtou (胖头, “fat head”) carp flops onto the ice—and then another. Visitors yelp and lunge for the carp with their mittened hands. The scrimmage actually takes some technique—more than once, a flailing fish wriggles free from the grip of one person’s hand and is quickly snatched up by another in the free-for-all. When bags are full, visitors lug their haul to the pay-by-weight station, and hop back into their cars, driving off with their dinner still flopping inside the trunk.

That evening, local homestay host Wang Fengyun holds a pangtou—the head of which alone weighs five kilograms—steady by the gills as her brother cleaves it down the middle with a kitchen knife. Soon, the fish is bubbling in a large wok over a wood fire. When it comes out of the kitchen, doused in a thick and hearty brown sauce with sides of spring onion and lettuce, it’s enough to feed an entire family from Ningjiang staying in Wang’s home.

In 2008, the lake began to auction off its largest pangtou carp in the “first catch of the winter” ceremony of the Chagan Lake Ice Fishing Culture Tourism Festival, part of a tourism initiative to mark the beginning of the fishing season.

In its first year, the festival’s ceremonial pangtou was auctioned off for 11,099 RMB to a food factory. This winter’s biggest pangtou in the first net, weighing 17 kilograms, fetched 2.93 million RMB. In a little over a decade, the ceremonial fish’s value had grown nearly 300-fold.

Up to 200,000 Chagan fish are shipped across the country each day in winter

What began as a bid to attract cultural visitors has become increasingly embellished: “The ceremony is based on the Liao dynasty practices such as honoring the lake, honoring the net, and shouting across the ice,” explains Shan Junguo, the Party committee secretary at Chagan Lake. “Then we added Mongolian cultural elements, like singing, dancing, and drinking ritual alcohol.”

The pageantry may be controversial, but the reality of Chagan’s former decline and recent regeneration seems to be undisputed. According to fisherman Zhang, when he was a child, Chagan Lake almost disappeared.

In the 1950s, a reservoir was built on the Songhua River upstream of the lake, choking off Chagan’s water source, and causing it to shrink dramatically from 50,000 hectares to just 5,000. For years, villagers called the remaining pool of water the “Chagan Pond,” or “Drought River.”

“The 1960s were difficult,” Shan explained. “Every spring, white sand storms would cover the entire area. People drove three-wheeled rickshaws; there was not enough grain. Our stomachs were never full. We wanted to get the water back.”

In a masterstroke of engineering, led by an irrigation specialist, the people of Front Gorlos diverted water from another river to replenish the lake. “The entire county of 800,000 people participated, from students to housewives, to produce a new water channel from 53.85 kilometers away,” recites Shan.

The lake’s growing profitability, as well as protectionism, began in 1992, when Chagan officials took a loan from the local agricultural bank to buy newly hatched silver carp, and enforced a three-year fishing ban on the lake while the fish matured. In the years since, the fishing grounds enforced both the ecological protection of the lake as well as controlled profits from the lake’s bounty.

The renewed fishing and growing tourism industries brought wealth that has transformed the village entirely. Modern single-family homes have replaced duplexes made from thick mud-brick walls, and fisherman Zhang has built a second house as a homestay. “No fish, no tourists,” he concludes.

“The only thing is, you can’t build multi-story buildings,” he adds with a chuckle. “We want to be China’s most beautiful fishing village.”