Lamas wearing purple Mongolian robes arrive at frozen Chagan Lake to thundering gongs, drums and cow horns.

They are followed by Mongolian maidens holding ceremonial hada silk and heavyset fishermen clad in sheepskin coats whose horses pull sledges loaded with fishing gear.

The lamas begin chanting to ask for a good catch. They also make sacrificial offerings and burn incense as fishermen feast on cheese and wine to prepare for the annual winter fishing festival.

Located in Songyuan, Jilin province, Chagan Lake is the country's seventh-largest freshwater lake.

It is also referred to as Holy Water Lake, the only place in China where traditional Mongolian fishing methods dating back to prehistoric times are still practiced today.

The unique skills required for Chagan Lake winter fishing are now listed among the China's intangible cultural heritage.

According to Cao Baoming, deputy chairman of the Chinese Folk Artists Association, Chagan Lake winter fishing remains the only surviving fishing culture of its kind.

"The traditional fishing method has a comprehensive display of all what human beings can achieve when trying to survive," Cao says. "Its preservation is the preservation of human culture and memory."

From prehistoric times

In the late stage of the Paleolithic period about 13,000 years ago, humans started migrating to Qingtou Mountain near Chagan Lake. They survived by fishing and hunting.

As their society developed and the population increased, their traditional nomadic lifestyle was replaced by planting crops and raising livestock. It combines with fishing to form today's Chagan Lake culture.

Winter fishing begins around mid-December each year when the lake freezes over with meter-thick ice.

A wizened veteran fisherman signals the spot where fish schools gather and more than 400 holes are drilled 60 meters apart around the spot.

A large net 2,000 meters long is cast under the ice through holes and horses haul it in. More than 60 fishermen participate.

Local fishermen say the advantages of traditional fishing means that it doesn't damage the ecosystem. Present-day winter fishing methods using modern machines powered by gasoline can leak and pollute the water.

The holes in the net are relatively large. "It catches adult fish and smaller fry escape," said a local fisherman. "In this way we sustain the ecology and go fishing every year."

Over the past decade, the annual catch during the 20-day fishing period has averaged at least 150,000 kilograms. About 66.7 hectares of fish breeding waters sustain and promote the traditional fishing culture.

Shan Junguo, deputy secretary of the Chagan Lake Party committee for fishing, said that in recent years there has been a continual increase in fish fry released, with 800,000 kilograms released in 2011, equivalent to the winter catch.

In 2006, a Guinness World Record was set at the lake when a single net yielded 104,500 kilograms of fish. The record was broken with a 168,000-kilogram haul in 2009 - again at Chagan Lake.

(China Daily 01/11/2012 page12)