On December 29th, a holy invitation of white land and hospitable Gorlos people has been sent to embrace a snowy and lively Chagan lake, where the 18th Chagan Lake Winter Fishing Festival kicked off.
Jiang Zelin, chairman of the Jilin Provincial Political Consultative Conference, announced the opening of the 18th Chagan Lake Winter Fishing Festival. Zhang Zhijun, vice-governor of Jilin provincial government, addressed the opening ceremony. Wang Zilian, Party chief of Songyuan city, presided over the opening ceremony.
The people witnessing the old-fashioned and mysterious ritual of “awakening the sleeping fishing nets” included principles of provincial and municipal Political Consultative Conference from Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin and Inner-Mongolia autonomous region, foreign guests form Pakistan, Spain, Mongolia, Morocco and Maldives, officials from relevant provincial departments, municipalities and counties, friends of media and nearly 10 thousand tourists.
The primitive and old-fashioned ritual of “awakening the sleeping fishing nets” has represented the ancient fishing culture. The fresh fishes, fruits and dairy products were well prepared to worship the heaven, the land and the lake, awakening the winter nets and praying for the reproduction of all creatures. The whole ritual of worshiping was held in solemnity to convey people’s wishes for a better life and gratitude for the benefits of the nature.
Every year, the largest fish in the first catch will be auctioned because it symbolizes luck and happiness for the whole year in local culture. In 2019, the biggest fish from the first catch was finally sold to Fujian Panpan Foods Co. for 2,966,666 yuan after many rounds of bids from enterprises within and outside the region.
The festival, under the theme of “keeping the sincere words in mind, safeguarding the golden name, carrying forward the fishing culture and showcasing the rare landscape of winter fishing”, will run through February 28th, 2020. In the meanwhile, there are other colourful tourism activities held during the festival, such as the photography contest and the micro-video competition. Moreover, the tourists could come to Chagan Lake with their family to participate in the fair of agricultural products, view the scenery of winter primitive fishing and join the experience of fishing with small nets. At night, they could enjoy the fascinating scene of ice, lake and lights, or visit fisherman’s houses to sample Northern folk conditions and customs.
The winter fishing of Chagan Lake stays magical, mysterious and sacred regardless of the times. Nowadays, the Chagan Lake has seen the primitive way of fishing with fishermen, horses, sledges and fishing nets involved. Little machinery is used in the process. To this end, a lot of visitors come here despite thousands of miles. The people of Chagan Lake is pursuing harmony between humans and nature with its own way