Chagan Lake Winter Fishing: A Thousand-Year Ritual on the Ice

A Fishing Ritual a Thousand Years Old

There is a lake in Jilin Province where winter is not the end of the fishing season — it is the beginning. On Chagan Lake, a vast inland lake near Songyuan, a fishing tradition has survived essentially unchanged for centuries. When the ice is thick enough, the fishermen ride out with horse-drawn winches, drill holes in a long line, and pull a giant net beneath the frozen surface. Then comes the moment the crowds wait for: the net rising, hundreds of fat fish — bighead carp, crucian carp, whitefish — tumbling out into the freezing air, frozen almost instantly by the cold.

It is not a performance staged for tourists, though tourists now come to watch it. It is a living livelihood, and the town around the lake has built its whole winter economy on it.

When to Go and What to Expect

• Timing — the full fishing ritual runs roughly late December to early January, when the ceremony is most complete; the ice fishing season can stretch through February
• The ceremony — horse-drawn winches, the long net, the first catch of the day — arrive early and stand near the net for the moment it surfaces
• Taste it on the spot — fish are cooked straight on the ice: grilled, boiled into a milky soup, or taken to a lakeside restaurant for a tieguo stew
• The economics — a whole-lake fish feast runs around 398 yuan in the local farm restaurants, which sell dozens of sets a day in season; book ahead at busy times
• Getting there — Chagan Lake is about two hours by road from Changchun, the provincial capital; most visitors come as a day trip or with an overnight stay

New Ways to Experience It

Beyond watching, the lake has added hands-on options in recent years: visitors can join a team hauling a short net, try ice fishing through a drilled hole, and even open "blind box" catches — you pull the net and find out what you got. Some experiences feed straight into the kitchen, so your own catch becomes your lunch. It is the rare kind of travel where the boundary between spectator and participant disappears.

Practical Tips for the Ice

• Dress for standing still — watching the catch means standing on ice for an hour or more; full cold-weather gear and warm boots are essential (see our packing guide)
• Safety — always follow the marked areas and the organisers' directions; the ice is thick and managed, but stay where the locals do
• Combine — pair Chagan Lake with a Changchun stay, and with the Jilin winter circuit (Rime Island, Beidahu ski resort) further east

Frequently Asked Questions