Protecting north China's Chagan lake

Protecting north China's Chagan lake

查干湖冬捕，沉浸式体验渔猎文化

Every year for over a millennium, fishermen have braved the subzero temperatures, biting winds and deep snow of Songyuan, a city in Northeast China's Jilin province, to search for an underwater fortune at Chagan Lake- one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the country.

一千多年来，在中国东北吉林省的松原市，渔民们每年都会冒着零下的严寒、刺骨的寒风和深厚的积雪，在查干湖(中国最大的淡水湖之一)寻找水下的财富宝藏。

Chagan, which is also referred to by locals as the " Holy Water Lake" , is the only place in China where you can still find fishermen using a Mongolian fishing method that dates back centuries.

当地人也把查干湖称为“圣水湖”，这里是中国唯一一个还能看到渔民用有着好几个世纪历史的蒙古族方法捕鱼的地方。

Holes are drilled in the ice to lower a massive 2-kilometer-long net into position underwater. Once it fills up with fish, the net is hauled out of the water using a capstan turned by Mongolian horses. The biggest fish of the season's first catch sells for a large sum of money, marking the official start of the winter fishing season. This year's fish sold for 2, 999, 999 yuan ($455, 337) at the auction.

(渔民们)首先在湖面上破冰打洞，然后将一个2000米长的大网放到水下就位。鱼都上网之后，再由蒙古马牵动绞盘把网拉出水面。今年(2021年)渔季捕到的头鱼中最大的一条卖了一大笔钱，这也标志着冬季渔猎的季节正式开始了。今年(2021年)的头鱼在拍卖会上的成交价格为299.9999万元(45.5337万美元).

As it is important to ensure that this tradition can continue without damaging the lake's ecology, starting this year, the money earned from the auction will be donated to the Chagan Lake Ecological Environmental Protection Charity Fund.

在不破坏查干湖生态平衡的前提下确保这一传统的延续是非常重要的，因此，今年(2021)起，拍卖获得的收入将捐赠给查干湖生态环境保护慈善基金。

Chagan is located in the Qianguoerluosi Mongolian autonomous county, or Qianguo county. Since 2018, county authorities have spent 2. 6 billion yuan on protecting natural resources, including the lake. Wetlands have been restored, 30 million fry have been introduced to Chagan, and numerous projects to protect the forests, fields, and lakes in Qianguo have been implemented.

查干位于前郭尔罗斯蒙古族自治县，即前郭县。2018年以来，县政府已花费26亿元用于保护自然资源，包括查干湖。湿地得到了恢复，3000万鱼苗被引入湖中，政府还实施了许多项目来保护前郭的森林、田野和湖泊。