• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Lake Tianchi Monster (China)

MrRING

Android Futureman
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Messages
6,053
from Yahoo:

China's 'Loch Ness Monster' Resurfaces

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's legendary "Lake Tianchi Monster" has surfaced anew, with local officials reporting sightings of as many as 20 of the mysterious and unidentified creatures in a lake near North Korea.

Sightings of the strange beast -- China's version of the "Loch Ness Monster" -- date back more than a century, but like Scotland's famed "Nessie" reports vary and remain unconfirmed.

On the morning of July 11, several local government cadres caught sight of a school of mysterious creatures swimming through the lake in the Changbai mountains, in northeastern Jilin province, the Beijing Youth Daily said on Tuesday.

"Within about 50 minutes, the monsters appeared five times," it quoted one of the officials, provincial forestry bureau vice-director Zhang Lufeng, as saying. "At times there was one, at times there were several. The last time, there was as many as about 20."

He said the creatures, two to three kilometers (1.25-2 miles) in the distance, appeared only as white or black spots. But from the ripples in the water, he and others determined the spots were "living beings."

Officials were not reachable for comment.

In 1903, according to local records, a creature resembling a huge buffalo with a deafening roar sprang out of the water and attempted to attack three people before one them shot it in the belly six times. The beast roared and disappeared back into the water.

A more recently documented sighting compared the head of the monster to that of a human -- except with big round eyes, a protruding mouth and a neck 1.2 to 1.5 meters long. It also had a white ring separating its neck and torso and smooth, gray skin.
 
the fact that a group of these creatures was sighted as opposed to individual ones clearly shows that there is a population of these creatures which makes it very feasible for being an reality! I can't wait to read about further developments!
 
any new articles about this/these critters yet? Don't leave me hanging, I haven't found anything new myself, but then again I haven't steered far from the mainstream news articles :snore:
 
Sorry nothing new but I did stumble across a couple of other reports which might be of interest:

An older report:

Wednesday, July 31, 2002. Posted: 15:00:52 (AEDT)

China lays claim to its own Nessie

Hundreds of sightseers visiting have reported spotting a black monster with a horse-like head in a deep volcanic lake near China's border with North Korea.

Chinese state media reports, eagerly passed on by local tourism authorities, say the Chinese "Loch Ness monster" appeared twice recently in Tianchi Lake, in north-eastern Jilin province.

A Chinese paper has quoted local tourism official Meng Fanying as saying that in the latest sighting, the creature appeared just 10 metres from the bank, jumping out of the water from time to time "like a seal".

Rumours that the 373-metre deep lake harbours some sort of monster have been circulating for more than a century, the paper said.

However, scientists dismiss the reports, saying volcanic eruptions happening as recently as 300 years ago would make life extremely hazardous for any animal making the lake its home.

Local monster fans are unfazed by the scepticism and have even started the Tianchi Monster Society, the paper reported.

The Tianchi monster is not the only "Nessie" said to be living in China.

The marine life of Hanas Lake, in north-western Xinjiang region, reputedly includes a 10-metre long salmon species that attacks both people and cattle.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s636554.htm

I just checked and the other report is the smae as the one posted by Mr. R.I.N.G.

http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=27735

Found this though:

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Lake 'Monster' Jumps Back to Sight in Northeast China

The "Monster of Tianchi Lake" in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province, Northeast China, is back in the news after several recent sightings were reported.


The "Monster of Tianchi Lake" in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province, Northeast China, is back in the news after several recent sightings were reported.

It was spotted twice by hundreds of people in different parts of the lake, according to Meng Fanying, director of a Songjiang District Tourism Bureau.

Meng said the monster, which seems to be black in colour, was 10 metres from the bank during the most recent sighting, and jumped out of the water from time to time like a seal.

"That lasted for about 10 minutes, and 200-some sightseers on Changbai's western peak said they saw it," he said.

Although no one really got a clear look at the mysterious creature that afternoon , Xue Junlin, a local photographer, claimed that it looked just like the Tianchi Lake monster on display at the Changbai Mountain Natural History Museum.

"They both have horse-like heads," explained Xue. He and another local man, Liu Bo, are the only two people to have seen the monster previously.

The 9.8-square-kilometre Tianchi Lake is 373 metres deep in its deepest part and is China's deepest volcanic lake. The legend of some sort of monster has been around for more than a hundred years.

Scientists have dismissed it as pure fiction not least of all because of volcanic eruptions, the last of which was 300 years ago.

But the reports of sightings have never died out.

In fact, some of the more interested local people have organized the Tianchi Monster Society and persist in their attempts to trace the animal as true believers.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200207/31/eng20020731_100668.shtml

See also:

http://www.anzwers.org/free/livedragons/tichin.htm

The Wikipedia entry gives a brief mention of the 1903 sightings:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tianchi_Monster

Emps
 
Update and pic.

Source
'Monster' of Tianchi Lake sighted
By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-11 05:29

CHANGCHUN: A local tourist claims to have seen and videotaped the Tianchi Lake monster in the Changbai Mountain, in Jilin Province, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The Tianchi Lake monster in the Changbai Mountain was allegedly sighted and videotaped by a local tourist.

On Thursday morning, 52-year-old Zheng Changchun and his daughter and son-in-law were standing enjoying the scenery in the western side of the mountain.

Suddenly, towards the middle of the lake, Zheng saw a strange, black object emerging from the water and disturbing the calm surface.

"I was so excited and shouted loudly that there was a monster in the lake," said Zheng.

"All the tourists by the lake stared at it."

Keen video buff Zheng grabbed his family camcorder and managed to get the whole sighting on film, until whatever it is in the lake vanished beneath the water. His son-in-law also took some pictures with his zoom lens.

Zheng said that when they climbed to the top of the mountain above Lake Tianchi at about 10 am, it was covered with thick fog that suddenly gave way to bright sunshine. The water emerged as clear as a mirror, ideal for photography. Zheng's film lasts almost a minute, and in it a black object can be seen emerging from the water in the same place three times, each time lasting just a few seconds, before it finally vanishesand does not reappear.

"We were more than 1,000 metres away so it's difficult, but I would say what we saw above water was about the size of the head of an adult ox," Zheng was quoted as saying.

"But I did notice that every time it was above water, there were huge ripples in the water, suggesting the rest of it was enormous."

The Changbai Mountain is the highest mountain in Northeast Asia, at 2,189 metres above sea level. Tianchi is honoured as the deepest mountain lake and the largest crater lake in China.

Legends about the monster hidden in this 373-metre deep lake go back more than a century.

There have been more than 30 reported sightings by tourists from home and abroad over the past 20 years.

There are quite a few pictures and videos of this creature, but none is clear enough to give a good enough clue as to what it is.

"Some enthusiasts are coming up with computer images of it based on interviews. I do hope this will be helpful to unveil this century-old mystery, " said Wu Guangxiao, who is investigating the Tianchi Lake monster.
 
Reporter films China's own Loch Ness monster: report

Sun Sep 9, 3:14 PM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - A television reporter claims to have discovered China's answer to the Loch Ness monster, state press reported Sunday.

Local journalist Zhuo Yongsheng shot footage of six "seal-like" creatures in the northeastern Tianchi lake, which local legend has long said is home to Loch Ness-style monsters.

"They could swim as fast as yachts and at times they would all disappear in the water," the Xinhua news agency quoted Zhuo as saying. "Their fins, or maybe wings, were longer than their bodies."

Legend says that China's own version of Scotland's legendary monster has dwelled in the murky bottom of the volcanic lake for over a century.

The original "Nessie" dates back to the seventh century, when a water beast is said to have appeared before Saint Columba, the founder of Christianity in Scotland in the Highland lake's depths.

Zhuo said he had not previously believed in the lake monster legend, "but I believed my own eyes."

However, scientists dismissed the reports, saying the lake was too cold for life.

Volcanic eruptions would also make life extremely hazardous for any animal making its home there, they said.

SOURCE: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hrv ... 2iZbEI2GfQ
 
'Tianchi monster' caught on film
11:17, September 10, 2007

CHANGCHUN: A TV reporter said he shot a 20-minute video of six "Lake Tianchi Monsters", near the border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Zhuo Yongsheng, who works for a local TV station run by the administration office of the nature reserve at Mount Changbaishan, Jilin, has sent pictures of the Loch Ness-type creatures to Xinhua's Jilin provincial bureau.

One of them showed the creatures swimming in three pairs, in parallel. Another showed them together, leaving ripples on the surface of the deep, volcanic lake.

Zhuo, director of the TV station's news center, said he shot the video and photos last Thursday.

"I went on top of the southern slope of the mountain with two local guides at 5:05 am hoping to shoot the sunrise," he said. "I was not able to do that because it was cloudy."

By 5:26 am there was a clear view of Tianchi Lake at the foot of the mountain. "Du Baiqing, one of the guides, suddenly pointed to the lake and yelled in amazement that a stone had emerged from nowhere", Zhuo told Xinhua.

He focused his lens on the black moving object in the center of the lake and five other forms emerged from the deep water.

Zhuo said he witnessed the six seal-like, finned creatures swimming and frolicking in the lake for an hour and a half, before they ducked out of sight at 7:00 am.

"They could swim as fast as yachts and at times they would disappear under the water. It was impressive to see them all swimming at exactly the same pace, as if someone was giving orders," he said. "Their fins - or maybe wings - were longer than their bodies."

Zhuo said he previously did not believe in legends about lake monsters. "But I believed what I saw with my own eyes."

Rumors the 373 m volcanic lake harbors some sort of monster have been circulating for more than a century.

Scientists, however, have dismissed the rumors saying the lake was too cold for large creatures.

Source: Xinhua

http://english.people.com.cn/90001/9078 ... 58937.html
 
Is there any sign of this footage appearing anywhere online? Or even on TV?
 
There is a huge turtle-like beast in legends attached to China's lake Tianchi. Modern sightings however describe a serpentine beast with a horse-like, horned head and black scales.
 
NOTE: Lake Tianchi is sometimes cited as 'Tianshan'. The lake is also known as 'Heaven Lake' or 'Heavenly Lake'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tianchi_Monster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Lake_of_Tianshan

To clear up any confusion, the 'heavenly lake of Tianshan' of the second article is in Xinjiang (the far northwest of China), and not the same one as is allegedly haunted by a monster, which is on mount Paekdu (Chinese – Changbai mountain), the sacred mountain of Korea and the alleged birthplace of Kim Il-Sung.

('Tian' ('天') means 'sky', 'heaven', (or 'day'), 'chi' ('池') means 'lake', 'shan' ('山') is 'mountain'. So the Xinjiang lake is the 天池 (Heavenly Lake) of 天山 (Tianshan). The one on the Korea border is the 天池 (heavenly lake) of 長白山 (Changbaishan aka Mt. Paektu).)

However according to the article, 'Tianchi' is a common name for a lake throughout China and the ROC. I would guess it mainly applies to mountaintop lakes.

Given that the monster lives on the border between China and NK, I wonder if there are any Korean legends about it?

Here is the Korean wiki article on the monster run through google translate:

The monster of heaven and earth ( the monster of Tianhei) refers to a lake monster that lives in the mountain of Baekdu Mountain . There are also eyewitness accounts that saw 20 monsters. It is unclear as to whether monsters exist, but there are many eyewitnesses. The first record was recorded in 1903 . According to this, the monster had a round head similar to a man with a neck length of about 1.5 meters, and is said to be a water buffalo.
[...]

And the Chinese wiki article:

There are monsters in Changbai Mountain Tianchi, which have been recorded in Fengtian Tongzhi , Fusong County and Changbai Mountain Jianggang Zhilue. In the "Changbai Mountain Jianggang Zhilu" written by Tianchi Fishing Rod in 1908, the description of the Tianchi monster was quite detailed. Tianchi fishing rod is the nickname of Liu Jianfeng . Liu is the Fengtian Houbu County under the supervision of Xu Shichang and Xi Liang , the governors of the Eastern Three Provinces in the late Qing Dynasty . In the 34th year of Guangxu, he served as a member of the Fengji surveying committee. He personally experienced Changbai Mountain’s serious investigation, Leming Tianchi, Xiutian Women’s Temple, and the book “Changgang Mountain Jianggang Zhilue”. The first year of Xuantong (1909) was the magistrate of Antu County .

"Changbai Mountain Jianggang Zhilu" records:
Tianchi is centered on Changbai Mountain, surrounded by peaks and about 20 miles above the ground. Therefore, it is called Tianchi... The shape of the pool is like the first leaves of the lotus leaves, and the three sides are not flowing, but the north is east, the water overflows. Such as the line, for the Chenghe River, the real source of the Songhua River. ......

The natives cloud, the pool level does not see the fluctuations, every seven days, a wave, it is known as the sea eye.

Clouds, shallow water, can be pedestrians. A few years ago, there was a hunter from the Biluo Mountain, and it was next to the Tianshi Stone. There was a hot spring like a soup spring, and it was as cold as an ice sea. Five steps away is unfathomable. In order to test it, it is unusually smooth and slippery, so it is also known as warm and cool.

Another cloud, a dozen years ago, there were four hunters to the fishing platform, see the Chiba Peak, there is water from the pool, golden yellow, the first big as an ang, the square top has a horn, the long neck is more, the bow Shake like water. The fear of going uphill, to the half, suddenly heard a loud bang, and looked back, they all thought that the dragon, it is also known as Longtan.

(Longtan ('龙潭') means 'dragon pool', and is the name of a number of places in China and the ROC. I wonder how many of those might have lake monster legends?)

PS. This is in the wrong forum, 'manbeasts and mystery apes' - perhaps it can be moved?
 
Last edited:
To clear up any confusion, the 'heavenly lake of Tianshan' of the second article is in Xinjiang (the far northwest of China), and not the same one as is allegedly haunted by a monster, which is on mount Paekdu (Chinese – Changbai mountain), the sacred mountain of Korea and the alleged birthplace of Kim Il-Sung. ...

Yep ... That seems to be part of the confusion about this particular story. The location is sometimes attributed to Tianshan, probably due to western translation errors or oversights.


PS. This is in the wrong forum, 'manbeasts and mystery apes' - perhaps it can be moved?

Thanks - I hadn't noticed the old thread was sitting in the wrong sub-forum. It's now moved to Water Monsters.
 
Yep ... That seems to be part of the confusion about this particular story. The location is sometimes attributed to Tianshan, probably due to western translation errors or oversights.

Which is a bit like looking for the bigfoot of Washington State in Washington, DC!
 
Which is a bit like looking for the bigfoot of Washington State in Washington, DC!

Exactly ... From what I gather, 'Tianchi' is associated with multiple locations - including lakes - in China.

Sometimes I wonder if there are monster stories associated with more than one place with 'Tianchi' in its name.
 
Sometimes I wonder if there are monster stories associated with more than one place with 'Tianchi' in its name.
Worth trying to find out.

Longtan ('龙潭') means 'dragon pool', and is the name of a number of places in China and the ROC. I wonder how many of those might have lake monster legends?

I looked this up, and there is another monster in a place called Longtan, Shuangtan village, Hubei. Looking on the map, it's not actually on a lake but is on a wide stretch of the Yangtze river.

Honghu Longtan Water Monster is a mysterious creature living in Longtan, Shuangtan Village , Longkou Town, Honghu City, Hubei Province , China . As of 2001, there were 3 recorded witness reports. The local villagers tried to capture the creature but did not report it successfully.
 
This is interesting

Chinese water monster list (wikipedia)

The list includes the Tianchi monster; the Shennongjia Changtan monster (Shennongjia of Yeren fame);

Some mysterious theologians in China believe that the so-called Changtan Water Monster is probably a large-scale baby fish that lives and grows in Changtan. However, some factions disagree with this view. Their arguments are: "People are no strangers to Daxie, and they don't think of big scorpions as water monsters." And the shape of the monsters described by witnesses is significantly different from that of Dawei.

and other from Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet: all over the place.
 
Stories of a monster inhabiting the lake date back to the 19th century. The creature is known as Guaiwu or 'strange thing' in English.
Also in the late 19th century, four hunters encountered a gold coloured beast with a long neck and horned head which it swung around before diving. In 1908 Lui Jianfeng, a prefectural commissioner, was appointed by the central government to lead an expedition to the area investigating boundaries. He published a monograph Brief Records of Rivers and Mountains in Chagbai Mountain Region. This includes accounts of animals including the monster.
In August of 1980, Lei Jai, deputy chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, together with several friends, saw an elongated, ridge backed beast swimming in the lake. His descriptions were noted in the Guangming Daily, a national newspaper.
A mass sighting occurred in january of 1987 when fifty tourists on the slopes of the lake saw the creature by the eastern shore of the lake. It made a noise like a locomotive and sprayed water from it's nostrils.
An even larger mass sighting occurred in 2004 when no less than five hundred people saw a black scaled, serpentine beast with a head like a horse leap from the water.
The following year soldiers from the people's liberation army saw a blackish-green serpent in the lake.
On September 14th, 1993 the tourist administration officer for Liuhe county, Liu Shiwen and several of his friends, observed a creature with a long, mast-like neck swimming in the lake. The creature moved into the shadows of mountains on the lake and vanished.
Photos and a video of a dragon-like animal were taken in September on 1994. The creature was visible for ten minutes and raised waves six feet high. I have never seen the film myself.
A 20 minute video was shot in 2007 by journalist Zhou Yongsheng. It shows six wakes moving parralell to each other on the lake. Due to its location the lake is hard for outsiders to visit but it's high on my list of expedition targets.
 
Back
Top