Lake Tianchi Monster is the name given to what is said to be a
lake monster
A lake monster is a lake-dwelling entity in folklore. The most famous example is the Loch Ness Monster. Depictions of lake monsters are often similar to those of sea monsters.
In the ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', entities classified as "lak ...
that lives in
Heaven Lake
Heaven Lake (Korean: , ''Ch'ŏnji'' or ''Cheonji''; zh, 天池, ''Tiānchí''; Manchu: ''Tamun omo'' or ''Tamun juce'') is a crater lake on the border between China and North Korea. It lies within a caldera atop the volcanic Paektu Mountai ...
(known as ''Cheonji'' in Korean) located in the peak of
Baekdu Mountain
Paektu Mountain (), also known as Baekdu Mountain and in China as Changbai Mountain ( zh, s=长白山, t=長白山; Manchu: Golmin Šanggiyan Alin), is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. At , it is the highest mo ...
within the
Baekdudaegan
The Baekdu-daegan is a mountain-system and watershed-crest-line which runs through almost all of the length of the Korean Peninsula, from Paektu Mountain (2,744m) in the north to the Cheonhwang-bong or "Heavenly Monarch Peak" of Jirisan (1,915 ...
and
Changbai mountain ranges encompassing
Jilin Province
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Ryanggang Province
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryangga ...
of
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. According to Beijing Youth Daily, an estimated 20 monsters were reported,
however "scientists are skeptical that any large creature would be able to survive in the lake given its recent history of volcanic activity",
and skeptics say "it's all in the imagination, or just a floating volcanic rock".
Sightings
The first reported sighting was in 1903. It was claimed that a large
buffalo-like creature attacked three people, but was shot six times. The monster then retreated under the water.
In 21 to 23 August 1962, a person using a
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
reportedly saw two of the monsters chasing each other in water. More than a hundred people reported the sightings.
More recent reports describe the monster as having a human-like head attached to a neck. It is said to have a white ring around the bottom of its neck, and the rest of its skin is grey and smooth.
In 2007, Zhuo Yongsheng, a Chinese TV reporter said he had shot a 20-minute video of six unidentified creatures in the volcanic lake on 6 September. He later sent still photos to Xinhua's Jilin provincial bureau. According to a news report one of these showed the six "Nessies" swimming in parallel in three pairs. Another one of them featured the animals closer together, leaving circular ripples on the lake surface.
Zhuo said he had seen the six seal-like, finned creatures swimming and frolicking in the lake for an hour and a half, before they disappeared around 7:00 a.m. "They could swim as fast as yachts and at times they would all disappear in the water. It was impressive to see them all acting at exactly the same pace, as if someone was giving orders," he said. "Their fins—or maybe wings—were longer than their bodies."
In popular culture
The Mountain Goats
The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...
' 2008 album, ''
Heretic Pride'' features the song, "Tianchi Lake" about the monster: "Backstroking on the surface, moonlight on its face / Floats the Tianchi monster, staring into space."
See also
*
Champ (folklore)
In American folklore, Champ or Champy is the name of a lake monster said to live in Lake Champlain, a -long body of fresh water shared by New York and Vermont, with a portion extending into Quebec, Canada. The legend of the monster is considered ...
*
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...
*
Mokele-mbembe
In cryptozoology, the Mokele-mbembe (also written as "Mokèlé-mbèmbé"), Lingala for "one who stops the flow of rivers", is a water-dwelling entity that supposedly lives in the Congo River Basin, sometimes described as a living creature, some ...
*
Ogopogo
In Canadian folklore, the Ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Some scholars have charted the entity's development from First Nations folklore and widespread water monster folklore motifs. The O ...
*
Korean dragon
Korean dragons are legendary creatures in Korean mythology and folklore. The appearance of the dragon reflects its relation to its East Asian counterparts, including the Chinese dragons.
Korean dragons
Whereas most dragons in European mythology ...
(Imugi)
References
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Chinese legendary creatures
Korean legendary creatures
Water monsters