The 22nd Chagan Lake Fishing and Hunting Cultural Tourism Festival kicked off on Thursday in Songyuan of northeast China's Jilin province, with thousands of tourists waiting to see which team out of the four has the biggest catch of fish.

A ceremony of offering a sacrifice to the Lake God and waking up the fishing net was held before the commencement of winter fishing.
The whole sacrificial process was very ethnic. Usually, a respected local elder or fisherman presides over the ceremony, wishing for a safe winter fishing and more and better fish.
They are known as Fish Batou, and serve as captains of their crews, often wearing lavish hats as symbols of their status.
As the ceremony was taking place, a total of four teams were competing for the biggest catch of fish on the ice-covered lake.
Two teams were racing against each other in the deep-water area while the other two teams were battling in the shallow-water area.
The largest fish in the first catch is believed to be auspicious and lucky, and will go under the hammer to the highest bidder.
All proceeds from the auction will be used for ecological restoration of Chagan Lake to improve water quality and purchase more fry to put into the lake.
For centuries, fisherfolks living by Chagan Lake have kept alive the tradition of ice fishing, hand-drilling holes through thick ice and placing nets beneath to catch fish. The nets will later be pulled out by a horse-drawn winch. The technique was listed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage item in 2008.