FIELD FILE · LAKE-TIANCHI-MONSTERLAKE & SEA MONSTERREGIONAL LEGEND

Lake Tianchi Monster

Also known as Tianchi Monster, Changbaishan Lake Monster, Cheonji Monster (Korean), China’s Nessie

Dark shapes and seal-like heads reported in Heaven Lake, the deep volcanic crater lake on Changbai Mountain at the China–North Korea border.

Tianchi, the “Heaven Lake” (Cheonji in Korean), fills the summit caldera of Changbai Mountain – Paektu-san to Koreans – on the border between China’s Jilin Province and North Korea. At around 2,190 m above sea level and up to 373 m deep, it is China’s deepest lake and largest crater lake, frozen for much of the year and often hidden in cloud. The volcano behind it produced one of the largest eruptions of the past few thousand years, around 946 CE.

Local tradition holds that something large lives in its cold water. The most-quoted early story, said to come from local records, tells of a huge buffalo-like beast that burst from the lake in 1903 with a deafening roar and lunged at three men before one of them shot it six times in the belly and it sank out of sight. Reports multiplied in the late twentieth century as roads, a weather station and then mass tourism brought thousands of visitors to the crater rim.

Modern accounts vary widely. Some describe a human-like head with big round eyes on a neck more than a metre long, marked by a white ring at its base; others describe black objects breaking the surface, or groups of seal-like animals. In July 2003 forestry officials reported watching as many as 20 dark and light spots moving in the lake, and in 2005 a tourist filmed a black shape surfacing three times. The most famous footage came in September 2007, when a local TV reporter said he had filmed six seal-like creatures for about twenty minutes.

Scientists have generally been sceptical, pointing out that the lake is cold, poor in food and sits inside an active volcano. Yet it is not lifeless: North Korean researchers say they stocked trout there in 1960, and one of them suggested in 2007 that big fish descended from those trout might explain the “monster”. For most visitors the creature is an enjoyable extra to one of north-east Asia’s great natural sights.

Type

Lake & sea monster

Status

Regional legend

First reported

1903

Best-known location

Heaven Lake (Tianchi), Changbai Mountain, Jilin

Also called

Tianchi Monster, Changbaishan Lake Monster, Cheonji Monster (Korean), China’s Nessie

Reported in

China

What witnesses describe

Descriptions vary: a head the size of an ox’s or a human-like head with large round eyes, a long neck (1.2–1.5 m) with a white ring at its base and smooth grey skin; or dark, seal-like animals with fins longer than their bodies, swimming fast and leaving large ripples. Many sightings are simply dark or pale shapes seen from a kilometre or more away.

Where and when it’s seen

The open water of Heaven Lake, usually seen from viewpoints on the Chinese north and west rims of the crater. Reports cluster in summer, the only season the lake is ice-free and the summit road is reliably open, and often in the early morning.

Notable sightings

1. 1903The buffalo-like beast Heaven Lake, Changbai Mountain

   According to local records, a creature resembling a huge buffalo sprang from the water with a roar and tried to attack three people. One of them reportedly shot it six times before it disappeared into the lake.

2. August 1962Two creatures through a telescope Heaven Lake, Changbai Mountain

   A witness using a telescope reportedly watched two large creatures chasing each other across the lake. This sighting is widely retold in Chinese accounts of the monster.

3. July 11, 2003Officials count up to twenty Heaven Lake, Jilin

   Local government cadres, including a provincial forestry official, reported that “monsters” surfaced five times in about 50 minutes, at one point as many as 20. Seen from two to three kilometres away, they appeared only as black or white spots.

4. July 2005A tourist’s camcorder footage Western rim, Heaven Lake

   Zheng Changchun, a 52-year-old visitor, filmed a black object surfacing three times in the middle of the lake, each time for a few seconds. He estimated the visible part was the size of an adult ox’s head, though it was more than a kilometre away.

5. September 6, 2007Six “seal-like” creatures filmed Heaven Lake, Jilin

   Zhuo Yongsheng, a TV reporter for the Changbai Mountain nature reserve, said he filmed six seal-like animals for about 20 minutes, describing fins “or maybe wings” longer than their bodies. He sent still images to the Xinhua news agency.

6. November 2007The trout theory Pyongyang, North Korea

   Kim Li-tae, a North Korean researcher, said he had helped release trout into the lake on July 30, 1960, and suggested that large “Tianchi trout” from the deep water could explain the reports.

What could explain it?

• Large trout descended from fish stocked by North Korean researchers in 1960 have been proposed as the source of the 2007 sightings.
• Most sightings are made from one to three kilometres away, where waves, wakes, floating pumice or debris and light on the water are easily misread.
• Scientists note that the lake is very cold, low in food and inside an active volcano, making a population of large unknown animals unlikely.
• Tourism plays a part: monster stories add mystery to an already famous destination, and some footage has never been released for independent analysis.

Legend, culture and tourism

Changbai Mountain is sacred in both Manchu and Korean tradition – Koreans revere Paektu-san as the mythical birthplace of their nation – and Heaven Lake is one of north-east Asia’s most celebrated landscapes. Chinese media have reported new monster sightings every few years since the 1980s, and the creature has become part of the tourist folklore of the Changbaishan scenic area.

Places to visit

Watch

▶ VIDEO

CGTN Nature: Changbai Mountain Series – Episode 2: Tianchi Lake

CGTN

A nature documentary on Heaven Lake itself – its volcanic origin, seasons and wildlife – giving context to the monster reports.

Where it’s reported

China Jilin

Lake Tianchi Monster in the news

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First published October 13, 2026 · Updated October 14, 2026