Wildman and Water Monster

Author: Chen Yu, Wu Zhaoxia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features:
There is someone who has a special connection with the Tianchi Monster. His name is Zhou Fengying, a retired meteorologist from Jilin Provincial Meteorological Bureau who has seen the "monster" seven or eight times.
Longtime rumors have circulated about a monster in Tianchi, Changbai Mountain. In the early 20th century, during the late Qing Dynasty, local records such as Fengtian Tongzhi (Comprehensive Gazetteer of Fengtian), Changbai Mountain Zhi (Record of Changbai Mountain), Changbai Mountain Jianggang Zhilüe (Brief Record of Changbai Mountain Jianggang), and Changbai Huizheng Lu (Compendium of Changbai Mountain) all documented and described the Tianchi Monster. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first person to discover the monster was Zhou Fengying.
In 1958, the Jilin Provincial Meteorological Bureau established a meteorological station at Tianchi, Changbai Mountain. Every year from late July to late August, Zhou Fengying would go to the meteorological station by the lake for work. In his free time, he would admire the scenery of Tianchi. Between Baiyan Peak at the top of Changbai Mountain and the Tianchi meteorological station, there is a stone about one meter wide. He often lay there to gaze at the lake.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Zhou Fengying visited Changbai Mountain almost every year, so he had seen the Tianchi Monster at least seven or eight times, and not just one type of monster. His first encounter with the monster was in mid-August 1962, when he was lying on the stone admiring the beauty of Tianchi. Suddenly, two V-shaped waves appeared in the northeast corner of the lake, with two black spots in front of the waves. He picked up his 6x telescope and saw that they were two monsters, with heads similar to dogs and a dark brown color. One of them dived into the water, while the other followed, as if playing tag. The waves left behind a V-shaped trail tens of meters long. At that time, he was young and had excellent eyesight, so he was certain he hadn’t made a mistake.
Zhou Fengying summarized his experiences of seeing the monster and found that almost every time, the sightings occurred in the northeast corner of the lake.
On August 22, 1980, Zhou Fengying, along with his colleague Zheng Baoshi and others from Beijing Writers' Association who were experiencing life in Changbai Mountain, saw the monster again. That morning, around 6:30, they went to the lake to watch the sunrise. He went to his usual spot and scanned the area with his telescope. He spotted seven or eight white-backed creatures near a large stone about three or four meters away from the northern shore, resembling little white pigs. Familiar with the area, he knew these white things were not floating rocks, so he continued to observe. After lying there for about half an hour, they disappeared into the water. Soon after, two monsters appeared in the lake and swam around for a while before vanishing.
The next day, Zhou Fengying saw the monster again. He said, "On the morning of the 23rd, Baoshi and I were preparing to return to Changchun. He wanted to pick some stones for the children by the lake. We quickly went down to the lake and climbed to a small hill. After about half an hour, we heard someone from the meteorological station on the mountain shouting, 'Attention, the monster has appeared again!' We turned around and saw the monster swimming toward us with its mouth open. Its head was large, like a dog's, with floppy ears and glowing eyes. Its mouth was flat and square, quite frightening. The monster was about 60 to 70 meters away. Baoshi got scared and urged me to leave. At that moment, the sky began to darken, but I wasn’t ready to give up. I made a trumpet with my hands and shouted 'Ah!' at the monster. It was startled and swam back into the lake with a wide turning radius. Since we were on the northern side of the lake and the monster came from the south, with sunlight and water reflections, we couldn’t see it very clearly. But we could tell that its neck was about two feet above the water, thick at the base and tapering toward the top, with its head adding another foot to its height. Its chest was exposed, white, and its color was dark brown, like that of a mouse. It seemed to have fur but no scales."
Zhou Fengying also said, "On the beach near the lake that day, we found tracks left by some kind of reptile. According to the meteorological station staff, dead wild birds had been found in this area a few days earlier, but none were left when we arrived. Could the monster have come ashore and eaten them?"
This was his last encounter with the monster and also his closest sighting. After that, he rarely visited Changbai Mountain and didn’t see the monster again.
Based on his multiple sightings, Zhou Fengying believed that the "monster" he saw was neither floating rocks nor black bears, as black bears cannot dive or swim to the center of the lake. Moreover, the monster swam very quickly, so it could not be any familiar animal.
Zhou Fengying observed at least two types of monsters: one white and one large and dark gray. The white ones were seen more frequently, totaling seven or eight. The other sightings usually involved two monsters, one large and one small. From the body and head proportions, they were at least as big as a cow, as their heads appeared as large as a dog’s head from a distance of 70 to 80 meters. Additionally, the monsters swam very fast.
Based on his experience, Zhou Fengying concluded that the Tianchi Monster often appeared at the halfway point of Baiyan Peak and the northeast corner of the lake.
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