To the bitterly cold north-east region now, where tourists are flocking in their droves for the popular ice-fishing season in Jilin Province. Chagan Lake -- one of the largest in the country -- has the capacity to produce thousands of tons of carp each year. Although there are plenty of modern services on offer to keep the tourists entertained, the highlight of the trip has maintained its traditional roots, as CGTN's Xu Xinchen explains.

Teams of fishermen arrive at Chagan Lake around dawn. Pushing the fishing net under the frozen lake surface is like needling a thread. Making holes every 15 meters, and using a wooden stick to guide the net to draw a roundish shape underneath. It takes hours. The fishing net is 2,000 meters long, and they need horses to draw the net. Around noon, fishermen start to secure the net in a wheel so that the horses can help retrieve it.

FISHERMAN "It takes at least 20 minutes."

Each team of fishermen is led by a fishing master. Zhang Wen is in his late fifties and has spent most of his life ice fishing.

ZHANG WEN FISHING MASTER "Now, it's a process for us to draw the net. Fishermen are folding it as it is slowly pulled out of the lake by the horse-towed wheel."

The folding is to prevent the net from tangling and to make sure it's ready for the next day. Fish get caught in very end of the net, usually a ton or so.

XU XINCHEN CHAGAN LAKE "Look at this! Freshly caught bighead fish from Chagan Lake, some even bigger than my head weighing tens of thousands of kilograms."

It is predicted that some 1,500 tons of fish from Chagan Lake will hit the market this year. After partnering with e-commerce platforms such as JD.com and Tmall, these fish can be sold easily.

ZHANG WENPING CHAGAN LAKE FISH FARM "Our sales were relatively slow until we started to move online. Almost half of our fish are now sold online."

Zhang adds that with increased accessibility to fish from Chagan Lake, their popularity is also on the rise — which has pushed prices up — an 8 to 10% rise each year. That helps boost the local economy.

The ice fishing method can be traced back centuries and now the ancient tradition still helps locals prosper while getting fish bigger than any most people have ever seen.  

Xu Xinchen, CGTN, Chagan Lake.