The opening ceremony of the 20th Chagan Lake Ice-Snow Fishing and Hunting Cultural Tourism Festival is held in Songyuan, Northeast China's Jilin province, on Dec 28. Chagan Lake is among the top 10 freshwater lakes in China, as well as a national 4A-level scenic spot. Since 2002, at the end of December every year, Chagan Lake has hosted a grand ice and snow fishing and hunting cultural tourism festival. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

A worship ritual derived from ancient Mongolian culture is held at the opening ceremony, with Buddhist lamas performing the Chama dance, which is believed to expel evil spirits. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

Chagan Lake fishermen are China's last remaining fishing tribe. They drill holes in the ice, throw in their fishing nets and use horses to pull winches as they trawl for a catch. In doing so, they are preserving a tradition that dates back more than 1,000 years. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

The first fish of this year's winter fishing season is sold for 2,999,999 yuan ($470,999.84) during an auction. [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]

Newly-caught fish [Photo provided to gojilin.gov.cn]