Winter fishing scenes showcase harvest and festive cheer across China

Against the crisp winter air, rhythmic fishing chants echo over frozen lakes as nets are slowly hauled in. Plump, freshly caught fish leap from icy waters, drawing cheers from crowds along the shore. Amid the lively scenes of fish and people in motion, there is both the solid joy of a good harvest and the warm, growing sense of the Spring Festival approaching.

Photo taken on January 31, 2026 shows fishermen displaying freshly caught fish at a winter fishing site at Qinhu Lake in Jiangyan District, Taizhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Tang Dehong/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on January 24, 2026 shows large fish caught during the opening of the 19th Ulungur Lake Winter Fishing Culture and Tourism Festival in Altay Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Aldake Baisihan/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on the morning of January 16, 2026 shows fishermen conducting encircling net fishing at Tianjing Lake waters in Shuangzhongmiao Town, Wuhe County, Bengbu City, east China's Anhui Province, harvesting economic fish species such as silver carp and bighead carp released earlier. (Li Xiangqian/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on January 10, 2026 shows winter fishing workers displaying their catch at the fourth Hasuhai Winter Fishing Festival in Tumote Left Banner, Hohhot City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Ding Genhou/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on January 8, 2026 shows fishermen drilling through ice and hauling in massive nets with horse-drawn winches on the frozen surface of Chagan Lake in Qian Gorlos Mongolian Autonomous County, Songyuan City, northeast China's Jilin Province, where temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, creating a spectacular scene of fish bursting through the ice. (Chi Shiyong/Guangming Picture)