More Tian Chi Lake Monster News Articles and
Evolutionary Fossil finds at Tian Chi Lake
The Changbai Mountains are situated in the southern part of
Jilin Province and is the tallest mountain in terms of its latitude. The mainpeak,
Baiyun, is volcanic cone. It is Province 2691 meters above sea level and is
the highest peak in the north-eastern part of China. On the top of the peak,
there is a volcanic lake - Chang bai shan Tianchi-occupying a surface area of
21.41 square kilometer with the lazgevt depth of 373 meters. The Water surface
is 2194 meters above the sea level.According to legends, there used to be a
"monster"living in thelake. The lake is now a boundary between China and the
DPRK. The Waterfall, soaring down more than 70 meters from the cliff, is the
source of the Song hua River.
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FROM http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/dinot.htm
Tianchiasaurus Dong 1993 "Heavenly Pool (China) lizard" TYEN-CHUHR-a-SAWR-us (Chin. tian "heaven" + Chin. chi "pool, lake" + Gr. sauros "lizard")* (m) referring to Tian Chi "Heavenly Pool," a famous lake near where the fossils were found in the Tian Shan Mountains, Fukang County, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The specimen was informally referred to as "Jurassosaurus" in honor of the motion picture "Jurassic Park," and the type species name nedegoapeferima (ne-DEG-oh-a-PEF-e-REE-ma) is formed from the family names of the film's main stars (Neil, Dern, Goldblum, Attenborough, Peck, Ferraro, Richards, Mazello). Steven Spielberg, director of "Jurassic Park," donated money for Chinese dinosaur research, and was allowed to propose a name. (Dong later amended the spelling to Tianchisaurus, but changes such as correcting connecting vowels are not authorized by the ICZN.) Ankylosauria Ankylosauridae M. Jura. China
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Tianzhenosaurus Pang & Cheng 1998 "Tianzhen (county) lizard" TYEN-juhn-o-SAWR-us (Tianzhen + Gr. sauros "lizard")(m) named to indicate an ankylosaurid found in Tianzhen County, in Sichuan Province, China, in the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation at Kangdailiang near Zhaojiagou Village. Tianzhenosaurus is known from a nearly complete skull (the holotype HBV-10001), a right mandible and a nearly complete postcranial skeleton. Similar to many ankylosaurids, the skull is low and flat, triangular in shape, with two blunt "horns" that project outwards and backward from the roof at the back. Large, irregular dermal knobs cover the top. Tianzhenosaurus differs from Saichania and Pinacosaurus in the length of its snout and the shape of its nostril openings, occipital region and other details of the skull. The slightly larger ankylosaurid Shanxia, known from less complete material, comes from the same region and geological horizon, and may be a synonym. An adult animal was probably around 3 meters (10 feet) in length. Type species: Tianzhensaurus youngi [YUHNG-ie] Pang & Cheng 1998, for Chung Chien Young [Yang Zhongqian] (1897-1979), "the founder of Vertebrate Paleontology in China, for memorial of the 100th birthday." Ankylosauria Ankylosauridae Late Cretaceous China. [entry added 11-98]
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Chinese Lake Monsters?
CHANGCHUN (Xinhua) -- To feed their bulky bodies, the monsters always look
for food and eat fish, small animals, grass and trees, but birds are their favorite
food, and these giants have enough strength to suck down birds flying several
meters above them. A Chinese scholar says the monsters that have been reported
several times in Tianchi Lake in China's Jilin Province are recorded far back
in Chinese history. Gong Yuhai studies early Chinese culture. He says a collection
of fairy tales called the Shanhaijing contains many accounts of turtle-shaped
animals with a pig's head and black skin, which are quite similar to monsters
in the Changbai Mountains where the lake is located. Some people have said the
monsters have huge bodies, about 20-30 metres wide, and small heads and tails,
and there are similar stories in provincial chronicles. Britain, Japan, the
United States, Canada and Columbia have also reported sightings of monsters
in lakes, and Gong says he believes these are species similar to what are recorded
in Chinese history. A great deal of work has been done to try to capture these
monsters, but to no avail. Gong believes the monsters have hideouts in mountains,
with tunnels leading to lakes nearby. "To keep their caves clean, they usually
go to lakes to relieve themselves at night," he explained, adding that feces
left by strange animals have been found near Tianchi Lake.
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China: Changbai (Manchuria): Lake Monster; about 6' long, black, reptilian,
oval head and long neck. 1980. Chongquing (Chungking): A peasant in the fields
saw an entity with a huge head, wearing a one-piece garment, which looked metallic
and was shiny. The witness fled and when he turned around to take a second look,
the creature was gone. August, 1971. Dongting Lake (Hunan): Cries for help are
supposed to come from a rock in the middle of the lake. Gaoligon Mountain Region:
Go the the 'Mysterious Lakes" and shout. Apparently you then get rained on,
and the louder you yell, the heavier the rain. The longer you yell, the longer
the rain. 1981 (but continuing?) Lake Hanas: Lake monsters tentatively identified
as 'giant red salmon' over 30 feet long seen at various times. 1930's to 1985.
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Hong Kong: Offshore: Sea monster seen, by people on the beach. It was black
with green eyes, 20 to 30 feet long and made a 'crying noise.' March, 1969.
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Lake Patenggang (Java): Reports of a lake monster here. November 18, 2002 Posted
July 31. 02
Hundreds Spot China's Tianchi Monster [Original headline: China lays claim to
its own Nessie] Hundreds of sightseers visiting have reported spotting a black
monster with a horse-like head in a deep volcanic lake near China's border with
North Korea. Chinese state media reports, eagerly passed on by local tourism
authorities, say the Chinese "Loch Ness monster" appeared twice recently in
Tianchi Lake, in north-eastern Jilin province. A Chinese paper has quoted local
tourism official Meng Fanying as saying that in the latest sighting, the creature
appeared just 10 metres from the bank, jumping out of the water from time to
time "like a seal". Rumours that the 373-metre deep lake harbours some sort
of monster have been circulating for more than a century, the paper said. However,
scientists dismiss the reports, saying volcanic eruptions happening as recently
as 300 years ago would make life extremely hazardous for any animal making the
lake its home. Local monster fans are unfazed by the scepticism and have even
started the Tianchi Monster Society, the paper reported. The Tianchi monster
is not the only "Nessie" said to be living in China. The marine life of Hanas
Lake, in north-western Xinjiang region, reputedly includes a 10-metre long salmon
species that attacks both people and cattle. • Story originally published by:
ABC News / Australia - July 31.02 All Copyrights © are acknowledged. Material
reproduced here is for educational & research purposes only. ============================
The "Monster of Tianchi Lake" in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province, Northeast
China, is back in the news after several recent sightings were reported. It
was spotted twice by hundreds of people in different parts of the lake, according
to Meng Fanying, director of a Songjiang District Tourism Bureau. Meng said
the monster, which seems to be black in colour, was 10 metres from the bank
during the most recent sighting, and jumped out of the water from time to time
like a seal. "That lasted for about 10 minutes, and 200-some sightseers on Changbai's
western peak said they saw it," he said. Although no one really got a clear
look at the mysterious creature that afternoon , Xue Junlin, a local photographer,
claimed that it looked just like the Tianchi Lake monster on display at the
Changbai Mountain Natural History Museum. "They both have horse-like heads,"
explained Xue. He and another local man, Liu Bo, are the only two people to
have seen the monster previously. The 9.8-square-kilometre Tianchi Lake is 373
metres deep in its deepest part and is China's deepest volcanic lake. The legend
of some sort of monster has been around for more than a hundred years. Scientists
have dismissed it as pure fiction not least of all because of volcanic eruptions,
the last of which was 300 years ago. But the reports of sightings have never
died out. In fact, some of the more interested local people have organized the
Tianchi Monster Society and persist in their attempts to trace the animal as
true believers.
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09Sep94 CHINA: MONSTER OR MERMAID IN CHINA'S HEAVENLY LAKE?. BEIJING, Sept 9
(Reuter) - Will China's Heavenly Lake become as famous as Scotland's Loch Ness?
With sightings of a blond-headed creature -- or perhaps a "black thing as big
as a bull head" -- to go on, officials at Lake Tianchi (Heavenly lake) in northeast
China's Jilin province have started establishing study societies and collecting
videotapes and photographs of a strange swimming object, Xinhua news agency
said on Friday. The official news agency said eyewitnesses had seen a creature
moving as fast as a walking man twice in the past two weeks. "At 3:25 p.m.,
September 2, it was clear and the swimming creature surfaced its blond head
and swam from north to southwest in the lake for ten minutes before it submerged,
according to Kim Taik, deputy secretary-general of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous
Prefectural People's Political Consultative Conference," the news agency said.
Kim said the creature stirred up waves two metres (six feet) high. Xinhua quoted
a travel guide who was taking a group of Korean tourists to the lake as saying
she saw a large black "thing" swimming in the lake. It said local people have
given accounts of sightings and taken pictures of a mysterious lake-dwelling
creature since the beginning of the century. The creature is not China's only
mystery -- reports of a man-beast "Wild Man" periodically spring up from around
the country. (c) Reuters Limited 1994 REUTERS NEWS SERVICE Credit: Paul Cropper
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Chinese Nessie Spotted By Hundreds Of Tourists
Hundreds of tourists claim to have seen the Chinese Nessie while visiting a
lake there. The legend of the monster of Tianchi Lake has been around for a
century but this is thought to be one of the best mass sightings. Witnesses
say the black creature has the head of a horse and was around 30 feet away from
the bank when spotted. Two separate groups of tourists, one of them on a nearby
mountain, are reported to have seen it leaping from the water. Meng Fanying,
director of a Songjiang District Tourism Bureau, said: "That lasted for about
10 minutes, and some 200 sightseers on Changbai´s western peak said they saw
it." Xue Junlin, a local photographer, said it looked just like a model of the
Tianchi Lake monster on display at a nearby museum. He told the China Daily:
"They both have horse-like heads." Tianchi Lake is 373 metres deep and volcanic.
Scientists say it would be impossible for any large creature to survive in its
waters. The lake is in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province, Northeast China
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Tianchi Lake Title: Tianchi Lake shares legacy with Ness Appeared in China Daily
May 5, 1998 by way of Xinhua News Agency Changchun (Xinhua) -- A Chinese scholar
says the monsters that have been reported several times in Tianchi Lake in China's
Jilin Province are recorded far back in Chinese history. Gong Yuhai, 69, who
studies early Chinese culture, says that the Shanhaijing, a collection of fairy
tales, contains many accounts of turtle-shaped animals with a pig's head and
black skin, which are quite similar to monsters in the Changbai Mountains, where
the lake is located. Some people have said the monsters have huge bodies, about
20-30 metres wide, and small heads and tails, and there are similar stories
in provincial chronicles. Britain, Japan, the United States, Canada and Columbia
have also reported sightings of monsters in lakes, and Gong says he believes
these are species similar to what are recorded in Chinese history. A great deal
of work has been done to try to capture these monsters, but to no avail. Gong
believes the monsters have hideouts in mountains, with tunnels leading to lakes
nearby. "To keep their caves clean, they usually go to lakes to relieve themselves
at night," he explained, adding that feces left by strange animals have been
found near Tianchi Lake. To feed their bulky bodies, the monsters always look
for food and eat fish, small animals, grass and trees, Gong says, but birds
are their favorite food, and these giants have enough strength to suck down
birds flying several metres above them.
========================================
08 Sep 1999 China: Lake monster sends Chinese bathers fleeing Bathers fled recently
from a lake in northeastern Jilin Province aftersighting a lake monster, China's
stare-run Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. Since the 1950s, eyewitnesses
have filed numerous reports about the monster, described by a local bathing-suit
seller as a "black-skinned object 2 meters wide and 80-90 meters long," Xinhua
said. The retailer reportedly said that since mid-July she has seen the monster
eight times in the artificial Songhua Lake in Jilin Province. Unfortunately,
a photograph she took of the monster Aug. 19 appeared as only a blurred spot
because of her distance from the monster, described by the report as a creature
similar to Scotland's Loch Ness monster. While not indicating the date of the
most recent sighting of the mysterious creature, Xinhua said its reported appearance
on one occasion sent a speedboat driver into frightened flight. Scientists are
skeptical about the existence of the creature, which has never been seen up
close, the report said. Jilin Province is also the reported home of China's
"most famous" lake monster, in Heavenly Lake, it said.
08 Sep 1999 China: Lake monsters seen in NorthEastern China
An animal like Scotland's Loch Ness monster was sighted recently in Songhua
Lake in China's Jilin province, causing people who were swimming there to leave
the water. The man-made lake, 200 k.m. in length, is on the Songhua River. There
have been reports of a monster since the 1950s, although no one has ever seen
it up close. One eye-witness spotted it swimming or drifting on hot days, but
it never put its head out of the water. A swimsuit seller said that he had seen
it on eight occasions since mid-July and described it as a black-skinned object
two meters wide and eighty or ninety meters long. On the morning of Aug 19 it
was seen on the surface for nearly two minutes. The swimsuit seller took some
photos of it but it appeared as a blurred spot because of the distance. One
speed boat driver reported seeing a large, black thing moving fast towards him
and he got so scared that he fled. China's most famous lake monster is said
to be in Tianchi, or Heavenly lake, in Jilin Province, but many scientists say
they are skeptical about it. 08 Sep 1999 China: Monster seen in man-made Lake
in Jilin Province An animal like Scotland's Loch Ness monster was sighted recently
in Songhua Lake in China's Jilin province, causing people who were swimming
there to leave the water. The man-made lake, 200 km in length, is on the Songhua
River. There have been reports of a monster since the 1950s, although no one
has ever seen it up close. One eyewitness spotted it swimming or drifting on
hot days, but it never put its head out of the water. A swimsuit seller said
that he had seen it on eight occasions since mid-July and described it as a
black-skinned object two metres wide and eighty or ninety metres long. On the
morning of 19th August it was seen on the surface for nearly two minutes. The
swimsuit seller took some photos of it but it appeared as a blurred spot because
of the distance. One speedboat driver reported seeing a large, black thing moving
fast towards him and he got so scared that he fled. China's most famous lake
monster is said to be in Tianchi, or Heavenly Lake, in Jilin Province, but many
scientists say they are sceptical about it.