In addition, I’ve updated the gallery link to be more consistent. The new URL is now http://yusongyi.smugmug.com so update your RSS feeds and bookmarks!

Now, I don’t know very many people who get excited over the opportunity to look at old artifacts and historical documents, let alone handle them. Even rarer still is curiosity about it (But I guess that holds true with curiosity, in general). When I was in Washington, D.C. touring the Capitol, I watched as countless people walked past one of the most significant documents in American history. It wasn’t the Declaration nor the Constitution, though in their own right they have great significance for our country. I’m talking about the Magna Carta in the Rotunda. No one realized that it was the Magna Carta that influenced our own Constitution.  Even after the tour guide points out the Magna Carta and it’s gold gilded display, no one went over to look. I think it’s a shame.

As long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by history. I remember reading about the Civil War and the lesser known War of 1812 in middle school among other books, history or otherwise. And then, years later, my high school’s academic competitions coach thought I should compete in National History Day. My topics? The Dust Bowl. Lau v. Nichols. Then Steve Biko and apartheid. (The last two being thesis level papers.) That was, as they say, history.

Now, my workplace smells of ancient dust – somewhat like the Library of Congress – like history, breathing new life.

It makes me smile.

Clouds part, revealing Tianchi on Changbai Mountain, home of the Tianchi Monster

There were rumors on the lips of the villagers; hushed, furtive rumors of lake monsters. As with all crytozoological rumors, evidence was spotty and inconclusive. I happened to be in China’s northeast at the time and I wanted to see this monster for myself.

The early morning countryside rushes past the window where I’m seated. I glance over at the bunks where my friends sleep, wondering if they, too, had heard the rumors. It was unlikely because none of them had mentioned anything about lake monsters. But then again, neither had I. It was probably more likely that each one of us had decided on his own that if this rumor were true and the monster did exist, we would need witnesses and that any mention of the monster beforehand would ultimately scare the others into heading right back to civilization. I turn back to staring at the land flying past me and mentally reviewing the few notes I had:

First reported sighting in 1903. The witness described the creature as a very large monster with features resembling a buffalo that tried to attack three people. When shot at, it immediately retreated back into the lake. Over the next sixty years, over a hundred people have reported seeing two buffalo-like creatures swimming in the water. In 2005, The China Daily published an article in which tourist Zheng Changchun spotted the creature and videotaped a black object emerging and submerging several times. On September 6, 2007, TV reporter Zhuo Yongsheng recorded video of six unidentified creatures. According to Zhuo, they resembled seals with fins larger than their bodies, swimming as fast as yachts, and in synchronicity with one another. Zhuo’s still photos show six creatures swimming in pairs in a line.

The following day, we begin our climb up the mountain. It’s drizzling and cloudy with reports of snow still on top of the mountain. The hike up the nature reserve’s path carved on the side and in the mountain makes it surprisingly easier than climbing the Great Wall. After an hour’s climb, we finally reach lake level, but a snow field still lay between us and the lake. We carefully pick our way towards the lake, trying to avoid falling into the pools of cold, slushy melting ice. I was less than careful and ended up ankle deep in cold water. Some would call it unfortunate. But the incident kept me at the right spot, at the right time. The clouds, since arriving at the top, had been thick and brooding, obscuring much from my view. But as I looked up from my waterlogged shoe, I saw the clouds draw back like theater curtains, revealing Tianchi and the Changbai Mountains. I imagined that I was a National Geographic photographer on an expedition, lifted the camera to my eye, and pressed the shutter.

I didn’t see the Tianchi Monster that day or any evidence that there was one. And the border guards said they hadn’t seen anything either. Maybe it’s just as well. Perhaps they live way up here beneath the ice, in a lake that’s inaccessible for half the year to stay hidden. Maybe we need to respect their wishes, whatever they may be.