Home of the Hu Fish

Home of the Hu Fish

By the Shaliu River in Gangcha, where mountain flowers bloom, birds fly, and fish leap, the scenery is enchanting. It is the only place in China to witness the remarkable migration of the naked carp. Here you’ll find the Xianghe Pagoda Ecological Area, Lovers’ Cliff, the Fish Viewing and Release Zone, Blessing and Gratitude Sculptures, and the spirit of Qinghai Lake—the Qinghai naked carp (commonly known as the Hu fish). Every year in June and July, the Hu Fish Home by the Shaliu River takes on an even more captivating charm in the slanting evening light. Flocks of Hu fish migrate back to the Shaliu River to continue their life cycle, resembling thousands of boats racing upstream, creating the extraordinary spectacle of “half river clear water, half river fish” and a thriving scene of fish abundance that is truly breathtaking.

The best time to observe the Hu fish is from mid-June to mid-August (from the Dragon Boat Festival to the beginning of autumn in the lunar calendar). In the transition between spring and summer, the lake’s Hu fish harbor a special energy. During this season, they leave Qinghai Lake to begin their most important journey. They set off as spawning adults gather at the river mouths of major lakeside rivers, then swim upstream in massive groups toward their ancestral spawning grounds. At first, only small schools of fish move intermittently up the river, but soon large numbers pour in. Countless dark, hammer-shaped bodies and pale yellow fins instantly fill the river channel, turning the water dark as if the river is no longer flowing with water but with Hu fish. Each year, Gangcha County welcomes many visitors who come to watch the fish. With the wish to “treat the spirits of Qinghai Lake with kindness and quietly observe the Hu fish migration,” these visitors leave countless footprints on this land. The Hu Fish Home by the Shaliu River also silently prays for and blesses the people and creatures of this region...

In July, the highland coastal Tibetan town of Gangcha—specifically the Hu Fish Home by the Shaliu River—is your ideal sacred destination for fish release, prayer, and vacation.