Shiliuyun- Xinjiang Daily (Reporter: Zhang Xinjun): On June 26, 2022, Alim Osman, a villager of Qiakeleagle Village, sailed his boat to catch fish in Baisha Lake in Bulunkou Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang. A former herder, Alim Osman is now a fisherman in the "lake in the air" of Pamir Plateau.

In October 2021, the Rongchan Fumin Specialized Cooperatives of Fishery and Aquaculture contracted with the government of Bulunkou Township to cooperate on fishery and aquaculture. The cooperatives invested in 25 fishing boats with different sizes and 4 emergency rescue speedboats and built two docks. By the end of June 2022, 7 million special fry, which are worth more than 1.5 million yuan, had been put into the lake. This project has also increased the local herdsmen’s income by more than 900,000 yuan.

Located at 3,300 meters above the sea level, the Baisha Lake is mainly fed by snow waters from the Muztag Ata of the Karakoram Range, Kongur Tagh, Mount Kongur and its surrounding mountains. In addition to its unique scenery, the 44-square-kilometer Baisha lake on the Pamir Plateau is now a plateau fishery, and cold-water fish farming is slowly changing the lifestyle of some local herdsmen.

At present, the annual output value of Baisha Lake fishery is more than 2 million yuan, and fish are mainly sold to local places of Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Kashgar Prefecture. Therefore, more than 10 local herdsmen have changed their living from grazing to fishing and become the first group of local fishermen with a monthly salary of 6,000-7,000 yuan.

Baisha Lake at Bulunkou Township in Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, is not only a tourism attraction but also a slack water fishery on plateau.

Photo taken on June 23, 2022 shows fisherman Alim Osman (second from right) hauls nets with his colleagues to catch fish in the water.

Photo taken on June 26, 2022 shows fisherman Alim Osman puts nets into the Baisha Lake, where the Mount Kongur that is 7,719 meters above the sea level towers on the background.

Photo taken on June 26, 2022 shows fisherman Alim Osman sails a boat to fish.

Photo taken on June 26, 2022 shows fisherman Alim Osman sails a boat to fish and stares into the distance.

Photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows sturgeons caught by fishermen in the Baisha Lake, Bulunkou Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang.

Photo taken on June 27, 2022 shows fishermen load fish caught from the Baisha Lake, Bulunkou Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang.

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