Cormorant Fishing in Yangshuo

Small Lake at the Entrance of West Street

Small Lake at the Entrance of West Street

One of the more unusual things to see in Yangshuo is cormorant fishing. Cormorants are rather large birds which have been harnessed by the local fishermen in Guilin and Yangshuo to help them fish. Near the entrance of West Street, there is little lake where you can see the cormorants. It also comes with an “authentic” old Chinese fisherman.

Cormorants Used for Fishing

Cormorants Used for Fishing

The fisherman here seems to be very used to the people and the all the photographs being taken of him. In a way, it was more of a show since he would just go about his business and removing any rubbish in the tiny lake. I don’t think there were large fish in the lake for the cormorants to fish anyway.

Fisherman With His Cormorant

Fisherman With His Cormorant

The cormorants have small rings around their neck such that any big fish the cormorant catches cannot be swallowed but is instead given to the fisherman. However, it is also important that the fisherman makes sure that the cormorant also gets their fill of smaller fish, if not they will refuse to work. This partnership between the cormorants and the fishermen have existed for centuries but have slowly faded over the years and probably now only exists solely for the tourist trade.

The fisherman at the lake actually didn’t do any fishing since it was still early. At night, there is a cormorant fishing experience that let tourists see how it is done. I thought it was already too touristy and didn’t really bother with it. Although the fisherman really looks authentic, great for photos.

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