Guangxi Province, located in southern China, is renowned for its stunning landscapes. Many places in this region are nicknamed “Heavenly scenery on Earth.” However, amid such beauty lies a “strange pond”, also known as the mysterious Ba Ding Lake, which harbors a chilling secret.
This “strange pond” is called Ba Ding Lake, situated in Ba Ding village, Dou’an County, Guangxi. Although the lake is deep and its waters are clear and beautiful, locals do not view it as a paradise at all. Why is that?
The Dark Shadow Beneath Ba Ding Lake
Ba Ding Lake is clear and deep.
According to local residents, there is a dark shadow in Ba Ding Lake, the nature of which is unclear. A large water buffalo weighing several hundred kilograms once fell into the lake. When the villagers prepared to pull it out, they noticed the shadow beneath the water dragging the buffalo deeper. The buffalo could not resist and sank to the bottom of the lake.
The incident quickly spread through the village, attracting many experts and journalists eager to uncover the truth.
Experts were guided to Ba Ding Lake by the villagers, using a specialized 100-meter-long rope but still could not measure the lake’s depth. Eventually, an exploration team decided to send divers down to investigate.
After the news circulated widely, the villagers were shocked because a diving enthusiast had previously come to Ba Ding to explore the lake’s secrets. However, this diver vanished without a trace. Rescue teams searched for three days before finding his body at a depth of 100 meters. Since then, no one dared to enter the lake casually. The experts’ involvement to investigate the truth of Ba Ding Lake reignited the local residents’ fears.
The Truth Revealed
After the villagers recounted stories related to Ba Ding Lake to the exploration team, the divers decided to dive from the southern part of the lake.
An exploration team decides to send divers down to find out more.
They prepared underwater lighting equipment because the deeper they dove, the weaker the light became. At a depth of about 20 meters, the divers found a school of small fish, indicating that the ecological environment in the lake was still thriving.
After diving deeper by several dozen meters, the team estimated that the lake might be an underground river based on the lake’s terrain. Running low on air, the divers had to mark the area they had explored and return to the surface.
But what is the dark shadow in the lake? With this question in mind, the divers decided they needed to dive again to find the answer.
After diving to a depth of approximately 90 meters, the divers discovered a dark shadow swimming in a rocky corner. When they shone their flashlights, they found that it was actually a large catfish, about 1.5 meters long with a golden-yellow body. The sight of this large golden catfish left the divers stunned.
The large golden catfish left the divers stunned. (Illustrative image).
The divers speculated that the shadow seen by the villagers might be the catfish. However, this fish would not have the strength to pull a large buffalo into the water.
Nevertheless, the disappearance of the buffalo remains a mystery. Some believe that there are “water monsters” living beneath Ba Ding Lake, but these are merely speculations.
The secret of the lake has been unraveled. The exploration team concluded that the lake was originally just a deep hole. Over time, it was worn down by rainwater, and its depth continued to increase, connecting it to an underground river. As a result, groundwater rose to form a deep lake with no visible bottom.
