China has a lot of myths and legends, like ‘democratic elections’ and ‘civil rights and freedoms’.

For more on that, check out the protests that have been ongoing in Hong Kong for the last while.

They also have a history of conspiracy theories surrounding water beasties.

Since 1987, many have believed that there is a ‘monster’ in the Kanas Lake in north-western Xinjiang.

More recently, in August 2017, footage went viral showing a weird looking water creature raising its head in the waters of Luoping County in Southwest Yunnan province.

And, most recently, we have the alleged Yangtze River monster which was captured on film last Friday, and has become the topic of many an online discussion thread ever since.

Before we go to BBC for some of the theories that have cropped up after the sighting of what has been dubbed China’s ‘Loch Ness Monster’, here’s the video:

The above video was filmed off the coast of the city of Yichang in western Hubei province, close to the Three Gorges Dam.

The original video has been viewed millions of times and the theories are never-ending. Even the experts have weighed in.

Many have posted using the hashtag #ThreeGorgesMonsterPhotos, and specialists have begun to weigh in with their thoughts.

In an interview with Pear Video, Professor Wang Chunfang from the Huazhong Agricultural University dismissed the idea of it being a new species, saying it was likely a simple “water snake”.

Some users said that “external factors such as pollution” could have a role to play in a sea snake growing to an extraordinary size. But not everyone was convinced.

Separate footage has led some users to question whether the unidentified object is actually a living creature at all.

Biologist Ding Li said that the object was neither a fish nor a snake, but simply “a floating object”.

I’m going to go with Li on this one, especially considering the video of the giant sunshade net that washed up downstream. You can find that here, and the general consensus (at least among the less conspiratorial) is that this net solves the mystery.

There’s also this picture of a cloth that washed up on the banks of the lake:

Sorry, China. Scotland still has a monopoly on lake Nessies.

The Yangtze River does have some great creatures, but they’re under threat from pollution.

The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia, and at 3,900 miles in length (6,300km), is the third longest in the world.

But pollution has severely affected the river in recent years, meaning that its ecosystem has become narrower, rather than wider.

The largest creature thought to exist in the waters at present is the Chinese giant salamander, which can reach some 1.8m in length.

This species is critically endangered, largely as a result of pollution.

In that sense, the mistaken sunshade-net-monster is a sad reminder that we’re killing the environment.

Be better, China.

[source:bbc]