Known as China’s Bermuda Triangle, Poyang Lake is the Country’s largest freshwater body. Located in Jiangxi Province, it was formed around 400 AD when the Yangtze River changed course, causing the Gan River to flood the plain along its shores. The lake fluctuates massively with drought conditions and the operations of the Three Gorges Dam, though it averages about 1400 square miles in size.
In 1363, the Battle of Lake Poyang was fought here, which is still the largest naval battle in world history. The massive loss of life during the fierce conflict is often credited as a source of the paranormal activity that plagues the lake. Hundreds of ships and thousands of lives have been lost in the centuries since, vanishing without a trace.
Notable disappearances include the April 1945 vanishing of a 2000-ton Japanese cargo vessel called the Kobe Maru in calm, clear weather. The freighter was laden with plundered artifacts and valuables and went down with two hundred soldiers and crew. It sank in less than twenty-five feet of water, and the Japanese immediately mounted a recovery effort. An entire dive team was lost to the effort, save one survivor, allegedly driven mad by the experience. On August 3, 1985, thirteen ships were lost on the lake in a single day, vanishing without a trace, unusual by any maritime standards.
Explanations include the usual suspects of ghosts, aliens, and paranormal events, though one plausible cause could be the abnormally strong winds that sweep across the water with sudden ferocity. This theory seems even more credible when observing the dozens of wind farms in the area. However, this does not explain the puzzling lack of surviving evidence.
This lack of evidence becomes even more problematic when considering the wild fluctuations in the lake’s size and depth. Most notably, in 2016, the lake dried up almost completely. One would think that if the lake were festering with shipwrecks, emptying the lake would reveal them. This was not the case. That’s not to say that no wreckage has been recovered at all, but nowhere near the estimated 1,000 shipwrecks lost in the last century alone. Despite regular searches with metal detectors and ground-penetrating radar, Poyang Lake refuses to give up its secrets.
Jason Roberts is a Seattle-based author noted for his acclaimed western horror series The Dead Wind Trilogy as well as other works of cosmic horror infused with historical fiction. His web-based series, Dark Distractions, examines paranormal mysteries, unexplained phenomena, and all things strange.
