Winter Exploration at Sailimu Lake: The Furry Elves on the Ice Field

At minus 20°C, Sailimu Lake is a fairy tale world wrapped in blue ice and snow-capped mountains, and the "furry" creatures hidden in this silence are the most touching surprises of winter. Just arriving at the unfrozen lake surface of Kele Yongzhu, we encountered two swans gracefully swimming—their white feathers like crushed moonlight, necks curved into gentle arcs, and when they lowered their heads to peck for food, their red beaks lightly touched the ice-blue water, with ripples soaked in poetry. Not far away, a silver gull tilted its head to watch them, its fluffy feathers trembling in the wind like a small moving snowball. Walking along the lake toward the snowfield, suddenly a flash of reddish brown dashed across the snow—it was a red fox! It curled behind a rock licking its paws, its fluffy tail wrapped around half its body, and when it looked up, its golden eyes shimmered amber in the sunlight. The next second it leapt up, black paws crushing the thin snow, the tip of its tail sweeping out a trail of fine snowflakes, lively as if a character jumped out of a picture book. Even more surprising was encountering a stoat between the rocks: its brown and white fur looked like it was coated with a layer of sugar frosting, round ears perked up, black grape-like eyes staring intently, little paws clutching the stone as it peeked around, breathing so lightly as if afraid to startle it. These little creatures are not afraid of people but always keep just the right distance—the fox will squat ten meters away watching you raise your camera, the stoat will linger a few seconds longer when you slow your pace, and the swans will only spread their wings to draw silver arcs after you quietly sit down. Winter at Sailimu Lake is never a "silent wasteland"; it is a natural theater with blue ice as the curtain, snow mountains as the backdrop, and the furry creatures as the stars. Here, you don’t need to chase after scenic spots; just wrap your scarf tightly and slow down, and you will encounter the liveliness and gentleness on the ice field.