Yuan, a cheerful 66-year-old with an unlined face and penetrating voice, is featured in several interviews, along with other scientists and people who have witnessed the creatures. Some describe enormous shapes and shadows as big as trees and boats, sometimes tinged with red or white. In 2003, when an earthquake struck the area, witnesses in a boat reported seeing a silhouette as long as 70 feet leap out of the water.
"I said it was rubbish at first," says Yuan. "The next day, I saw them."
"It's fish. Giant fish, some about 15 meters (50 feet) long."
In 1980, Yuan was part of a team of 150 experts who launched the first scientific study of the lake's environment and its flora and fauna.
It was then that he met Chinese Mongolians living in the area known as the Tuwa people and heard the ancient legend of the monsters in Kanasi. Few details were available; most of the villagers fell silent when pressed.
Five years later, still intrigued, Yuan headed another team to study environmental protection for the lake -- and to search for the creatures of the Tuwa myth.
Within a day, he had his first sighting.
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Producer:
Xie Qiao 
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