One of the popular activities in the Wuyi Mountain Scenic Area in Wiyishan, Fujian Province, China is to go bamboo rafting down the Jiuqu (Nine-Bend) River. This gives you a wonderful opportunity to sit back and enjoy the wonderful scenery while you slowly make your way down the river.
The “rafts” are long tied bamboo rafts with about six seats. Life jackets are provided, although the water is very calm and this does not require any rafting experience or effort on the part of the riders.
You move through a number of small rapids and occasionally get your feet wet but otherwise it is a fairly gentle trip down the river. My wife had bought some beautiful blue plastic shoe covers from the pierside before we left ….. very becoming!
There are two boatmen on the bamboo ratf, one at the front and one at the rear, both using long bamboo poles with metal spikes on the base to guide the raft down the river.
We passed by the area we had walked to the day before so it was good to get a different perspective from the river of the wonderful mountain scenery.
One section we passed had a large imposing vertical cliff with holes and caves in the side. Apparently this was used to bury the dead in coffins a long time ago. How they ever got the coffins up there is a mystery.
At one point nearer the end of the trip our front boatman took a break for a drink and something to eat and left the front unattended. I took this opportunity to try out guiding the raft with the bamboo pole which was quite fun.
In many places you could see many holes on the rocks by the side of the river caused by the frequent use of the metal spiked bambvoo poles by the rafters.
After about almost 2 hours we had reached the end of the trip and we bade farewell to our happy boatmen who then headed downstream to the raft pickup point …. no doubt to travel again upstream and do it all again.
Passionate Photographer …. Lost in Asia
Stuart Taylor of HighlanderImages Photography has been making images for over 25 years and can offer a diverse range of photo imaging services with a focus on Asia and a documentary/photojournalistic style. These services include planning and executing a photo shoot on location but importantly all the post-processing and image preparation needed for the specific finished media format required by the customer. Stuart’s experience and knowledge in all of these aspects makes HighlanderImages Photography a one-stop-shop for a comprehensive and professional image production service.
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