2020 Yangtze River Cruise and Ferry Starting from 79 USD p.p.!
DANING RlVER EXCURSION
THE THREE LITTLE GORGES
To take a day trip up the
crystal-clear Daning River through its magnificent
Three Little Gorges (Xiao Sanxia)----whose total
length is only 33 kilometres (20 miles)-is to
experience the
excitement and awe of bygone days of river travel
in China.
The excursion is undertaken
in air-conditioned boats, whose strong experienced
boatmen pole with all their might when the river
is too shallow for the engine to be used, heaving
their bodies forward as they thrust long iron-tipped
bamboo poles into the riverbed, and following
through until they are almost lying on their
backs in their struggle against the current.
Some of the local boats encountered are not
motorized and the boatmen must tow the boats--
laden with local merchandise and coal-upriver,
using a long bamboo rope and tracking in harness,
along the water's edge or along cut pathways
in the rock face. Negotiating a rapid may take
several exhausting attempts before the boat
is finally hauled over. Unfortunately, while
the splendour of the scenery will remain, by
2003, the waters having risen about 50 metres
(164 feet), the boatmen's poles will no longer
touch bottom, the trackers’ paths will
have disappeared, and this description will
be a souvenir of times gone by.
About 40 minutes from the mouth
of the river, at its confluence with the Yangtze,
the entrance to the first of the gorges is reached.
This is the Dragon Gate Gorge(Longmen Xia),
three kilometres (l.8 miles) long. On the cliff
face to the right is thel98l flood mark, over
40 metres (l30 feet) above river level. The
mouth of the gorges like a massive gateway through
which the river rushes like a green dragon,
hence its name. The gateway
appears to shut once one has passed through.
On the east side is Dragon Gate Spring (Longmen
Quan) and above it Lingzhi Peak, topped by the
Nine-Dragon Pillar. On this peak, it is said,
grow strange plants and the fungus of longevity
(lingzhi), guarded by nine dragons. On the western
bank, two rows of l5-centimetre (2--inch) square
holes, continuing the entire length of the small
gorges and numbering over 6,000 are all that
remain of an astonishing plank walkway, which
was first constructed in the Han period and
recorded in the Annals of Wushan County in 246
BC. Wooden stakes inserted into these hand-hewn
holes supported planks and large bamboo pipes,
which stretched for l00 kilometres (62 miles)
along the river. This pipeline conveyed brine,
while the planks provided an access for maintenance.
In the l7th century the pathway, used by the
peasant leader Li Zicheng in his uprising against
the Ming dynasty, was destroyed by the imperial
army.
After leaving the gorge the
boat passes the Nest of Silver Rapid (yinwo
Tan). In the past, rich merchants trading in
the hinterland often came to grief here, perhaps
there are caches of silver under the bubbling
surface still! In l958 work began on clearing
major obstacles from the river. The Daning then
meanders through terraced hillsides before entering
the ten-kilometre (six-mile) Misty Gorge (Bawu
Xia), with its dramatic scenery of rocks, peaks
and caves, including Fairy Maiden Cave, Fairy
Throwing a Silk Ball, and Guanyin Seated on
a Lotus Platform. A long, layered formation,
like a scaly dragon, can be seen on the eastern
cliff. Suspended upon the precipice is a relic
of the ancient inhabitants of eastern Sichuan
2,000 years ago, an 'iron' coffin (which is
actually made of wood that has turned black
with age). This gorge is accordingly also known
as Iron Coffin Gorge.
The village of Twin Dragons
or Shuanglong (popu1ation 300), above Bawu Gorge,
is the halfway point. Lunch can be provided
at the reception centre, which also has some
rooms for overnight accommodation.
Emerald Green Gorge (Dicui
Xta), 20 kilometres (l2.5 miles) long, is inhabited
by wild ducks and
covered with 1uxuriant bamboo groves from which
rises a deafening cacophony of bird--song. There
are also many types of monkey still to be seen
if you are lucky. Once their shrill cries resounded
throughout the Yangtze gorges, but today they
can be heard only in Dicui Gorge. River stones
of an extraordinary variety and colour can be
gathered.
At the end of this gorge the tourist boat turns
around and rushes downstream, arriving at Wushan
in half the time it took to get here, aided
by the skilful use of the long yulo, which is
weighted by a stone to steady the boat. Groups
may hire a boat for this trip at the mouth of
the Daning River. Cheap local ferries also do
this trip but it takes much longer and requires
an overnight stop at Dachang (a town with fine
farmhouse architecture and the remains of a
Qing--dynasty city gate).