Racing rivers

A rafting team floats along the Yellow River in a recent competition in the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province. Yushu sits more than 4,400 meters above sea level and is the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. It's ideal for rafting. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Veteran rafters recently competed in an event to mark the 30th anniversary of the first grueling expedition along the Yellow River. Yang Feiyue reports.

It's a commemoration of a dangerous and deadly adventure and achievement.

Twenty-four veteran rafters gathered in the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Northwest China's Qinghai province in early August to compete in a race to mark the 30th anniversary of the first expedition to raft the entire Yellow River.

Yu Zhongyuan's team took third place in the 10-kilometer race.

The 66-year-old says the average age of his team members is 62.

He led a rafting team that floated along the entire Yellow River in 1987.

"We don't care about the result. We want to relive the past," Yu says.

Yushu is ideal for rafting. The prefecture sits more than 4,400 meters above sea level and is the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers.

International Rafting Federation President Joe Willie said last year that the water volume, velocity and vertical drop of the Yellow River in Yushu makes for a technically challenging course.

The recent competition was hosted by Yushu's government and the Chinese Extreme-Sports Association.

A rafting team floats along the Yellow River in a recent competition in the Yushu Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Qinghai province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

 

Dangerous waters

The Chinese considered rafting extremely dangerous three decades ago. Hardly anyone did it until American explorer Ken Warren spent $300,000 buying the right to raft on the Yangtze in 1985.

The news prompted Yao Maoshu from Southwest China's Sichuan province to beat Warren to it.

Yao came to Yushu and rafted down the Yangtze from its source.

But he drowned in the Jinsha River the same year, after rafting roughly 1,200 kilometers.

Yao's feat sparked a wave of enthusiasm, and many followed in his wake.

Forty-six rafters spent roughly six months floating from the Yangtze's origin to Shanghai, where the river empties into the East China Sea, in 1986.

The following year, three Chinese teams arrived in Qinghai to conquer the Yellow River. Seven people died.

Yu joined the team from Beijing.

"Rafting the Yellow River is the greatest thing I've done," he says.

"It was challenging from the start. It was freezing. Many of us had altitude sickness."

Several sections were inaccessible to vehicles. Supplies weren't always available.

Some rafters went three days without food. They drank muddy water from the river.

Extreme weather often forced them to carry supplies and drag the rubber raft, especially when they encountered ice, rocks and shoals. Some rafters fell through the ice and died.

The three teams grew closer and cooperated during the adventure.

They arrived at the river's estuary in Shandong province after roughly six months.

China's rafting fever cooled in the following decade, Yu says.

Momentum returned in 1998, when people began to raft the Zhujiang and Yarlung Zangbo rivers.

"People were rational about rafting then. They'd bypass dangerous areas," Yu says.

Soon, rafts were floating along every safe stretch of the river.

Yu says rafting has helped him to deal with life and career difficulties.

The film producer has been involved in several blockbusters, including Monster Hunt and Shaolin.

He didn't think of the adventure as an aimless and bold undertaking but, rather, as a representation of China's spirit.

"I'm no pro athlete. But I'm proud of our accomplishment."

[Photo provided to China Daily]

Unique adventure

A hundred rafters from 10 countries, including China, Britain, New Zealand, the Czech Republic and Costa Rica, competed in the Yushu World Cup from July 19 to 21 last year.

The three-day event was the second leg of the three-stop 2016 World Cup series. It was open to male and female rafters from around the world.

They competed in four disciplines: the sprint, head-to-head, the slalom and downriver.

Yushu government has gone all out to develop rafting in recent years.

The rivers' environments have improved. Facilities have been built. Routes have been established. Rescue personnel have been hired.

Yushu has worked with the Aquatic Sports Administrative Center of China to build a national-level high-altitude training facility.

"Yushu offers a distinctive rafting experience with sceneries typical of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau's hinterlands," says Wen Bao, a senior official with Yushu's government.

Tibetan elements, such as the Princess Wencheng Temple and King Gesar Square, are highlights, Wen adds.

Yushu is working to host the 2018 World Rafting Championship.

Yu is pleased to see Yushu's rafting development.

"There has been great progress in terms of equipment and the competitions," he says.

"We have so many great rivers. I'm happy to see a lot of young rafters engaging in the sport."