History becomes legend and legend becomes myth. But things that should not have been forgotten are lost forever ~ Lord of The Rings

Where is the boat tracker in the world?
It is in the Shennong Stream of Three Gorges in China ~ as quoted from above boat ride pass

The life story of boat trackers will soon diminished after the Yangtze water level elevation. Their history may soon be forgotten. But they have indeed contributed much in Yangtze navigation history especially at the shallow spots at the vicinity of Three Great Gorges.  Of Tujia ethnic, the diligent, strong and brave boat trackers are not Han. They are the largest ethnic minority living along Yangtze, known for their artistic talents include singing, dancing, crafting, painting and weaving. Most of them are fishers or mountain farmers and they earn extra income by offering towing service to the boats or ships along Yangtze River. Being poor, they worked nude capitalizing on the gifts from Mother Nature like bamboos and mountain shrubs to make long poles and ropes to pull these boats over shallow rapids. Gone are the days due to the gradual rise of water level, they are now mainly concentrating at Shennong Stream to service the tourists with decent clothing.

After about an hour cruise along Shennong Stream with Chang Sen Yi Hao, we arrived at the floating platform of Bamboo Gorge. We were then transferred to a pea pod or a wooden sampan.


Of five to six boat trackers on each pea pod, they were paddling at bow and stern, brought us along the crystal clear stream into the tall green gorges and stunning steep cliffs. The air was fresh and I felt like kissing the breathtaking nature. And the adventure to experience the ride on a pea pod or a flat sampan boat began!

The journey was tranquil, only heard was sound of water splashing and birds chirping under a shady passage. Both sides were the tall spiking gorges. How I wish the time could just stop for me to enjoy the beauty of Mother Nature!

After 30 minutes of non-stop paddling, we finally arrived at a shallow spot where a few boat trackers had to work in a team to pull our boat using ropes.



One or two of them would stay on the boat with us to push away the boulders or any upcoming obstacles.

What they were demonstrating was exactly what they used to do to assist the trapped boats at shallow spots. Indeed very skillful!


On the way back, we were entertained by our local tour guide, a Tujia girl in traditional costume and our boat skipper. They went duet to sing us a Tujia folk song. The message behind this romantic song is about a Tujia girl asking a Tujia man for a date but somehow was rejected by the man. The video below shares exactly the song that they were singing. If you understand Mandarin, listen to the lyrics. The lines are lovely. If not, hope your enjoy its melody like me. Happy listening!

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