Entrance Fee: CNY 150 The Shennongxi Stream Gorges is one of China's most famous scenic wonders, with national grade AAAA. The stream is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the famed Three Gorges area, and is sometimes called the 'Shennongxi Little Three Gorges' because of its magnificent canyons. The Shennongxi Stream is situated in Badong County in western Hubei Province. Water levels have been significantly affected by the new Three Gorges Dam, located 40.4 miles upriver. It flows south from Shennongjia Mountains, a thickly forested mountainous region more than 10,013 feet above sea level. The rapid stream flows into the Yangtze River at Badong. It is 37.3 miles long, but only 10.4 miles of it is open for tourism. There are three principle gorges to be enjoyed, each with its unique features: Longchangxia Gorge, Yingwuxia Gorge and Shennongxia Gorge; and also a fourth, Mianzhuxia Gorge.
Tourists come from all parts of the world to take in the unspoiled beauty of its sheer cliffs and ancient farmlands that have remained unchanged over almost 2,000 years. One of the most interesting experiences for travelers is a trip aboard rough-hewn 'peapod' boats, rowed by local trackers standing on the prow of the small wooden craft. Then suddenly, the oarsmen surprise passengers by jumping out of the boat and donning harnesses, and with a long rope tow the boatload of tourists through shallow rocky rapids in the tradition of those 'naked trackers' who for hundreds of years provided the only way for boats to travel up the Yangtze River.
You may explore the Shennongxi Stream for much of the way in a motorized tourist ferry boat, unique for its tiled roofs associated with the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), and then transfer to a human-powered journey aboard the 'peapod' boat, so named because of its open-peapod shape. There are two routes to enjoy: One through the Longchangxia, Yingwuxia and Shennongxia Gorges, to the rocky shallows at Luoping. Another way is to sail through the Longchangxia and Yingwuxia Gorges, to the Mianzhuxia Gorge. Either journey will take about 3.5 hours and cover about 21.7 miles.
As mentioned earlier, the Shennongxi Stream's water levels, like the Yangtze River, have been raised significantly by the Three Gorges Dam. The first major impact came on 1 June 2003, when the first phase of the dam was completed. The new water level, 443 feet above sea level, in the Shennongxi Stream has caused major changes in the waterway. Before this, the Shennongxi Stream was so narrow and shallow that tourist groups could only enjoy one section, the Longchangxia Gorge and only by small 'peapod' boat. Now you can enjoy all three gorges of the Shennongxi Stream, going all the way upstream aboard tour-boats to the upper reaches of the Mianzhuxia Gorge or to the Luoping Area Reception Center, before having to switch to 'peapod' boats. When the dam is completed in 2009 and the water levels rise another 131 feet, you will be able to travel all the way on the headwaters of the Shennongxi Stream in the Shennongjia mountainous region. So it will be an even greater adventure into the spectacular beauty of an unspoiled wilderness.
