Pea Pods Anyone?

This morning we left the relocated city of Badong (relocated city means the original was submerged under 100+ meters of water when the "river rose" upon the completion of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir) on a ferry for the one hour ride up the Shennong Stream Tributary.

Before the river rose, this stream was a roaring beast that tumbled towards the Yangzi.  The home of the Tu Jia people (one of the "minorities" of China) it was accessible by wooden "pea pod" boats which resemble an open skiff with flat bottom. The water
was so shallow in places that "boat trackers" would pull the boats by bamboo ropes scrambling along paths worn in the limestone cliffs along the river. Their clothing was of a rough material that would chafe their skin, so the boat trackers did their work au natural save for the homemade sandals that they still craft from bamboo.

After the river rose, the rapid stream became a graceful, winding waterway with
breathtaking scenery. The original fleet of five wooden pea pod boats is now 200 boats
each manned by four standing oarsmen in front and another man in the rear stearing
with the rudder, much like a gondolier in Venice. They give tourists rides up the stream
that seems like the Chinese version of a Norwegian Fjord. At one point, a couple of
the oarsmen hop off the boat with bamboo ropes to demonstrate how the boat trackers
used to pull the skiffs through the rapids. Since 2003 they now wear lightweight cotton
shorts and vests so they don't offend any unsuspecting tourist.

Each pea pod carried about 15 of us plus an English speaking guide native to the
area. Mary, our guide, pointed out where her family now lives, high up the mountain.
Her commute to work is two hours on a pea pod, then another hour climbing up the
mountain. The guides as well as the school children stay in Badong during the week
and then go home on week ends.

It was a unique experience, especially as these boatmen who are small and sinewy
managed to get us all on and off the tippy boats without losing any of us into the river!
And no one was more surprised at this than we were!