Shennong Stream， originally named Yandu River， is a branch river located in Badong County of Enshi Tujia & Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Hubei Province. The stream was changed to Shennong Stream due to the legend that Emperor Yan of Shennong once went down the river after picking herbs.
Shennong Stream is one of the major attractions along the Yangzte River. It is divided into three gorge sections. Starting from the intersection of the Yangtze River , they are Longchang Gorge, Yingwu Gorge, Shennong Gorge. Shenong Stream has a tributary - Mianzhu Gorge Stream. Currently, tourists travel by boat throughout the entire journey, which takes about 4 hours to travel back and forth.
The tourists boarded the cruise ship from the wharf beside the Yangtze River in Badong County. After about five minutes, the boat entered the Longchang Gorge section of Shennong Stream. People are in the boat, and when viewed from all around, the scenery is lush. The rocks on both sides are mostly sloping at 80 to 90 degrees, plunging straight into the bottom of the stream. The stream is green and the width of the water surface does not exceed 30 meters. Boating in the stream, the steep cliffs on both sides are covered with lush vegetation, and there are blooming mountain flowers everywhere. Sometimes you can see the wild scenery of monkeys and deer sheep climbing and playing. In addition, some ancient mysterious hanging coffins can also be seen near several cliff openings on both sides. How did the ancients place coffins between these cliffs over 4000 years ago, when labor tools were extremely rudimentary? It is still an eternal mystery to this day.
When the cruise ship reaches the wide water surface of Mianzhu Gorge, you will transfer to the raft and wooden boat provided by the scenic area. The wooden boat is shaped like a pea pod and is known locally as "pea horn". Each ship usually has a boatman and a Tujia people tour guide, and sometimes the tour guide will sing a local folk song. After the cruise ship docks at Luoping Pier (Luoping Reception Center), the tour guide will lead tourists to watch local ethnic performances, as well as the Three Gorges boat tracker's pulling performance (pulling performances are mostly in the morning, but sometimes cancelled in the afternoon due to weather conditions).
Travel Tips
Address: Badong County, Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province
Tel: 0718-4330000
Opening Hours: 08:30-17:30
Entrance Ticket: CNY 150 including the boat cruise