Shennong Stream
A tributary of the Yangtze River and a very popular excursion on Yangtze River Cruises, the Shennong Stream is located near the city of Badong. The slowly flowing water passes by beautiful scenery as the gorge which rises vertically on either side is covered with local flora and fauna. Visitors on a Yangtze River cruise will leave their ship to board small boats which will take them into the Shennong Stream, where small wooden peapod boats, manned by 6 Tujia Ethnic Minority men, will take you down the Shennong Stream. The boats are a wonderful way to see the stream and enjoy its beauty with just the sound of the oars and the singing of the men working the boats.
The stream has four natural gorges; Chengong Gorge, Mianzhu Gorge, Yingwu Gorge, and Longchang Gorge.
The banks of the Shennong Stream have been inhabited by the Tujia Ethnic Minority Group since the Han Dynasty (25-220). Along the stream, hanging coffins can be seen in clefts in the cliffs. It is unknown how the heavy wooden coffins were raised to such high parts of vertical cliffs. Many of the coffins have been lost by the rising of the water level due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, but some of them have been moved for preservation and archaeological study and the higher ones can still be seen in situ.
