Rafting on Luxi River

Longhu Mountain in southern Jiangxi Province， inscribed in August， 2010 on the World Natural Heritage under the name of Danxia Landform of China， has a great scenic beauty and legends to offer. The mountain presents precipices hard to describe in words， the ancestral temple of China’s Taoism， and the Danxia landform in its breathtaking beauty. The beauty of the mountain can be viewed best on Luxi River that zigzags through the towering peaks.

The River

The name of the mountain in Chinese suggests dragon and tiger. Naturally， dragon refers to the river. We take a ride on a bamboo raft to view the river scenery and rock formations. Rafting on Luxi River can start in different spots. The longest rafting journey takes more than three hours. We take a one-hour shortcut. Rafting on the Luxi River is a great pleasure and adventure， putting me in close contact with the beauty of nature. The river seemingly knows where to go and where to turn. While on the raft， I get out my map and try to chart a course for the river to go. But my imaginary plan never works out. The river follows its whimsical twists and turns， unfolding picture-perfect views of shoals， woods， and rocks. Peeping into the limpid waters， I even have some philosophical thought about life， about taking and giving.

Rock Formations

It is a hot day toward the end of summer. And it is a good time to take a ride on a bamboo raft floating down the river. We lean back comfortably on the small bamboo chairs and enjoy the cooling breezes on the river. The rocky peaks spread like a gallery， presenting us with rock formations. Some of us who have visited Lijiang River in Guangxi Autonomous Region in southern China comment that the scenic Luxi River is comparable with Lijiang River. We wow at the rock formations that have amazing resemblances to real and imaginary things such as animals and immortals. These natural peaks give me great fantasies.

Coffins on Cliffs

Toward the end of the rafting trip we see coffins perched high on seemingly inaccessible cliffs. These cliff coffins are different from those I have seen somewhere else. In Shanxi Province I saw coffins buried in caves high up on cliffs. Coffins on the huge cliffs above the Yangtze River sit on wood structures embedded into rocks. Some coffins perched high on the cliffs along the Luxi River are said to go back to more than 2，000 years. It is said that this kind of burial service was first adopted by some nobles so that they could be nearer to heaven. Usually， a coffin is placed on a protruding rock or in a natural rocky cave on a sheer precipice. It is a mystery how these coffins managed to get up to these apparently inaccessible spots. Ancient poets came to see these human myths and wrote short poems about the incomprehensible burial phenomenon. Even today modern people can’t figure out how some of these coffins were elevated up to the impossible positions. Local people say that the higher these coffins are on the cliff， the nearer and closer the dead are toward the heaven. It is said that the local government offers to pay 400，000 yuan for a good solution as to how all these coffins were lifted to position and it is said that nobody has yet come forward to claim the reward.

Local residents

If the coffins are part of the history of the river， the two raft men are living dictionaries on the history. Watching the raft men working the raft is a delight. Most of the time they use long bamboo poles to push the raft forward. In some places where water is too deep， they use oars. Now and then they hum fragmentary tunes. These tunes are hard to describe， but they are soul touching and unforgettable.

Mosquito-free Village is a small riverside settlement snuggled in a wooded valley. It is said that mosquitoes never come to the village. A sight at the ancient architecture reveals an idyllic rural life. The village’s association with Xu Shen， a great scholar of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD)， adds a touch of history to the river. I take a stroll through the village， feeling as if I were viewing an open volume of the poems of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). I think about these poems， about the houses， sunshine， willows， riverside houses， stories depicted in these poems， which all come alive in the village.

A few fishermen of the village stage a show of fishing. They row narrow sampans， and let cormorants loose into the river， showing us a life of harmony between nature and man.□