Wu Yi Shan- Huckleberry Finn

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in fifth grade, I have always had this dream of going on a river raft adventure down the Mississippi River. Since moving to Asia I still kept the dream but wanted to do it down the Yangtze or the Yellow river. Wouldn't it be fun to build a raft out of bamboo and just cruise, letting the river take you down it's path to wherever it goes?
Well I haven't done this trip yet and quite frankly haven't thought about it for a long time but a few days ago I was in Wu Yi Shan, Fujian province to film a scene for this new film I've been working on and I was reminded of ol' Huck Finn.

Wu Yi Shan is famous for it's majestical mountains and dreamlike scenery. On the day of the shoot, we arrived at the bank of the "9 Corner River" where you could see row after row of bamboo rafts waiting to be set in the water to take tourists down through the rocky terrain. I was immediately reminded of Huck. The rafts were simply lashed together with wire and made entirely out of bamboo. Even the seats were made of bamboo. They didn't look that sturdy but once they were set in the water I realized it wasn't going to be a problem.

Our boatmen skillfully manuevered us to the locations we needed to get to and we spent the morning shooting and enjoying the awesome views. I think the footage we shot is gonna look really cool.

After taking this short raft ride, I'm convinced that my dream of a river adventure is possible. I'm not really sure if it'll be down the Yangtze or the Yellow River. I think all the industrial waste and the huge shipping boats may make it a bit life threatening but I'm sure I will be able to find a nice river somewhere that will allow me to cruise for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I will get to do this sometime...keep the dream alive!