To go rafting is an exciting entertainment in the cool air that people can enjoy in the summer, and is therefore a good choice for summer relaxation, especially for those who live in the city. The following are seven places where you can go rafting around Shanghai.
1. Hangzhou Shuangxi Rafting 杭州双溪漂流
Known as, "the best rafting in the Yangtze South region", Hangzhou Shuangxi Rafting is set in Jingshan town, more than 30 km northwest of Hangzhou (in the Shuangxi Rafting Scenery Area). The scenery area offers the choice of rafting on a bamboo raft or a rubber raft.
Rafting on a bamboo raft was the first rafting experience in the scenic area. Travelers can take an ox cart to the village to experience real rural life, and then go rafting. The rafting route is 3.5 kilometers long.
Rafters can have a water flight in the reach where the water is smooth, and enjoy the excitement when the raft shoots the rapids. The whole rafting is a breathtaking, but yet not dangerous, trip for both young and old. After rafting people can take a tour bus to visit the ten-kilometer sea of bamboo.
The rubber raft route is 3 kilometers long. It begins at the Silingxi Shatangzhan (泗岭溪沙塘站) and ends at the confluence of two rivers. The swift water for rafting may be adventurous and offers a big challenge for the young to show their true nature.
In addition to the rafting, there is also an amusement park in the scenic area where people can enjoy various entertainments, carnivals, and a BBQ.
Features
Clear water: Tiaoxi River is the source of Taihu Lake. It is so clear that fish can be seen through the water.
Big falls: The height of the waterfall can reach 3 meters. The raft drifts down directly makes the rafting excited and thrilling.
Bamboo sea: There is bamboo on both sides of Tiaoxi River for ten kilometers.
Scenic spots: Shuangxi Dieyue (双溪叠月), Reflection of Shishan Mountain (狮山倒影), Exploring Longjin Tea (龙井探源), Fishing under Elms (榆树垂钓), and Watching Fish at Jiayan (夹堰观鱼).
Rafting hours: 7.30am-5.pm
Location: 2 Shuangxi Bamboo Sea Road, Jingshan Town, Yuhang District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (浙江省杭州市余杭区径山镇双溪竹海路2号)
Transportation: Two and a half hours to three hours drive. It is 300 kilometers from Shanghai.
2. First Rafting at the Source of Huangpu River, Anji 安吉黄浦江源第一漂
The rafting place is located in Heluxi Village, Dipu Town, Anji County, Zhejiang. The route for rafting is 4.5 kilometers long and is a 60-minute trip. The water is smooth or rapid at different reaches, which makes the rafting alternately pleasant then exciting and challenging.
With the theme of eco-tourism, the scenic area offers eco-sights so that visitors can enjoy both exciting rafting and sightseeing at the same time, for example the landscapes along the river, wild ducks on the surface, fish and shrimps in the water, and swinging water plants.
Raft options: bamboo or rubber
Open: 11am-5.30pm (Monday to Friday); 8am-5.30pm (Saturday and Sunday)
Location: Heluxi Village, Dipu Town, Anji County, Zhejiang (浙江省湖州市安吉县递铺镇鹤鹿溪村)
3. Nine-Dragon River Rafting in the Thousand-Islet Lake 千岛湖九龙溪漂流
Nine-dragon River Rafting is seated at the bottom of Jinzijian Mountain, in Zuokou District. Jinzishan Mountain has long been known as the "small Huangshan Mountain" and is the first mountain in Chunan that became popular with climbers. It is about 18 kilometers away from Thousand-Islet Lake City, an international garden city.
The rafting trip is a two-hour excursion, with a length of 3.88 kilometers. There are nine pools for people to have their water fights and eight dams to slide down, which makes the rafting fun and exciting. Moreover, this is an ideal choice for two-person rafting.
Raft: rubber
Location: Xianhou Village, Zuokou District, Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (浙江省杭州市淳安县左口乡显后村)
Transportation: It is about two hours' drive from Hangzhou.
4. Zhexi Grand Canyon Rafting 浙西大峡谷漂流
Zhexi Grand Canyon is known as "the first grand canyon to visit in East China." The mountains there are the same chain as the Huangshan Mountain, and the water is the source of the Qiantang River system. The ring-shaped Grand Canyon is 83 kilometers long and its banks are lined with flowers, trees, different cliffs with their fantastic peaks and weird crags.
The rafting trip there is divided into two parts: a 1,200-meter rafting trip and a yacht trip.
At the Shangfa wharf groups of six to eight persons embark on a colored rubber raft journey under the direction of the guide who is also the punter. The raft goes through a 150-meter channel then plunges down, passing through Shuangxikou (双溪口), Chang Lake (Chang Tan 长潭), and Dabietan Lake ('Big Turtle Lake' 大潭), before docking at Qingsongling ('Green Pine Ridge' 青松岭), where groups transfer to a yacht.
The yacht traverses rapidly the 600-meter-wide Jianmen Lake ('Sword Gate Lake' 剑门潭) and stops at Green Bamboo Garden, Xiafa Wharf.
Rafts: rubber raft and yacht
Location: Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, Lin'an, Zhejiang (浙江省临安市清凉峰国家级自然保护区内)
Transportation: one hour's drive from Lin'an.
5. Longtan Gorge Rafting 龙潭峡谷漂流
The rafting is located at the bottom of Jinzijian Mountain, 48 kilometers from Thousand-Islet Lake Town.
The rafting trip is 3.6 kilometers long with a 166-meter descent, which creates a charming and fantastic natural spring rafting experience containing nearly all the features of the four types of rafting: Mengshi Rafting (猛士漂), Yongshi Rafting (勇士漂), Benchi Rafting (奔驰漂), and Huixuan Rafting (回旋漂).
With its highest fall (21 meters), and fastest speed in Zhejiang, Longtan Gorge Rafting creates for you a most exciting, adventurous, and quite unique rafting trip.
Location: Longtou (Dragon Head) Village, Wangfu District, Chun'an County, Zhejiang (浙江省淳安县王阜乡龙头村)
6. Prince Valley Rafting 王子谷漂流
Prince Valley Rafting is in Fuwen District's Thousand-Islet Lake Scenic Area. It is 18 kilometers from Thousand-Islet Lake Town. The river for rafting there is the clearest in the scenic area.
The rafting route is 4 kilometers long with a descent of 101 meters. The whole river for rafting is lined with bamboo, trees, perilous peaks, and strange cliffs.
Moreover, people can go rafting there at night, the first location for night rafting in China. The river is illuminated by colored lights, making it look like a fairyland. Rafting at night in the summer is a unique, mysterious and enjoyable experience, in harmony with the surroundings.
Location: Qingtian Village, Fuwen District, Hangzhou, Zhengjiang
Transportation: It is about 50 kilometers away from the Thousand-Islet Lake Town, more than an hour's drive.
7. Xinan River Dragon Boat Rafting 新安龙舟漂流
The features of Xi'an River Dragon Boat Rafting are: warm in winter, cool in summer, clear water, and the strange fogs and mists. The temperature of water there is 12°C – 17°C all the year round.
The rafting is reputed to be "the first rafting in the world." The rafting wharves at Zijin Beach and Nongfu Spring Plant (a natural oxygen bar) face each other across the river. The rafting trip begins at the source of Nongfu spring, that tastes a little sweet, and ends at the Jingbin Park.
The line is 6 kilometers long. During the rafting, you can drink original Nongfu Spring water and enjoy the sight of Zijin Suolan ('Zijin dragon dancing' 紫金 ), Jingzhong Yinyu ('silverfish in the mirror' 镜中银鱼), Luotong Sunsets (罗桐夕照), Moon Island (月亮岛), Wuqiaozhengyan ('The Five Competing Bridges' 五桥争艳), 'Amazing Buddha's Light' (奇异佛光), and 'Underwater Animal and Plant World' (动植物世界).
It is an ideal place to relax and to visit because the scenery can be enjoyed both on fine and rainy days, and even at twilight.
Opening hours: 8am-5pm
Location: Zijin Dragon Boat Wharf, Xin'anjiang Town, Hangzhou (杭州市新安江紫金龙舟码头)