User:Pieceofmetalwork/1986 Sino-US Upper Yangtze River Expedition



In 1986, several parties competed to be the first to ever raft the upper reaches of the Yangtze (Jinsha River). The goal was to raft from the source of the Yangtze to Yibin, a city 1,900 km downstream. In total, 10 people would die during their attempts.

Background
The expedition with the aim of conquering the full length of the Yangtze rafting was first announced by American rafter Ken Warren. In 1976 he had successfully led a team to be the first to navigate the headwaters of the Ganges. However, among the Chinese public there was concern as to why an expedition of foreign rafters were allowed to be the first to conquer the mythical river. Faced with the criticism, the organization also attracted some Chinese rafters to their team.

Warren and his wife Jan had already attempted to start the Yangtze expedition in 1983, but authorities revoked permission when the team was already in Chengdu. A different source claims that the Warren's were swindled of their money by a Hong Kong man whom he had entrusted to handle all necessary paperwork. Regardless, the Warrens were forced to cancel their expedition, and had to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. In 1984 and 1985, the Warrens attempted again, but were unable to gather sufficient funding for the required permit. In the meantime, the team trained for their expedition on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, Snake, Rogue and Owyhee rivers in the Northwestern US.

When the event was announced, several Chinese rafters sought to independently beat the Sino-American crew on being the first to complete this route. In 1985, Chinese photographer Yao Maoshu (zh:尧茂书) died 1,270 km in as he attempted to complete it alone. His death only motivated more Chinese to complete the expedition before the American team could. A commentary in Sichuan Daily wrote:

"Nobody would accept the Americans conquering the Chinese mother river ahead of a Chinese team."

Besides fearing others would break the world record, the rafters were also motivated to finish their expedition as soon as possible, because a number of dams would be constructed along the Yangtze within the coming years.

Finally, in 1986, the expedition received approval of the State Council. State-affiliated Chinese company China Sports Services Co., and several American organizations, including the National Geographic Society and Mutual of Omaha would sponsor the expedition. Besides professional rafters, the members would also included a tv crew of the ABC Network. In total the team consisted of 27 members, including 20 Americans which in turn included the 14 man support crew, the 7 Chinese included three oarsmen, the other four being translators and journalists.

After the competition, Warren was to operate commercial rafting expeditions on the upper reaches of the Yangtze and the competition was to popularize rafting in China. To downplay nationalist sentiment against Warren's team, three Chinese athletes would join it.

On July 1 1986, a rivaling Chinese Academy of Sciences all-Chinese team of 40 began their downstream expedition. Around the same time, a 7-man team from Luoyang also started off. The two all-Chinese team had diverse ethnicities (Han, Tibetan, Yi, Qiang and Hui) and backgrounds (workers, teachers, doctors, retired soldiers, policemen, journalists, photographers).

On July 27 of 1986, three Chinese rafters of a competing expedition died as their raft capsized. According to participant Yang Yong, in total, 8 to 10 participants of his 55-member team dead. In 1987, Yang would also be among the first to descent the Yellow River and in 1998 among the first to descent the headwaters of the Brahmaputra River.

Eventually the two all-Chinese teams would join their efforts.

Sino-US expedition
For the expedition to start, a total of 9 tons of equipment had to be transported to the remote source of the Yangtze, a feat by itself. On July 14, the team left their basecamp for.

The expedition started on 31 July 1986, with local Tibetans and Chinese soldiers partaking in a sendoff ceremony. By August 2, the team had reached the confluence with the Dangqu.

On August 3, cameraman David Shippee passed away along the Ulan Moron, likely of pneumonia. Following this accident, four Americans of the crew decided to quit participating, apparently realizing how risky the expedition was.

After 18 days, the team had reached Zhimenda, a village near Yushu City, where met their road support crew for the first time again. Here, Warren faced a mutiny, with crew being dissatisfied about his leadership style. According to crew member Gary Peebles, Warren was angry about the rivaling Chinese team being ahead of them, and was too obsessed to complete the expedition to care about the safety of the crew. After Warren refused to step down as the expedition's leader, 4 American members resigned and returned home.

On August 26, four of the team's five boats were damaged in a collision, with one of them being a write-off. The radio equipment carried by the team was also damaged beyond use. In order to look for help, a member of the team walked five days to Batang where he could ask for help.

Later, the four remaining rafts were lashed together to improve their stability. Nevertheless, the contraption still capsized, with all boats being heavily damaged, one even being lost. Following this event, and with the time allotted by the government permit running out, the team decided to quit at 400 miles away from the Tiger Leaping Gorge

The team negotiated with a Chinese team that was already further downstream, hoping to agree with them to finish as one team.

By September 12, two American rafters, three tv crew members and four Chinese team member quit participating.

On September 13, Ken Warren announced that the team quit the expedition.In November 1986, the all-Chinese team completed the expedition. Members of the Sino-US expedition claimed that the other team had skipped some of the most dangerous parts of the course.

In 1988, a second trip, with a shorter route, for paying participants was organized. Each participant paid USD 15,000 for joining the rafting expedition.

Controversy
Upon returning to the US, Warren was sued by Shippee's family for recklessness contributing to his death. In February 1990, Warren was acquitted by a jury. Warren was also sued for failing to fulfill the sponsorship contracts, and faced corporate and personal bankruptcy.

In September 1986, Warren claimed that the winning rival Chinese team "skipped dangerous parts of the river." Warren's team had resigned after having setbacks in the form of "of bad weather, damage to the rafts and the expiration of a contract with the Chinese for logistical support."

Team
Several members of the expedition have published books. The River at the Center of the World, In 2013, Ken Warren's book When Dreams and Fear Collide: The true story of the 1986 Upper Yangtze River Expedition was published. Riding the Dragon's Back: The Race to Raft the Upper Yangtze

Chinese Academy of Sciences expedition
At 4:50 p.m. on July 19, 1986, the "Jinshajiang Death Squad" composed of 10 volunteer members, consisting of captain Wang Yan, deputy captain He Ping, team members Kong Zhiyi, Li Dafang, Lan Weike, Yan Ke, Yang Yong, Yang Bin, Zhou Hongjing and I (Feng Chun) took two rubber boats, "Pangang" and "Qianwei", and launched from the left bank of the Zhimenda Bridge in Yushu Prefecture, Qinghai Province, and began the Yangtze River rafting expedition in the real sense.

When teammate Zhou Hongjing untied the rope of a rubber boat tied to the rocks and was about to be dragged ashore, because the river flow was too fast, the huge friction force strangled Zhou Hongjing's hands to grab the boat rope with two blood marks, and he had to let go because of the pain. Everyone watched on the shore as the "Pangang" rubber boat was swept away by the huge waves and washed away without a trace

Legacy
IN 1987 another expedition took place

In 2016 the expedition received renewed attention as two reporters retraced its route. 30 years later after the expedition, participant Chu Siming remarked that the failed expedition may have achieved the antithesis of deterring Chinese from rafting. However by 2015 there were over 1,000 rafting related businesses in China.