A Tsinghua University graduate who has floated on a raft from Hunan Province to Shanghai wants to end the journey on the Huangpu River because he "likes" the city.
But Shanghai's Maritime Safety Administration will not allow the symbolic end to the journey because it says Wu Xiaoliang is endangering himself and other vessels on the busy Huangpu.
"He's not familiar with water traffic conditions on the Huangpu River, which is always busy and crowded," said Yang Xiaodong, who's in charge of water traffic management under the administration. "And we will not allow such dangerous trips."
Wu arrived in Shanghai via the Yangtze River on last Wednesday after departing his hometown of Changsha City in Hunan on June 22. His voyage has covered more than 2,000 kilometers and he took only 500 yuan (US$66.23) for the trip.
"I chose the Xiangjiang River to start the trip because it is my hometown," Wu told the Oriental Morning Post in a cell phone message on Wednesday.
"The Yangtze River is the mother river of the country while the reason I want to end the trip in the Huangpu River is because I like Shanghai."
Although the leisurely trip sounds romantic, Wu told the newspaper he has encountered some problems along the way.
First he told the newspaper he lost his digital video camera when his raft flipped over on Dongting Lake.
Water authorities in Nanjing did what Shanghai's authorities said they will do -- stop Wu's journey due to safety concerns and lack of approval from the government.
But it wasn't a total loss for Wu in Nanjing. The city's water authority gave him a bicycle. Wu mounted the raft on the bike and passed the city on land before plopping his raft back into the Yangtze and continuing towards Shanghai, the report said.
He drifted during the day and would go to shore at night to rest. He didn't bring a compass or any maps, according to the report.
Wu has already floated along the Xiangjiang River and Dongting Lake in Hunan, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province and the Jinghang Canal in Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province.
(Shanghai Daily August 3, 2007)
