Author: Lipei Shan Chen Zixuan
A kayak, a 360 panoramic camera, three mobile phones, and a pet dog named "La Tiao".
With these "partners", on June 20 this year, the "post-90s" Ningxia boy Wang Haiwa launched into the water somewhere on the bank of the Yellow River in Yinchuan and officially started rafting.
Four months later, he successfully returned to his hometown and completed a "fantastic drifting" of 5,400 kilometers.
When Wang Haiwa encountered waved areas while drifting along the Yellow River, he recorded the scene with a panoramic camera.
Photo courtesy of respondents
"There are thrills and warm moments."
Recalling this journey, Wang Haiwa, who has always been reticent, opened a chatterbox to reporters from Chinanews.com.
His Yellow River rafting challenge is divided into two stages. The first stage is downstream, starting from Yinchuan to the mouth of the Yellow River; the second stage starts from the source of Qinghai and drifts back to Yinchuan.
"The reason for this plan is that the downstream flow is gentle and the difficulty of rafting is low. I hope that through the downstream rafting, I can get technical and physical training to better meet the challenges of the upstream rapids."
Photo courtesy of respondents
Wang Haiwa is an avid fan of outdoor sports.
Before rafting the Yellow River, he had tried cycling in Tibet and hiking in the desert.
For him, rafting the Yellow River was not a whim.
"Six years ago, my cousin and I took a kayak to play elsewhere. When we passed by the Yellow River, I suddenly had the idea of drifting. Then I couldn't get this idea out of my mind." He was not far from the Yellow River. The scenic spot operates water parks and beach buggies. “Business is greatly affected by the epidemic, so it is better to use this time to do what you like.”
Wang Haiwa, who had made the decision, immediately began preparations.
Collecting hydrological data, marking the location of the wave area on the map, preparing supplies, and consulting with the drifting netizens... Three months later, he set off.
Photo courtesy of respondents
When downstream, Wang Haiwa drifted for at least 10 hours a day. After more than 50 days of "getting along" with the Yellow River, his drifting technique became adept, and he became a kayak and coped with various waves calmly.
But after reaching the upper reaches, the altitude is high and the temperature difference is large. He can only get into the water at more than ten in the morning when the temperature and light are suitable, and float to land at five or six in the afternoon.
In the Guancang Gorge section of Ganglong Township, Qinghai, the muddy yellow river turned over huge waves, and he was swelled off the boat. This was Wang Haiwa's first fall into the water.
"The first reaction at that time was to hurry up and straighten the boat and climb on board as soon as possible." But he enjoyed the drifting process very much. "In addition to the excitement, it is more beautiful. The scenery on both sides of the strait is beautiful, and the mobile phone has no signal. There is no trivial interruption, and the world in the trance is only me and the blue sky, green grass, and yellow river."
Wang Haiwa fell into the water for the first time during the rafting process.
Video screenshot
In fact, there was also a small mouse who was traveling with Wang Haiwa who had been in contact with him on a walkie-talkie in a backup car.
In August, when the second stage of rafting started from Maduo Township in Yushu, Qinghai, Wang Haiwa’s "partner" had another drone for water regime detection and shooting, and his wife Wenyu also got on the back-up car.
Wang Haiwa (middle) took a group photo with his wife, support rat, and pet dog Latiao before the first launch of the second stage of drifting.
Photo courtesy of respondents
For the 25-year-old Wen Yu, this journey is undoubtedly hard.
The tent in the early morning was so cold that my hands were too cold to be supplied with pure water. I had to wash and cook with tributary water. It took about 10 days to take a bath in the county hotel... "But I wanted to be with him. I liked him at first because of him. This kind of aggressiveness." In her opinion, compared with the joy of seeing the world with her lover, the hard work along the way is not worth mentioning.
Wang Haiwa (left) poses with his wife and pet dog Latiao at the source of the Yellow River.
Photo courtesy of respondents
In addition to his wife, Wang Haiwa has more than 800,000 fans.
He broadcasts live on the Internet platform every day, and netizens from all over the world use their mobile phones to accompany him on the Yellow River.
In the past few months, there are often enthusiastic netizens waiting for Wang Haiwa to come ashore with local delicacies.
There are also many seniors who are engaged in outdoor and extreme sports, who have been watching his progress.
When the upstream stage drifted to Hukou, Zhu Chaohui, the first Chinese man to successfully fly across the Yellow River on a motorcycle, went to the shore to pick him up for dinner; Li Chaoge, a member of the "First Drift of the Yellow River" in 1987, often joined him in the live broadcast room and told netizens The thrilling story of drifting at that time.
Wang Haiwa interacted with local residents (netizens).
Photo courtesy of respondents
Of course, many netizens scold Wang Haiwa.
"Make a show", "Something went wrong, burdened the firefighter", "Is nothing else done?" ... This kind of comment is very common in Wang Haiwa's video.
Wang Haiwa didn't pay much attention to these comments, and sometimes "answered" directly.
"Many netizens are just for blogging and looking for a sense of existence. I will not be affected by such comments. When I first started live broadcasting and posting videos, many people said that I was a'fake drifter.' After they gradually got to know me , It has become the "iron fan" of my live broadcast room."
Wang Haiwa finished the last day of rafting and returned to Yinchuan.
Video screenshot
"I used to think I knew the Yellow River very well, but after this trip, I knew how ignorant I was once. I will develop towards a professional video blogger in the outdoor field. My next stop is Lop Nur in Xinjiang. Hope and more People share the beautiful scenery along the way."
After finishing the 5,400-kilometer Yellow River rafting, Wang Haiwa categorically told reporters that there would be no more wind and waves to crush him. “After all, doing what you like is the greatest meaning of life.”