Shaowu, Guangze, Shunchang, Nanping, Futun Creek, Nakou, Shaikou, Weimin, Yangkou, Dabugang, Longtou Rapids, Jishui Rapids, Guanyin Rapids, Sanjian Rapids

Have you ever seen real rapids?

Not the kind you find at a theme park. The kind that actually kills people.

In 1780, at “Jishui Tan” alone, 12 boats capsized in a single year. Over 3,000 logs were lost.

In 1890, a sudden rainstorm at “Guanyin Tan” sent four salt-laden boats crashing into hidden reefs. Over 200,000 jin of salt sank to the riverbed.

This is the “Eighteen Rapids” of Northern Fujian’s Futun Creek—a 180-kilometer stretch of river packed with 331 deadly rapids.

A River That Devours

The Futun Creek is one of the three major tributaries of the Min River. The most lethal section lies between Nakou in Shaowu and Yangkou in Shunchang.

Called the “Eighteen Rapids,” it actually contains hundreds of hidden reefs and jagged rocks.

The riverbed drops at 1.2‰, with currents exceeding 3 meters per second year-round. During dry seasons, the channel narrows to less than 15 meters. Boats must squeeze through extremely tight passages.

Boatmen had a saying: “Longtou Tan, the Gate of Hell—nine out of ten boats that enter will never come out.”

Not an exaggeration. Just data.

In 1087, imperial grain transport records noted: “The Shaowu waterway is narrow and dangerous, with giant rocks blocking navigation.”

For over 800 years, no one could solve this problem.

A Ledger of Death

In 1780, Shaowu’s timber trade was at its peak. Over a hundred boats traveled the Futun Creek daily.

According to grain transport archives, at “Jishui Tan”—where the channel curved in a deadly “S” shape—12 boats capsized that year alone. Over 3,000 logs were lost.

In 1890, a sudden rainstorm at “Guanyin Tan” caused flash flooding. Four salt boats lost control, hit hidden reefs, and broke apart. Over 200,000 jin of salt was lost—worth over 2 million yuan in today’s money.

Similar tragedies happened every year.

The Rapids Master — A Life-or-Death Profession

The boatmen tried to fight back.

They invented a profession: the “Rapids Master.” These men had to memorize the location of every single hidden reef. They earned three times what an ordinary boatman made.

A 1925 commercial survey recorded the rule clearly: every boat passing through the Eighteen Rapids must hire a certified Rapids Master. It was mandatory.

There were also strict taboos: no one could sit at the bow (it blocked the view), no talking during passage (it caused distraction). Before departure, rituals were performed at the “Water-Calming Stele” by the dock.

These rules were written in blood.

Fighting Rocks With Fire

In 1602, the Ming court needed giant fir logs from Northern Fujian to build the imperial palace. But the Eighteen Rapids blocked the way.

Officials came up with a solution: “burn the rocks, then crack them with water.”

Workers piled firewood on the boulders during the dry season. They burned the rocks for days, then poured cold water on them. Heat expansion and cold contraction split the rocks apart. Then they chiseled the pieces away by hand.

14 months. 3,000 silver taels. They widened just three rapids by a total of 3 meters.

Then, in 1953, explosives arrived.

The Fujian Provincial Transport Department formed the “Futun Creek Dredging Team.” They used explosives to blast 24 core rapids. Over three years, they removed 158,000 cubic meters of reef.

By 1956, the channel that once could only handle 10-ton boats was upgraded to 20 tons. Navigation safety improved by 70%.

The Eighteen Rapids, which had plagued Northern Fujian for a millennium, were finally conquered.

The Railway Finished What Dynamite Started

But what truly ended the Eighteen Rapids wasn’t dynamite. It was the railway.

In April 1957, the Yingxia Railway opened. Its tracks ran almost parallel to the Futun Creek through Shaowu and Shunchang. Within a year, 85% of Shaowu’s freight had switched to rail.

Rail cost 0.05 yuan per ton-kilometer. Water transport cost 0.12 yuan—more than double.

The math was simple.

By 1965, most of the 500 boats that once worked the Futun Creek had been sold or abandoned.

By the early 1970s, with the completion of hydroelectric dams, most of the Eighteen Rapids were permanently submerged under reservoirs. The roaring rapids that once terrified the ancients had become still, silent lakes.

The Disappeared Rapids

In 2010, Shaowu erected a monument at the old wharf site: the “Eighteen Rapids Navigation Monument.”

The inscriptions tell the story.

From the difficult grain transport of 1087, to the fire-and-water blasting of 1602, to the explosives of 1953, to the submersion of the 1970s.

The disappearance of the Eighteen Rapids is not just a change in geography. It marks Northern Fujian’s leap from the “Inland River Era” to the “Land Power Era.”

Every vanished rapid is inscribed with the footsteps of the people who fought the river.

This is not just a story about rapids. It’s a story about how humans fight nature—and how they learn to live with it.

The Eighteen Rapids in Numbers

  • 331: Total rapids on the Futun Creek
  • 180 km: Length of the Shaowu-Nanping section
  • 1.2‰: Average riverbed gradient
  • 3 m/s: Average current speed at the rapids
  • 12: Boats capsized at Jishui Tan in one year
  • 3,000: Logs lost at Jishui Tan in one year
  • 158,000 m³: Reef rock blasted from 1953-1955
  • 70%: Improvement in navigation safety after blasting
  • 0.05 vs 0.12 yuan: Rail vs water cost per ton-kilometer

From awe, to confrontation, to modification, and finally to harmonious coexistence.

This is the story of the Eighteen Rapids. And the story of Northern Fujian.

Those vanished rapids are not forgotten. They live on in inscriptions and data.