 The Shennong Creek empties into the Yangtze River in the county seat of Badong. Through years of alluviation, it has caused a large shoal here. All tourists drifting on the Shennong Creek must pass this shoal. They change to small wood boats here. So this is naturally a good market for tourist arts and crafts. In the busy tourist season, hundreds of tourists visit here every day. More and more people sell tourist souvenirs. In order to avoid vicious competition, the 100 plus people of the village are divided into three shifts. One shift does business in the shoal, another is in the valley, and still another has staggered holidays.
The day’s first tourists finally arrive at 11:00 in the morning. Led by their guides, they directly get on wood boats. They won't buy anything from these stands of arts and crafts until after they finish drifting on the Shennong Creek. It takes them at least three hours to complete the trip.
Life of the local people is becoming more and more different from what it was before. Souvenir sellers earn more money than farmers and boat trackers in an easier way. Life is easier for them now than before as they only have to wait here for business.
The mountain has a beautiful name: Elephant Nose Mountain. In the gorge at the foot of the mountain, there is a long stone beach. The mouth of the Shennong Creek is about three kilometers away. Every household there can have a stand on the long beach. The beautiful landscape and cool weather may cause tourists to stay here longer so that business here will be better. However, you may not have any tourists in a whole day. Because they are short of time, many tourists may not get as far as here.
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