Friends | Packrafting in The Secret Land of Jiulong | Best Packrafts 2026 | Lightweight & Durable Inflatable Boats

Mountains are her backbone,
Rivers are her blood,
Pack your bags and set off,
Visit every lake and river in our country.
–瓦力(Wali)

On Wali’s social media, you can often see that he travels in autumn, as his favorite season is autumn. He would always take his packraft and go to the western Sichuan Plateau in autumn.

We asked him why he like to go packrafting in autumn, and he said, “Autumn is beautiful! I love the golden warmth.” In his eyes, the autumn on the plateau is colorful with snow-capped mountains and green trees under the blue sky. The autumn golden grass, falling leaves in the wind, everything is pleasant and refreshing. As for him who likes outdoor sports, he believes that compared with the hot sunshine in summer, autumn sunshine is calm and warm, and the comfortable temperature is more suitable for outdoor rafting; at this time, the water in the river is gentler, suitable for slow paddling.

The “Secret Land of Jiulong” was a trip Wali and his friends took on a whim. It is located in Shangtuan Town, Jiulong County, under the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan with deep ravines and canyons. There are rich forests and vast grasslands in the alpine areas. The destination that Walli and his friends headed for was Dacaoba, Shangtuan, Jiulong County. He said: “I went home and grabbed a down jacket, and I brought MRS packraft.” It took 9 hours to Jiulong, just for the golden meadows under the snow-capped mountains and the braided rivers flowing through.

The braided river Wali mentioned belongs to the braided water system. Braided water system is a unique river water system landscape. It is formed by sandbars, shoals or other obstructions that block the river waterway and cause it to branch. Braided rivers usually appear at the end of glaciers and are composed of water melt from glaciers and snow mountains. These stretches of river have wide, wandering channels and you can usually find them in the lower reaches of a river, especially near the estuary. The multi-stranded waterways sway back and forth between sandbars, dividing and joining, intertwining with each other. From a distance, it looks like it is tied with many little braids. Such rivers are called braided rivers (also called branched rivers).

In Walli’s view, a beautiful paddling trip is not only about the stunning scenery, but more importantly, a few like-minded friends who love the outdoors. Along the way, they experienced high altitude sickness, the motion sickness, sleepiness, cold, and tire blowouts. However, they also camp together, share the warm food and support with each other. The journey is happy and pleasant.

The end of the journey is to launch the packraft into the water, and the group rows their own packraft along the water. Surrounding the silent river, paddling with the ripples, there is no need for a next destination. As Walli said, “For me, it doesn’t matter where the destination is, just escape from the city.”

The poet Adonis said: “Winter is loneliness, summer is parting, and spring is the bridge between the two. Only autumn penetrates all seasons.” To experience the transition between autumn and winter, the wind slowly blows. The splendor of late autumn is faded, preparing for the arrival of winter. Everything seems to be the same as before. We go out, walk in the mountains in late autumn, row on the flat water. Day and night alternate, the four seasons change, those days that seem to repeat , in fact, all have different meanings to you.