Photo by Travis Winn

The Dulong is a headwaters tributary to the Irawaddy, which is a major river that drains the southeast flank of the Himalayas and flows into the Bay of Bengal at Yangon, Myanmar.

Travis Winn and Will Norris kayaked this stretch in northwest Yunnan to determine the feasibility of commercial rafing in an area that should be a national park. The river flows through an area inhabited by the Drung, a colorful, unique minority culture that is more similar to Burmese hill tribes than to Han Chinese or northern minority nationalities.

They drove and hiked about twenty miles upstream from the bridge west of Gongshan near 27 46 36N, 98 19 58E, elev. 4600', in November 2013, put-in near 28 08 08N, 98 19 23E and took out at the bridge. Average gradient for this Class 4 stretch is about 80' per mile, flow about 1500 cfs.

Other than its remote location and the hike, this could be a good repeat run for Class 5 kayakers. The biggest challenge they faced was a landslide that closed to road to Gongshan, but they were able to carry their kayaks over it and catch a ride back to Gongshan.