The Vanishing Yangtze: Paddling China's Great River 2019

A group of white water rafters return to the Yangtze River in central China to trace the steps of the epic first descent in 1986.

In 1985, Ken Warren acquired permits to run "The Last Great River." The Yangtze is the third longest river on Earth, yet at that time was little known to westerners. Once the Chinese became aware of Ken Warren's plans to be the first to descend the river, they put together their own teams to challenge him. This started a race which would end in the tragic loss of 11 lives over the course of months to become the first.

A 2019 expedition of rafters aimed to follow their footsteps and raft the difficult whitewater where Ken Warren aborted their trip.