Lanzhou Leather Raft
 As an ancient kind of ferry along the Huanghe
River, the leather raft, an admirable and unique local cultural phenomenon,
can still be found along the riverbank path between the Zhongshan Bridge and
Mother Statue in Lanzhou of Northwest China's Gansu
Province.
The leather raft is usually made of sheep or cow skin. The whole skins of
sheep or cows are peeled off and depilated with salt water (a process which
eliminates unwanted hair). The four limbs and the neck are dipped into the oil
to make them softer and then all the openings are bound up with strings. Only a
small hole is left to blow the air in. Wood blocks are used to tie the "skin
bags" together, thus finishing a leather raft. Thanks to its simple making
process, low cost and convenience to drift on the river, the leather raft was
once very widely used.
Historical records show that leather raft came into existence early in the
Han (206BC-24AD) and Tang (618-907) dynasties and was widely distributed from
Northwest China's Qinghai
Province on the upper reach to its eastern Shandong
Province on the lower reach of the Huanghe River. As to when the raft
leather first appeared in Lanzhou, that remains unknown due to a lack of
historical records. In the ancient times, leather rafts are mainly used for the
long-distant traffic between Lanzhou, Qinghai and Baotou. 
The scales of the sheepskin rafts vary greatly, with the biggest being made
of roughly 600 sheepskins. These large rafts are usually 22 meters long and
seven meters wide with a carrying capacity of about 20 to 30 tons. Three oars
are installed respectively on the fore and stern, with each oar controlled by
two men. The other large rafts are usually made of 90 cow skins with a carrying
capacity of about 20 tons, while the smaller rafts are often made of a dozen of
sheepskins for the convenience short distance traffic.
Author: Jeff
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