Jīnkǒu

Jinkou stands on the Yangtze at Huaishan, upstream from Wuhan. Here projecting rock and the cliff face narrowed the river’s passage and created dangerous eddies. Merchant boats could overturn in the turbulent water below the mountain. A local gazetteer explanation of Huaishan’s alternative name, Jingjishan, recalled the alarm its swift currents caused travellers.

During the Ming Jiajing reign, 1522–1566, officials raised funds for a stone revetment built in three tiers against the mountain. The stepped embankment also provided towpaths along the difficult reach. Some stones have rounded holes for fastening the ropes used by boat haulers. This riverside structure makes Jinkou’s shipping history tangible: the movement of boats depended on engineered banks and the physical work of men pulling against the current.