Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
This is the moment a man filming the world’s largest tidal bore is swept away by fast-moving waves in front of shocked witnesses.
The tourist standing on the south bank of the Qiangtang River in Shaoxing’s Shangyu District, which is in East China’s Zhejiang Province, was waiting to document the phenomenon known as the Silver Dragon.
Millions of tourists descend upon the river every year to see the world’s largest tidal bore, which is created when seawater is channelled inland from Hangzhou Bay, causing 30-foot waves which travel at speeds of 25 mph.
Pictures Credit: AsiaWire
But the tourist seen squatting down on the riverbank near the Jiaxing-Shaoxing Sea Bridge – said to be one of the best places to see the stunning phenomenon – does not appear to realise he has got too close for comfort during his visit on 18th September.
As the tidal bore pushes on, the middle-aged tourist stands up holding his tripod and camera in his hands to film as the wave rushes by, but he fails to notice the water having breached the riverbank he is standing on.
Before long, he is knocked off his feet and disappears into the murky currents as the tide sweeps past him right in front of other stunned witnesses.
Fortunately, the man is said to have been pushed back onto land just a few moments later by the same waves, with an image showing him soaked from head to toe and having suffered grazes on his arm.
The Qiantang River runs for 285 miles through the province of Zhejiang, past capital Hangzhou before exiting via Hangzhou Bay into the East China Sea.
The tidal bore appears every spring and autumn, with the most spectacular waves said to occur around 18th day of the eighth Chinese lunar calendar month, which this year fell on 16th September.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
