A wish to reunite Chinese with their waterways

Rafting since childhood

Born into a family of rafters in Salt Lake City, Utah, Winn has been rafting since he was five and piloted his own kayak through the Grand Canyon at the age of 13.

Asked about the difference between rivers in China and the US, he says that many factors, including the gradient, volume, geology and topography of each river canyon all come together to determine whether or not a river is safe for rafting. This can change throughout the year as rainfall or snowmelt impacts the volume of the river.

"The section of the Yangtze River from Batang to Dege on the border of Sichuan province is especially dangerous, due to the high gradient, high volume, hard rock geology and huge mountains on each side of the river."

Complicating things further is the fact that the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau where the upper level of the Yangtze River passes through is still geographically active, which means it is prone to earthquakes and landslides.

In 2008, Winn met Li Weiyi, who was inspired by Winn's vision of "bringing Chinese to visit their mother rivers". She quit her real estate job in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, to work with him, neither of them knowing at the time that their shared vision would lead to a personal relationship.

Winn and Li married early this year. To date, Winn has accompanied several hundred Chinese, including many children, on rafting trips in the country.

"Currently we focus on bringing children to the river, knowing that if they fall in love with rivers and enjoy growing up on rivers it will benefit them immediately and maybe also benefit China in the long term."