At the time of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and later, the Dan was used by merchants of the Guanlong Trading Bloc (关陇集团) to transport goods to Xiangyang and Hankou, both in Hubei Province.

At the same time many shipping (船帮会馆) and horse-drawn transportation (马帮会馆) guilds were established at Longju Village (龙驹寨) (modern day Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province), illustrating the flourishing trade on the Dan River.

[4] In 1693, during the reign of the Qing Kangxi Emperor, both Xi'an and Fengxiang County on the Guanzhong Plain suffered crop failure bringing famine to the region.

Grain taxes from the Jingdai (荆襄) District (south of modern-day Neixiang County, Henan) were forwarded along the Dan River to Longju Village then on to Xi'an for use by the emperor along with his government and army.

With the advent of the Republic of China in 1912, a ballad spread amongst the people of Xichuan County featuring the words "The boatmen have three knives stuck in their stomachs: the river pirates, the bandits and the submerged reefs.

With calm water, the 167-kilometre (104 mi) round trip from Longju Village to Jingziguan took 20 days and involved heavy physical work with little return.

China's implementation of economic regionalization and a state monopoly on purchasing and marketing effectively severed the upstream/downstream trade links on the Dan River.