September 9 - China: Fengjie to Yichang - Three Gorges Boat Ride
Jon and I slept in today because we're still catching up on sleep from various overnight train rides. We met everyone at 11:30 for lunch and then to go catch our boat down the Yangtze River. Lunch was very good - at the same restaurant where we had dinner last night - and we particularly liked the beef and ginger dish which is odd because we don't like ginger.
The Boat
Our 1:00 boat down the Yangtze was a large cabin-cruiser that looks like it had seen better days. It's definitely not a cruise ship, but is a large metal boat that could be a small cargo ship if it really wanted to be. Grant got us all settled into our various cabins, and we started the long trip back to Yichang. The boat ride was to last at least 5 hours, and maybe more depending on the current and the traffic and the Gezhouba dam. But we got to pass through each of the spectacular Three Gorges, which of course will not be so spectacular after the Three Gorges Dam is fully operational. Now that I think about it, it's somewhat ironic that they named the dam "The Three Gorges Dam" when in fact the dam will be making the gorges less "gorge-like" and more "hill-like". But it sounds like it's a necessary piece of infrastructure for the country.
Signs marking the water levels of the dam - 135 meters and 175 meters
When we were about to reach a Gorge, Jerry (our local guide) would come to each of our cabins and forewarn us so we could get out to the front deck to enjoy the scenery as we passed by. The gorges truly are spectacular, and I'm surprised that we'd heard they were "over-rated".
Gorge One - Qutang Xia
From Lonely Planet China (pg 866): "This is the smallest and the shortest gorge (only 8km long), although the water flows most rapidly here. High on the northern bank, at a place called Fengxiang Xia (Bellows Gorge), are a series of crevices. There is said to have been an ancient tribe in this area whose custom was to place the coffins of their dead in high mountain caves. Nine coffins were discovered in these crevices, some containing bronze swords, armor, and other artifacts, but they are believed to date back only as far as the Warring States period."
In the First Gorge
Between the gorges, we would sit in our cabin (which we're sharing with Grant), munch on snacks, and read magazines and books. About this time, Michelle and Darren showed up and asked if they could put their stuff in our cabin. Apparently, their cabin is actually the ship's crew cabin and has other peoples' stuff all over it. They said they were sitting there staring at the pictures of scantily-clad women on the walls when a Chinese woman walked in, looked at them, said something in Chinese, and quickly closed the door. So they came downstairs to our cabin and hung out with us for the rest of the trip.
Gorge Two - Wu Xia
From Lonely Planet China (page 867): "Wu Xia is about 40 km in length and the cliffs on either side rise to just over 900 m. The gorge is noted for the Kong Ming tablet, a large slab of rock at the foot of the Peak of the Immortals. Kong Ming was prime minister of the state of Shu during the period of the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280). On the tablet is a descriptino of his stance upholding the alliance between the states of Shu and Wu against the states of Wei. Badong is a town on the southern bank of the river within the gorge. The town is a communications center from which roads span out into western Hubei."
The Second Gorge
We are the only westerners on board the boat, but we are certainly not the only tourists. Chinese tourists do this boat trip in droves. Their guides bring them out to this front deck and speak to them through megaphones - even though they're no more than 5 feet away. Jerry, however, has mercy on our western ways and tells us all he knows about the gorges without a loud megaphone.
Gorge Three - Xiling Xia
Xiling Xia, at 80 km, is the longest of the three gorges. It was quite dark when we passed through it, so we didn't get to enjoy it as much as the other and photos were pretty impossible. Because it was getting cold, I stood in Ivy and Ted's cabin and looked through their picturesque window to see the gorge pass by.
The Three Gorges Dam
We passed by the Three Gorges Dam at around 9:00 (note that our "five hour boat trip" is now on hour eight for whatever reason), and we all crowded out on the deck to see it at night. We took some pictures, but they're very blurry and not worth the space here.
Back in Yichang
Back in Yichang about 10:00PM, we checked into the same hotel in which we were two days ago. But we got different rooms and this one seems to be mercifully cockroach-free. Grant, Ivy, Ted, Jon and I walked about a mile down the street to go to McDonald's (a major addition to this town) because we're craving western food. But when we got there it had already closed. So we walked back to have dinner at the little restaurant across the street from the hotel. By now it was 10:30 and I decided to pass on a late dinner and went to have a shower and crawl in bed. Jon stayed with the gang and ate, which was apparently difficult because the waitress was engrossed in a television program and kept messing up their orders.