Yangtze River Gorges (8-10)

After returning from White Emperor City to the boat, we set sail and went through the first of the Three Gorges. It’s the one we had seen from above. It’s only 8 km long.

After lunch, we changed to a smaller boat for our tour of the lesser three gorges and the mini gorges that are down a tributary of the Yangtze. These were beautiful. The haze was not in this area and the sun was just right on the surrounding mountains and cliffs. Our guide encouraged us to go inside where it was air conditioned between gorges, but we foreigners and several other people preferred to be outside. It was relaxing to stand on the deck and watch the scenery go by. 

The second of the lesser gorges was even more beautiful. These mountains reminded me of what I’ve often seen in Chinese paintings, especially black and white ones.

Our guide pointed out hanging coffins on the cliffs. I’d seen these in the museum. People believed that a higher burial was better, as it was closer to heaven. So bodies were put in caves in the cliffs. Some were hung on pegs attached to the cliffs.

Then we got onto motorized sampans to travel through the mini gorges, since this tributary was too small for the boat. This was another optional tour, but everyone did it. A local man was on the boat. On the way back, he sang a couple songs. At one place a group of local people on a sampan sang as we passed them. As we went through the mini gorges, we were each allowed to go to the front of the sampan for a photo.

This trip took four hours. It was a highlight of the cruise. It started at Wushan. The guide for the excursion told us that the new Wushan is better than the old one that is now submerged. It has better apartments and hospitals. It’s a better place for the new generation. We heard this from the Fengdu guide, too, about the new city.

Back on the boat, we traveled through the second gorge. It’s 40 km long and the trip took about half an hour. The atmosphere was clear and the sunlight was perfect again.  The cliffs were very colorful.

We passed some river depth markers. The river is currently 150 meters above sea level. At its highest level, it is 175 meters. The difference can be seen in the white colored rock at the bottom of the cliffs.

Dinner on Friday was the captain’s farewell banquet. It was served at the table and had ten dishes. Everyone had a small glass of wine. The captain spoke and we all toasted prior to eating.

In the evening, there was a cabaret/talent show. Several people sang songs. David played the piano and sang. He sat beside me most of the time.

At 11:30 PM we started going through the locks. There are five locks but only four are in use during the low water season. It takes about half an hour to go through each one. I didn’t go out to watch the process because I’ve been in locks before and I didn’t want to get dressed again. From my window I could see the side of the lock, and every now and then I went out on the balcony to check our progress. After an hour, though, my curiosity got the best of me and I went to the deck to see the whole lock. There were three ships in it—another one the size of ours and a bigger and wider one in front of us. It was interesting to see, but I only stayed a few minutes. Then it was time to sleep.

Saturday was our last half day on the river. We had a 6:30 wake up again. At 7:30 we disembarked for our visit to the Three Gorges Dam. We boarded a bus to take us to the site and then a shuttle for the last part. When we crossed the river on the bus, we could see the locks from the front. 

From the top of the hill, we could see them from above, which was interesting. To get up the hill, there is a series of five escalators. We were all happy to learn about that. It seemed like a lot of the time on the hill was to allow a shopping opportunity. We were given half an hour to look at one view and the model of the dam and the rest of the building, which turned out to be a shop. The Chinese are very proud of the dam, which controls the water level, provides electricity, and lifts ships. (I think that means moving them from one level to the other through the locks.)

After returning to the boat, we set sail and went through the third gorge. It was a beautiful day to go through it, as the air was clear and the sun wasn’t too bright on one side.

At 12:15, we arrived at the Yichang port. We foreigners had thought we could get a taxi on arrival, but Leo said there wouldn’t be any taxis or buses. He did say there might be black taxis (people who drive their car and pick up passengers for money) and maybe a minibus. He offered to see if his friend would be willing to drive us. The British women and I took him up on that; the Italians didn’t want to pay the price and held out for something cheaper. There was a minibus that they must have gotten on, as they were not in the parking lot when we went out. I wondered how much it cost—if it was much less than what we paid the driver. But we were happy to have the security of knowing we had transportation and didn’t have to worry about how we would get to town.