We saw the Yangtze River on the East King which was a very comfortable ship.
The food was delicious, the staff was courteous, and we had a great time. Each
day we had an onshore excursion: first was a visit to Fengdu - The Ghost City,
which was known for a beautiful Daoist Temple that focused on displaying what
believers feel happens following a person's death. The belief is that each person
account for his/her life and be judged by several gods. There was a colorful display
of what might happen to a person who had been evil during his life. It looked like a
torture chamber and was quite gory. We got to and from the hilltop location on a
ski lift, but could have walked it. In the heat and humidity we opted for the ride.
The grounds were beautiful with many statues and structures to admire. Our guide
had us walk over a bridge which could bring us good luck if we covered the distance in
nine steps. On the way back we had a choice to walk the Longevity bridge or the Wealth
bridge. If one walked the Longevity bridge you should take many tiny steps to guarantee
a long life. One woman later told me that she had her husband walk the Wealth bridge
while she opted for a long life, saying she could spend his money after she outlived him!
The second excursion was to ride on boats up a stream that flows through a small
gorge and into the Yangtze. The water here was green and became clear when we
got to a point far enough from the Yangtze. Monkeys live there but were not visible
during the midday due to the high heat. We had a crew of about five men who rowed, then jumped out and pulled the boat when we got to shallow water. They are known as trackers and belong to a ethnic group that lives on the Yangtze river. Our female guide was from the same tribe and told us about her culture and the positive effect the 3 Gorges Dam project had on her
people. She said that everybody who had been displaced was pleased with their new
modern housing and their new jobs. We saw the large apartment buildings that had been
built, usually on the opposite side of the river than the original village. While in Jiangxi
province, we saw the same buildings for families who had been displaced due to the project.
On the third day we saw the 3 Gorges Dam and were lucky enough to witness the solar
eclipse there. It took our ship all night to go through the 5 locks at the dam. Now they
are beginning work on another dam somewhere else on the river, which will be even bigger.
The food was delicious, the staff was courteous, and we had a great time. Each
day we had an onshore excursion: first was a visit to Fengdu - The Ghost City,
which was known for a beautiful Daoist Temple that focused on displaying what
believers feel happens following a person's death. The belief is that each person
account for his/her life and be judged by several gods. There was a colorful display
of what might happen to a person who had been evil during his life. It looked like a
torture chamber and was quite gory. We got to and from the hilltop location on a
ski lift, but could have walked it. In the heat and humidity we opted for the ride.
The grounds were beautiful with many statues and structures to admire. Our guide
had us walk over a bridge which could bring us good luck if we covered the distance in
nine steps. On the way back we had a choice to walk the Longevity bridge or the Wealth
bridge. If one walked the Longevity bridge you should take many tiny steps to guarantee
a long life. One woman later told me that she had her husband walk the Wealth bridge
while she opted for a long life, saying she could spend his money after she outlived him!
The second excursion was to ride on boats up a stream that flows through a small
gorge and into the Yangtze. The water here was green and became clear when we
got to a point far enough from the Yangtze. Monkeys live there but were not visible
during the midday due to the high heat. We had a crew of about five men who rowed, then jumped out and pulled the boat when we got to shallow water. They are known as trackers and belong to a ethnic group that lives on the Yangtze river. Our female guide was from the same tribe and told us about her culture and the positive effect the 3 Gorges Dam project had on her
people. She said that everybody who had been displaced was pleased with their new
modern housing and their new jobs. We saw the large apartment buildings that had been
built, usually on the opposite side of the river than the original village. While in Jiangxi
province, we saw the same buildings for families who had been displaced due to the project.
On the third day we saw the 3 Gorges Dam and were lucky enough to witness the solar
eclipse there. It took our ship all night to go through the 5 locks at the dam. Now they
are beginning work on another dam somewhere else on the river, which will be even bigger.
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