When not in our pleasantly appointed cabin, or discussing local events with the recently appointed 'local guide' (just for the boat, mind you), we were lazing in the bar, enjoying the Captain's welcome dinner or the Captain's farewell dinner -- the next day -- or sharing our fabulous vocal talents in front of the karaoke machine.
The boat, or perhaps the ship -- C S Forrester was never clear on freshwater vessels -- took us down the Yangzi River from Chongqing to Yichang. The Yangzi is just like the Yarra, only about a kilometre or two wider.
We passed through the famed and occasionally spectacular 'three gorges' to the similarly styled dam, which has lifted water levels upstream so far that many, many riverside towns and villages have had to be relocated and people rehoused. Loss of farmland has accelerated a drift to towns and into new service jobs, including tourism -- hence some of our visits during the trip.
The first of these was to the so-called 'Ghost City', at the remnants of Fengdu, flooded some years ago as a result of the damming of the Yangzi.
The centrepiece was an old temple with detailed displays of the nine levels of hell, as well as statues of guardians of the gates etc.
Most of the surrounds were actually built or rebuilt in the twentieth century to produce a sort of minor theme park around the temple.
Nice to see Tripitaka and his followers make an appearance, although no one in China could accept the fact that there was a Japanese TV show in the 1970s following the adventures of the monkey god and his monk.
Our second side trip was up one of the tributaries of the second of the three gorges, where we were poled along on small bamboo boats up the creek, getting pulled along on ropes at one stage. Apparently the boatmen used to do this naked, but now cotton shorts make this unnecessary ...
The trip gave us a little insight into the lives of a particular minority affected by the damming, as villages had to be relocated, as well as a chance to appreciate some of their handicrafts, particularly embroidery.
The third major activity was the dam itself, which relies on a relatively modest fall -- about 40m -- but a massive amount of water. Our first experience was going through the locks at midnight, along with several other vessels packed tightly together. (Daytime, it was the turn of the transports.)
The next day we disembarked for an overview of the dam itself. It has some 30 generating units, each churning out 700MW ... I think that's equivalent to 10 Loy Yangs (A&B) for those Victorians out there.
The scheme is also intended to mitigate the downstream flooding that claims many lives each year, admittedly by flooding quite a number of upstream settlements once and for all, as well as assisting river transport. In fact there was relatively little transport on the river, apart from the cruise vessels, but perhaps this is a seasonal thing....
The other notable event of the cruise were awards, presented at a soirée in the poshest stateroom on the ship. Thanks to Dick and John and Sheila.
- Posted from the 20th floor
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