Travelogue

| Gateway to the Silk Road | Guizhou Landscape |
| Dream away in Yangshuo | Where memories linger |
| Grand Canal at Hangzhou Ending | Curing Cuisines | Tea Tour |
| A Challenging Trip | Expedition to fairyland |
| Snacks at Kunming | Lijiang Impression |
| A Quiet Village Tour | Splash off Your Bad Luck |
| Summer Escape to a Holy Island | Suzhou’s History |
| In the Heart of a Miao Village | No-frills cruise along the Yangtze |

No-frills cruise along the Yangtze

Felix Pouce

My first sight of the Yangtze River was in Jiangsu, where we crossed the river on a ferry. I was impressed by the incredible power and width of the river. Our biggest
rivers in France are not to be compared with this flow.

I rediscovered the Yangtze River in Nanjing and then in Wuhan, where the building of the bridges were a part of history.

The construction of the Three Gorges Dam is another historic event. And this is where my story begins.

On a day in July, I arrived in Sandouping, the site of the Three Gorges Dam. A first surprise was that the dam is so near the city. It is incredibly impressive - a huge wall of concrete about 180 meters high and more than 2 kilometers long.

But what is more surprising is that the dam is almost in the city of Sandouping. Before the dam was built, boats sometimes had to stop because of low water and sand beds in the river. Now the boats that go upstream have to wait to be raised one-by-one in giant locks. And this is why I really didn't see the Three Gorges.

My boat was supposed to leave at 2 pm, but, in fact, we only got on board at 5 pm.
Most foreigners choose luxury cruises in some kind of hovercraft that will bring you to Chongqing in little less than a day.

Chongqing is about 500 kilometers away and the dam has created what is now the biggest and longest man-made lake in the world.

I chose the cheapest option. My boat wasn't specially for foreigners, but was for everyone. It was four storeys high and rusty, and jam-packed with all sorts of goods and families. The lower deck consisted of smelly dormitories and store rooms around the engine room. I was supposed to sleep there but couldn't: the mixture of sweat, fuel and noise made it impossible. So I decided to stay on the upper deck.

The journey would last about two days and included two nights on board. The upper deck had a few high class cabins with what seemed a luxury, namely a television set.

Traveling by boat is something I always find very romantic; spending the night on a boat is an even more delightful experience. When you are surrounded by water in darkness, your feelings are very different. The quality of silence, your perception of distances and shapes, are not the same as when you are on land.

I knew about the experience from cruising on the Mediterranean Sea, but I didn't know what to expect on a huge river.

Because we were delayed, I saw most of the Three Gorges in the twilight, sometimes swept by the powerful spotlight of the boat. The night was cold and drizzly. However, standing beside the wide boat smokestack provided some heat.

Friends on the boat

I was the only foreigner on the boat, so I couldn't be anonymous. Unfortunately, my Chinese was very poor and none of the passengers seemed to know any English. A couple of kids decided to adopt me. For some reason, while I was trying to sleep, they brought me dried fruit every hour during the first night. One salted plum at 11 pm followed by an apricot at midnight, a raisin at 4 am and so on, right up to sunrise. Why they decided to feed me will remain a mystery. I never saw their parents and they just vanished the second day, probably getting off the boat at one of the many stops. I will remember their kindness and smiles forever.

My second "friend-on-the-boat" was a robust lady from the Sichuan plains. Like the kids, she had a wonderful way of smiling that could break any barrier. Women can suddenly become gorgeous by smiling, or dancing, or in other ways. While she was brushing her long hair on the boat, she revealed a kind of well-being and plenitude. Absolute liveliness. So I asked her if I could take a picture. She agreed, but wanted to see all the pictures on my camera. Friends of hers joined us, so we spent the breakfast together bent over the small screen of the camera. Because I am not very selective they found the experience amusing.

Surrealistic journey

The complete journey from Jiangsu to Chongqing lasts just over 10 days, so the boat is equipped with everything. You can have a shower with hot and muddy water, eat at a canteen and do your laundry.

Such boats stop many times along the river. Usually the boat doesn't stay very long in the ports - only a few minutes to take on goods and unload others. Such stops also provide an interesting opportunity to buy food. Sellers with baskets hanging on long poles will pass you boxes filled with rice and vegetables. Everything is done in a few minutes. People, food, money, packages and food - everything is swapped in a few minutes.

Because of the dam, the water level is continuing to rise and will only stabilize at about 180 meters in 2009.

Cities and villages were numerous along the shores, and more than 1.5 million people have to be relocated. It is well-known that many monuments will disappear under the water. Some will be moved, some will never look the same again, like the odd-looking Shibaozhai temple. This is one of the most famous sites along the river, a distinctive looking building on a cliff. The shores of the river are a huge construction site - abandoned houses turning into pyramids of bricks; high concrete pillars standing in the river bed waiting to carry bridges; brand new cities erected up the hills waiting for people.

Seen from the boat one of them was quite surrealistic. Viewed as a whole, the buildings had the shape of a Buddha. Sometimes, a lonely farm could be seen on a hillside. The ports usually had incredibly high and wide steps. Myriad carriers and some elevators transported packages from or to the river.

The arrival at Chongqing is signaled by a strange phenomenon. The city itself is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jialing River.

The Yangtze River is called the Blue River in French, but in fact its water is very muddy and yellow, while the Jialing River has really blue water. The water of both rivers mixes together in whirlpools at the foot of the city, which proudly stands on a peninsula. It is an unforgettable sight.

For detailed information, you can just drop in an email and you will get a quick reply within 12 hours.
john@chinahuangshan.com congzhang35@hotmail.com

Link Partners:
www.photoexplorertours.com/china.htm