Mar. 3 - The Three Gorges

We were up early this morning to shower and get ready for what we hoped would be a scenic day.  It was quite foggy again this morning.  Breakfast was scheduled for 8:00 - 9:30, and we were scheduled to enter the first gorge (Xiling gorge) with the first dam and lock at 8:30.  We didn't eat a lot for breakfast, and by the time we finished, we were approaching the lock.

Lock gate behind our ship

Exiting the lock

Back to our cabin to watch the process.  It is very similar to the Panama Canal locks, except we were in a lock with 2 other cargo ships which were there ahead of us.  Once the gate was closed behind us, and the water started coming in, the whole process took about half an hour until we were out of the lock and back into the lake/river that the dam had formed.

We were supposed to have a commentary from the cruise manager as we sailed through the Xiling gorge, but due to the fog, they delayed this commentary for half an hour, hoping the fog would rise (hasn't lifted since we got to China, so we don't anticipate it will lift in the next half hour).  Our optional tour to Tribe of the Three Gorges has also been moved back half an hour.

We have been watching the news for the last couple days.  It is getting a little scary with the problems in the Ukraine and Crimea.  This morning we watched information about the terrorist attack in the train station a little farther west than we are right now.  Thank goodness we aren't traveling by train.  The Chinese Yuan is dropping in value, so perhaps the money we have now will be worth more Canadian than what we paid for it ;-)  .  I know mom will be worried about us, and without internet, I can't let her know we are fine.

Our dock for the tour

Ready to go on the tour after lunch

We went on two tours today.  The first one was an optional tour and cost us 360 Yuan (about $75 CAD) each.  We docked at a small place in the gorge, with houses built up along the bank of the river.  There was a walkway along the river, about 25 meters above water level.  The walkway had many pagoda structures, and they were building more along the way.  Some of the buildings had scaffolding that was made of bamboo.  This walkway had many steps.  We didn't go there.

Entrance to Empress Stream

Bamboo scaffolding on construction

Instead, we got off our ship, and boarded a ferry that was parked right behind our ship.  It was about a 10 minute ride up the river from where we docked and we arrived at a tourist attraction called Tribe of the Three Gorges at Empress Stream.  Now this was a spectacular tour; the scenery was what we felt was/should have been common in China.  It reminded us of what we have seen in some movies about China.  It was a walking tour of a couple kilometres, up a creek that was in a deep, quiet canyon.

Singing in the river

Washing clothes

We walked up a boardwalk along one side of the creek, meeting locals who were singing and playing the flute.  This was to represent how the young couples got together.  They had to sing to each other to attract a mate.  It seemed like a lot of money had been spent here to make the area attractive to tourists.  The buildings were rustic, pagoda style, very neat and tidy.

Singing

We met some monkeys who waited around to be fed peanuts.  They came down to the walkway as soon as we stopped and started taking photos of them.  The biggest ones got most of the peanuts, but even the smaller ones got some in the end.

Getting ready for the performance

Farther on, we got to a set of waterfalls.  It was very peaceful and quiet.  There was another distance that we could have gone, and some did, to another set of falls.  However, this one was climbing a bunch of stairs (our local guide, Judy, said about 100 steps, but I think it was much more than that.  Dawn and I stayed, but a couple others climbed up.

Judy, our local guide

Once we started back, we went down the other side of the stream to a small outdoor theatre where they put on a "Wedding Ceremony" for us.  It showed the local customs for how a woman chose her husband, and then they got married.  It was quite a show, and had us laughing and cheering (there must have been 200 from the cruise).


After that, it was back to the ship so we could continue sailing up the river to the Three Gorges Dam.  This part of the trip took about about an hour, so we had time to get some lunch.  Then, we docked again, at another small town.  When leaving the ship this time, we had to walk through a small market to get to the buses.  These folks were quite aggressive, and wanted us to purchase all sorts of things.  Our tour guide, Lisa, had told us that the things being sold in these small towns were locally produced, and not generally of very good quality, but people were making purchases.  Some said "when we get back", and Lisa then told us again that these people were poor with not very good education, not very much money, not very good quality of goods, but very good memories.  She laughed and said that those who told them "when they get back" would be remembered and likely followed until they purchased something.

Security guards

The trip to the dam site took about 15 minutes by bus.  It is a high security area, and we had to go through screening.  There were military guards at all the gates, and we had to go through an airport-like x-ray machine, and have our pockets wanded and checked for things that might be dangerous.  Once through the screening, we continued to the dam.

Entrance to escalators

We crossed a large suspension bridge, and then the bus climbed a long way up to a viewing area where we could see much of the dam site.  We were quite high up, but there was a shop up there, too.  It was interesting to listen to Wendy (our local guide - the bus driver was Peter Pan), tell her story about the dam.  There was a large model of the dam site there, and after the Chinese language explanation took place, Wendy took over and gave an explanation in English.

Top of the mountain

Granite boulder

Then we had some free time to look around.  We went to the meeting place a bit early, so I walked across the parking lot to see the a close up of the locks.  On the way back, and Chinese man approached me, and I was finally able to understand that he wanted to take my picture with his wife and likely his mother.  So I agreed to do this, much to the amusement of Dawn and some of the people who were waiting for our tour to continue.  I became a hero and a celebrity for a moment ;-).

Then it was a walk down a hill to the 185 level, which is 185m above the water level behind the dam.  This allowed us to get a closer look at the locks,  Then down some more and about a 10 minute walk to our last stop, which was at the level of the top of the dam.  Again, there were some shops there, and lots of things were purchased, before we boarded the bus to head back to the ship.

Military vehicle

Construction for "ship lift"

The vendors at the market were waiting for us, and Dawn had learned that some of the shops had some things she was looking for, so we had to spend a bit more money.  Another Lisa, a girl from Abbotsford who is in our group, did the bargaining, and she got the vendor down to half price, so Dawn took it.

Finally we were able to escape the gauntlet of vendors, and re-board the ship.  They always welcome us, with one of the crew waiting at each place where there may be a concern for walking.  The common things are: "welcome back", and  "watch your step", along with a big smile.

We were back on the ship, tired but happy.  We had a great day, and really enjoyed our tours today. wanded and checked for things that might be dangerous.  Once through the screening, we continued to the dam.