Yangtze River-Saturday 14-SEP

Notice the terraces for farming on the hill.

This was our second full day on the river cruise.  The morning scenery was just as beautiful as the previous day, with misty air and cliffs cloaked in clouds.  It was both a surreal picture, and exactly what we hoped for in a China river cruise!  Since this side was upstream of the dam, the gorge was not nearly as majesticly high, but since the clouds hung low, it still had the feeling we were in an enclosed reality.  The Chinese government had relocated many things from the lower parts of the slopes to the tops, including villages and temples.  In a few spots, they took the effort to transfer the buildings as close to authentic as possible, but in other cases they simply build new high rises at the top of the gorge.  Our guide painted the stories much like I’m sure the government did, these lucky people get brand new homes!!  But he did not really speak to the fact they lost the homes and farms their families may have had for centuries.

Stairs, but no dock.



New stairs construction.  (Kind of crowded!)

Small temple with walkway.

"Hanging" Coffin.

 













In this region, it was not uncommon to provide a final resting place in a “hanging coffin” on the cliff overlooking the river.  This was an ancient tradition, but clearly not “common” as there would be millions of coffins, and there were only dozens.  Of course, we only saw very few.  They either set them on a ledge, or tie them somehow to hang from the cliff. 

Weird "double" banana I had for lunch.

After lunch we went to a place called Wushan (Witch Mountain).  We boarded smaller boats and headed up more narrow inlets for additional scenery.  We were made aware that on the top level of the boat, there was a nice area with tables and seats, and that we were welcome to walk or stand anywhere in the area, but if we sat we were expected to buy drinks and or food.  I found that amusing for some reason. 

Medium sized boat on our inlet tour.

 In a few spots we saw monkey scurrying along the slopes.  Since the mountains were mostly limestone, as the water above seeped through, it dripped out of the face of the rocks, at sharp edges, leaving stalactites, just like in caves, but here on the rock face.  There was a neat little walking path along the edge of the cliff, that looked to be two miles long, but I’m not sure how one gets to it.  Someone on our tour saw a person back their car to the bottom of a ramp, partly into the river and proceed to wash his car in the river by scooping buckets and dumping it on the car while his kids swam in the river.  We also saw several people washing laundry in the river.  I’m not sure my clothes ever get dirty enough to wash in that river, with trash floating by, but it sure makes one appreciate our conveniences at home!

Stalactites on cliff face.

Close up of stalactites

 



Sampan boat.

Then we disembarked our medium boats and boarded sampans to head even farther up the inlet.  It was kind of interesting being on the sampans, but I’m not sure the views were meaningfully different.  The sampan held about 14 people in minimal comfort!  They were wood and wicker and bamboo.  The floor boards were not affixed, and shifted a little in any given direction and in a few spots you could see through them.  A guy in the front put on a costume consisting of a straw hat and straw “cape” that sat on the shoulders, and then held a pole for navigation.  Many took pictures, then they let various people stand on the front of the boat in the costume.  But the boat was really driven by a humorless man in the back with a motor.  The motor was about the size of a weed-eater, with a propeller at the end of a long pole.

Toward the end of the sampan cruise, there was a group of women in what looked like pajamas, standing on a sampan and singing.  I have no idea why they were singing there. 

Some people had a LOT of fun on the sampan tour!!

I guess this is the beer preferred by pandas?

Back on our cruise ship, it was nearly time for dinner.  I had a nice beer with pandas on the can.  At dinner we saw a glitzy city on the edge of the gorge.  During dinner, our main tour guide (“Mark”) sat with us, and toward the end of dinner, they brought him a “special” fish, one that someone on the boat had caught that day.  Mark knew many of the people working on the boat, including the chef, who sent him the fish.  He let us try some of it, but it was whole, and not pretty, and full of bones.  I tried a little.  Eh.  It was a nice gesture.  I got the impression Mark was not fond of it either, as he did not have much.