Sailing Through the Middle of China
Last Friday we flew into Chongqing to catch a cruise boat (the Oriental Emperor) down the Yangtze River to Yichang. The 200 km cruise downstream took three nights and included three shore excursions, a passage through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam, and a lot of (mostly) beautiful scenery. With the waters rising behind the new dam, I wanted to see what was left of the Three Gorges before more of them disappear below water. I'm glad I did.
Most of the cruise passes by rolling hills and mountains but when the four-level boat passes through the narrow gorges with their sheer cliffs looming over the river, it is breathtaking. The immensity of the landscape is difficult to describe or to convey in 2-dimensional photographs. In the passages where there is no human habitation and all I could see was a mammoth river cutting between even larger mountains I felt that I was at the center of the world and there was nothing else beyond. This is good therapy for anyone that's been shut up in Shanghai for months on end.
Now for the downside. The waters are ruining a great deal. Much of the history, towns and cities, and scenic areas are already underwater. Much of what was authentic has been replaced by eyesores and tacky tourist traps. Ancient towns have been razed and moved up the mountains into new cities of pillbox concrete buildings that are monuments to ugly. Once beautiful tributary streams that people used to float down in small boats are now choked with silt and trash from the Yangtze waters that have backed up. Over three days I did not see a single fish that was not on a plate. Nor did I see more than a handful of birds and not one mammal of any description. It's amazing how the great gift of the Three Gorges has been damaged in the course of twenty years.
The last thing we saw was the dam that has caused much of the ruination. All tour boats stop for a bus tour of the project and are told, over and over again, how wonderful it is, what a great symbol of China's might it is, and how ALL Chinese have welcomed it. We know this to be far from the truth. But the great dam is dwarfed only by the great propaganda machine.
Still, those of you that have not seen the Gorges of central China I urge you to do it while you can.
Last Friday we flew into Chongqing to catch a cruise boat (the Oriental Emperor) down the Yangtze River to Yichang. The 200 km cruise downstream took three nights and included three shore excursions, a passage through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam, and a lot of (mostly) beautiful scenery. With the waters rising behind the new dam, I wanted to see what was left of the Three Gorges before more of them disappear below water. I'm glad I did.
Most of the cruise passes by rolling hills and mountains but when the four-level boat passes through the narrow gorges with their sheer cliffs looming over the river, it is breathtaking. The immensity of the landscape is difficult to describe or to convey in 2-dimensional photographs. In the passages where there is no human habitation and all I could see was a mammoth river cutting between even larger mountains I felt that I was at the center of the world and there was nothing else beyond. This is good therapy for anyone that's been shut up in Shanghai for months on end.
Now for the downside. The waters are ruining a great deal. Much of the history, towns and cities, and scenic areas are already underwater. Much of what was authentic has been replaced by eyesores and tacky tourist traps. Ancient towns have been razed and moved up the mountains into new cities of pillbox concrete buildings that are monuments to ugly. Once beautiful tributary streams that people used to float down in small boats are now choked with silt and trash from the Yangtze waters that have backed up. Over three days I did not see a single fish that was not on a plate. Nor did I see more than a handful of birds and not one mammal of any description. It's amazing how the great gift of the Three Gorges has been damaged in the course of twenty years.
The last thing we saw was the dam that has caused much of the ruination. All tour boats stop for a bus tour of the project and are told, over and over again, how wonderful it is, what a great symbol of China's might it is, and how ALL Chinese have welcomed it. We know this to be far from the truth. But the great dam is dwarfed only by the great propaganda machine.
Still, those of you that have not seen the Gorges of central China I urge you to do it while you can.
posted by Kevcham at 4:18 AM
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