What I didn’t mention in yesterday’s post was the hotel we stayed in was a Hilton. And also as I said, I don’t remember what time we arrived or got to bed. The following morning the bus was ready to take us to the Chongqing Zoo at 9:00 am. I’m now actually wondering if we actually did that, only because I cannot remember a single thing about that zoo, nor do I have any photos.
We did go out and about the city because I do have photos of that. In one place they stopped at a large viewpoint that was over the river, which was either the Yangtze or the Jialing since Chongqing is located between the two. There were large groups of schoolchildren there as well. All the ones in the photo with John were, I believe, girls. John passed out his business card with abandon and I actually wondered if one of those kids would at some point come knocking on our door or at least send a letter asking to visit…didn’t happen. Following are photos 1-7 of Chongqing.
We had lunch at the Chongqing Guest House, checked out of the hotel and went to visit the Stilwell Museum. This museum was founded in memory of Joseph W. Stilwell (1883-1946) and to date is the only museum and road (he supervised the building of a road between China and India) named after a foreigner. General Stilwell was ordered to assist the Chinese during World War II. With the Chinese, he participated in a series of political and military affairs in the China-Burma-India Theater. The museum is a three-storied house and holds simple furniture and more than 100 household items, manuscripts and the General’s uniform. It appears much as it did when he occupied the home. Outside the museum is a bust of the General. (photos 8-12) John found this museum fascinating.
My booklet indicates that we were to go to the People’s
Great Hall in the afternoon, however, again I do not have any photos or
memories. What I do remember is going to tea in this place where the waiters
had these teapots with extremely long spouts. We watched them pour tea into
cups without a single drip on us or the tables. I wonder how long they had to
practice this before they were allowed to serve customers? I do know there were
times we didn’t keep to the published schedule. (photos 12-14)
I believe we were supposed to have caught the ship for our
cruise down the Yangtze at Chongqing; however, the water was either too low or
too high, so the bus had to “fly” down the riverside to where we were able to
board. It was dark, the streets were tiny, the bus went fast and I was sure
that at some point, the bus would sail right off the road into someone’s house
or the river. Finally, we arrived.
The next morning when I
saw the stairs, ramp and floating walkways that led from shore to
ship, I figured it had been a good thing it was dark. As it was, when we arrived, the loud speaker
on the ship was playing Christmas carols…in English. As I’m trying to manage
myself and my stuff and find my way through the not very well lit area, I got
the giggles and couldn’t stop. I almost wet myself. I almost just had to sit
down until I could gain control. Somehow, even laughing my head off, I managed
to get to the ship. I have no idea what time we arrived, but according to my
itinerary, there was complimentary snacks, tea and coffee for passengers who
embarked late. I don’t remember that, just that I was so very glad to see our
little bed. (Photos 15-17)
Our cabin, and most cabins
were very small. There was a bathroom for each one that also served as the
shower. You put the toilet lid down, closed the door tight and turned on the
shower. It was quite the little gem in such a small space. Our cabin didn’t
hold much beyond a bed in which we could both sleep (John was almost too big),
our luggage and a very small desk.
This was the beginning of
a three-day cruise down the Yangtze. The breakfast buffet was available 8:00-9:30
am. After lunch at assigned tables, there was the Fengdu “Ghost City” shore
excursion. A local guide took us by shuttle bus to Ming Shan Hill Park for a
walking (more than 400 steps upward) tour to the temple home of the King of
Jades. John stayed aboard ship and met a very nice young Chinese man who wanted
to practice his English and brought his English book. John enjoyed the time he spent with him. (photo 18)
I did make it up the entire hillside as you can see from the photos I took below. It was very interesting and beautiful with more than 16 sculptures...I really would have liked to post all their photos. That's our ship from the top of the hill and it was really very far away, not as close as it appears here. (photos 19-26)
Back aboard, we joined the
Captain’s Welcome party where we were served Champagne and had our photos taken
with him. (photos 27-28)
This was followed by dinner which was followed by the Sheena Follies which had traditional Chinese folksongs and dances presented by the crew. The ship also had a store on board with a wide variety of items, from jackets to jewelry. You want it, they write it up and you pay when you disembark.
The next morning if you
wanted to be up and about, the ship went through the Qutang Gorge which took
about 20 minutes. I’m not sure I got up for this and have no photos. I did have
breakfast and we went through the Wu Gorge. My itinerary says it is famous for
its 12 peaks and is considered the most graceful of the gorges. Then, we
disembarked from this ship onto a ferry boat which sailed us up the Shennong
Stream. Then we all transferred to little pea pod boats to go through the
lesser gorges.
This was quite the little
trip in these little boats. Unfortunately, the men pulling/poling the pods no
longer completely disrobe as shown on my ticket…wouldn’t that have been a
wonderful sight? Apparently too many visitors complained it was far too natural
for their taste…so, now they wear clothes. The scenery was beautiful, the
information provided interesting and the water crystal clear when you looked
down into it. Looking at it ahead and behind the pods, it was the green you get
from glacier melt. I wonder how cold it was on those poor men’s feet. We stopped going up the stream where the photo shows the remains of what must have been someone's home at some point. I don't remember what this represented, but it was where we turned back. And notice the photo of the sandal on the man's foot...he made it himself and usually has to make two pairs a year. (photos 29-37)
Back aboard the ship, we
had lunch and then could attend a variety of information meetings about fresh
water pearls, silk rugs, Chinese embroidery, paper cutting, snuff bottles and
traditional Chinese painting. We could also get a foot massage or a traditional Chinese medical science massage. At about 6:00 pm that evening our ship was to
enter the Three Gorges Dam ship locks.
At this point I’d like to say something about the Three Gorges Dam and its affect on the Chinese people in the area. You and your family may have spent generations even centuries in the little town which would drown as the dam was finished and the water began to back up. It didn’t matter how many generations were buried, how many greats back your little home was built, you didn’t have a choice. You were packed up and moved to higher ground. As my little booklet says,
“The building of this huge dam, for the purpose of flood
control, navigation, aquaculture, ecological protection etc., and will create
an artificial lake that will extend all the way to Chongqing and 570,000 acres
of farmland, villages in 19 counties and cities will be flooded causing 1.5
million people to be relocated.”
I saw one of the new little towns that had been created much higher than the original. It wasn’t anything special, concrete block buildings and very plain. Perhaps the original village was just as plain, but I would think there would be farms and trees…not in that new town. I took photos of two such instances. Notice how the hillside has been terraced for farming. (photos 38-39)
We had dinner and then spent time gazing up at the sides of the locks. They are absolutely huge, bigger than anything else I’ve ever seen. (photos 40-42)
We spent the entire night in the locks, having the ship lowered to the disembarkation point. Our luggage had to be ready by 6:30 am with breakfast available 6:15-7:30 am and then a tour of the Three Gorges Dam at 7:30 am. The visitor's area is extremely nice and there is a variety of signage and examples to illustrate the building of this 15 year, 21 billion dollar project...completed in 2009. Again, notice the planted pots around the tree. (photos 43-47)
As I've indicated before, our schedule could change. I believe we were far too early to go to the airport, so the bus stopped alongside the road, so we could visit the home of a Chinese woman. Can you imagine a bus stopping in front of your house and 16 people from another country walking up your driveway and allowing them to wander throughout your home taking photos of everything…and with a smile no less? This is what we did and here are the photos. She did have electricity, you can see the meter on the side of her house, for her television and she may have had a washer. Electricity is too expensive for anyone to own an electric dryer. (Photos 47-59)
Walking up to her house
Then it was off to the Yichang airport for our
flight to Shanghai.