Day 7,  April 23 Chongqing and river cruise

After a really early start, we headed to the airport and were just in time to board our flight to Chongqing, which took just over an hour.  We were provided with a boxed breakfast at the hotel which we ate on the drive, but another snack was served on the plane.  

Our guide, Alan met us and our suitcases were loaded onto a bus which took us to the panda zoo.  Chongqing zoo has eight pandas, including a baby, but only two were visible.  They were eating bamboo and we were able to take lots of photos.  When we left the zoo, we had quite a long drive into the city.  We were surprised to learn that Chongqing is the largest city in China, and is heavily industrialized.  

 Not very much is left of the old city  because most was destroyed in WWII when Chongqing was the temporary capital of China.  We had a very lively young guide called Christina who kept us entertained while we toured an old building.  We were quite surprised to find that they are selling recovered artifacts to fund the restoration of the rest of the building. 

At about 3 pm we headed to our ship, stopping on the way to buy some beer and wine at a supermarket.  Our suitcases were delivered to the ship, but we had to carry our hand luggage quite a way along the dock because our ship - Century Diamond was at the very far end.  We made it safely and checked into our cabin which was a bit larger than I expected.  We have a sofa and desk as well as a king sized bed, more closet space than we need for five days, and a rather compact bathroom with a shower.  We also have a small balcony, just big enough for two chairs.  Our cases arrived quite promptly so we unpacked and relaxed before dinner.

After a buffet style dinner we had a short presentation about the cruise, then we went to bed because we were really tired after getting up at 4:30.  We missed the sail away, which was about 10:30pm.

Day 8, Thursday April 24

We woke up early to find we were well underway, cruising down the Yangtze.  It was quite misty, but we could see quite a few small boats and some other cruise boats around us.  We went for breakfast at eight.  The morning activity was a lecture on Chinese medicine - quite interesting but it didn’t make me want to rush out and try acupuncture!   

After lunch we an excursion to the Shibaozhai pagoda, a very steep climb, then  the Captain’s reception was held before dinner  - Chinese champagne flowed quite freely and some of the crew did some exhibition dancing then encouraged passengers to join in for line dancing.  Chris went to the crew talent show after dinner, but I had an early night.

Day 9, Friday April 25

Breakfast was early to allow for those who were going on the optional tour at 8 am.  We decided to skip that in favour of a leisurely morning.  About 11:30 am we entered the Qutang Gorge, the first of the three gorges.  We went up on deck and listened to a commentary in four languages about the gorge.  It was spectacular, but the misty conditions made photography difficult.  After lunch we entered the second gorge, the Wu Gorge. This is the longest of the three.  There were several abandoned villages along the shore.  Our guide said that people who had been displaced by the flooding had chosen to move away instead of occupying the housing built for them.

In the afternoon we had an excursion to the Goddess Stream.  We boarded small boats, about 25 people in each boat and traveled 15Km down the ‘stream’ which wound through a smaller gorge with rocky and tree covered sides.  The high sides were really spectacular, but it was hard to take photos because of the height and the narrow channel.  We arrived at the furthest navigable spot and got our for a short visit while the guides from the boats entertained us with some traditional songs and dances.  Our guide lived in a village that had been built when their original homes were flooded by the dam construction.  They have to walk down a steep mountain path to take a boat to work, and after elementary school the children have to do the same for middle and high school.  She told us that they were happy with their new homes, which have new furniture and are more modern than their old ones.  We wondered who translated the signage on the small boats!  

After a short break we went back on the boats to rejoin our ship.  By 10:30 pm we were waiting to enter the first lock of the Three Gorges project.  The ships were packed in closely, at least four cruise ships and two coal barges that we could see.  The lock gates closed and we began to go down.  This was just the first of the five locks, but we didn’t stay up to see the others, because we were told that it took four hours to go through all the locks.

Day 10,  April 26

When we awoke, the ship was moored.  We had breakfast and some of our table mates went on an optional tour, but we decided to stay aboard.  We watched a movie about the wild life of China, then stayed in the lounge an chatted for a while.  After lunch we are going on a tour of the Three Gorges Dam.

When we arrived at the dam site it was pouring with rain.  We went into a building where there was a display of the building process.  Our guide, Wendy (she said the bus driver was called Peter Pan), told us how many people had been involved in the construction, and how the main reason was to control the annual flooding which has killed thousands of people.  A town was built to accommodate the workers, I think she said 300,000 at the maximum, with dormitories, shops a gym, bank, medical facilities etc.  There were workers from many countries.  Now only about 3,000 are left, because construction is complete apart from the boat elevator which will provide a faster way for small boats to avoid the five locks.  

We ascended by escalators to the top viewing area, but it was so cloudy and wet that we didn’t get a very good view.  We walked down ramps back to the buses and returned to the ship.  We had to hurry back because our ship had to leave to meet its assigned time at the next lock. 

We made it in time to the next lock, a single one, and entered just before dinner.  After dinner there was a guest talent show.  Our group did a silly skit, which was quite well received, then others performed.  It was all quite entertaining.

Day 11, Sunday April 27

We were up early because we were supposed to have a tour of a museum at 7:45, but we discovered that the boat was stationary and had been since 1:30am.  A boat had become stuck ahead of us, and the Yangtze traffic control had stopped all shipping.  We were surrounded by commercial ships and barges, all waiting to move.   We eventually started moving downstream around 3 pm, and arrived in Jangshuou in time to go to the museum at 6 pm.  It was a small museum, but very well laid out, and it had many items from graves that were over 2000 years old.  They were extremely well preserved, especially the body of a man whose hair and teeth were recognizable.  Other artifacts included grave furniture and protectors.

  

We returned to the ship in time for the farewell banquet.  The tables were nicely set with red cloth napkins and flowers and the waitresses were dressed in special outfits.  This meal was the only one with table service instead of buffet.  We were handed a glass of champagne when we went in, and the captain and officers greeted us.  We enjoyed the change of food - there were battered shrimp and some more interesting dishes than usual.  After dinner we had to pack for an early start.

Day 12, Monday April 28

Since we had been delayed on the river, we did not have time to sail to Wuhan, because it would take at least 15 hours, so we were collected in a bus instead.  This time our guide,  was an older woman and she had some interesting things to tell us about the Cultural Revolution (when she finished high school, she was sent to work on a farm for two years before she went to university.)  She spoke very highly of Mao, who she referred to as ‘Late Chairman Mao’ and thought that most of what he did was beneficial to China.

We were pleased to get a glimpse of the countryside as we drove along.  There were many newish houses along the way and our guide told us they were farmers’ homes.  The government built them to move the farmers from remote spots into a area where more services could be provided for them, like medical services, schools and shops. The crops they grow included rice, rape seed and wheat.

We went to a rather nice banquet hall for lunch and were quite impressed with the quality and variety.  Afterwards we toured the city in the bus.  The driver was from Jangshuou and didn't know his way around.  We tried to cross a bridge but the entrance was too low for the bus to pass.  To get back on track we had to go the wrong way down a one way street - quite an experience.  We got out of the bus to walk along a shopping street, but had little time to do anything there.  We had dinner at the airport, then waited for the flight to Guilin which was at 8:20 pm.

We were met in Guilin and taken to our hotel on a bus by our guide, Heather.  Now we are settled in, but only for one night.  Tomorrow we go to Yangshuou