By Jack Elliott
China Day 9
It’s our last day on The Yangtze. This morning we visit a Pagoda that sits atop a magnificent rock. The Shibaozhai Pagoda at Zhong was built 300 years ago during the Qing Dynasty. It is now surrounded by a small dyke that protects it from the 175m level created by the Three Gorges Dam. and only accessible by a suspension bridge. To climb to the top of the Pagoda requires stairs up 12 floors which my knees were not up to, but the views around the perimeter were spectacular.
The new relocated town is 100 metres higher than the original now flooded site. It has attractive multi story apartments many still unfinished and unoccupied as many residents here are seasonal. There were dozens of vendors displaying their wares along the pier and the streets of the town, plus a few badly crippled beggars.
By noon we were on our way again. Spent much of the rest of the afternoon reading a book and watching the river and countryside roll by. Along the course of the river there are dozens of new, big beautiful suspension bridges across the Yangtze as well as many railroad and highway bridges along its banks on both shores. The high cliffs are giving way to more rolling countryside with lots agriculture and industry evident. The country looks very lush and green with good sized towns and cities’ every few miles, most of them new with lots of cranes working.
River traffic remains heavy and today we were all afforded a tour of the ships bridge at the front of the 4th deck. It is completely modern with three crew members on the bridge at all times. The total operating crew is 27 with this shallow draft ship powered by 2500kw diesels, two props plus bow and stern side thrusters. At several dockings we were tied up 2 and three abreast with boarding access across the two inside ships if you happened to be on the outside. Often after an all ashore, the ships would shove off and shuffle their positions so the first scheduled to leave which was on the inside retying to the outside for faster departure.
Tonight was the Captains farewell supper, Then it was time to pay our bar bill and pack our bags for early pickup and early departure tomorrow morning,
Goodnight.
China Day 10
We disembarked this morning at Chongqing. It was a bit sad to bid farewell to the Diamond Cruise staff that had provided us with such excellent service.
Chongqing is China’s largest city with a population of 32 million. It is still another 500 km to the head of navigation on the Yangtze. It was once the location of most heavy industry in China with a sooty reputation. Today it has cleaned up its act and has lots of tall, new development with much green space and historic restorations. Bicycles are curiously absent which is understandable considering its hilly nature. The local expression is “you spend more time carrying a bicycle, than a bicycle spends carrying you,” according to our local guide Johnny whose command of English and history is exceptional.
Our tramp up the many stairs to our bus had us huffing, puffing, and wheezing reminding us of the cold that has been stalking our group. Several of us have come down with varying levels of a cold, with Mao’s revenge also making the occasional appearance. I have so far escaped but the Pearl has not been as fortunate.
We did have an unexpected surprise this morning when our schedule had an addition of a stop at the Panda enclosure of the Zoo. The Pandas did not disappoint with a whole gang of Lesser Red Pandas ( not really a Panda, but a relative of the racoon) scurrying around their enclosures.
Then next door Giant Pandas were out in their enclosures feeding and walking around. We hit at just the right time as Pandas generally are only out and active from 10 am for a couple of hours and again in the afternoon for a bit if the weather is not too warm. The rest of the time they spend sleeping in their cool shelters which here in Chongqing are old bomb shelters, relics from WWII.
Our visit was brief and we were off to the airport. Traffic is again heavy in Chongqing, but moves better than in Beijing. We experienced our first fender bender when our bus cleaned the mirror off a car. Not our fault and the wave of a hand settled the incident. Our flight of two hours was uneventful except for a bit of turbulence that spilled a few drinks and brought some ‘Ooohs and shrieks’ from some of the frightened passengers. Lost one suitcase for a while, but it was only dirty laundry. It showed up bruised, but intact after a brief search
Shanghai is a huge city unique in China as it is only about 150 years old founded by the British after the Opium wars in 1843 explained our guide Jackie, another expert in English and history.
We had a lesson in Chinese and how to decipher the meaning of a cities name- Shanghai means by the sea. At 23 million it is China’s second largest city. It is the centre of international trade and electronics manufacturing. We quickly travelled around it to our destination in Shuzhou and will return tomorrow. Traffic is heavy but zooms along.
For now dinner and rest again at another 5 star hotel. If we can only hold those illnesses at bay.
