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(Day 90 on the road)From Chongqing, I headed for a trip on the Yangtze River and through the famous Three Gorges. At 6300km, the Yangtze is the third longest river in the world (after the Amazon and the Nile), and the longest in Asia. It starts in the Tibetan mountains and runs all the way to Shanghai and into the East China Sea.
Most tourist cruise the Yangtze starting in Chongqing and ending in Yichang, which is the section that runs through the Three Gorges. As the region around Chongqing was badly hit by the recent earthquake in China, there weren't many tourists in the area, and there was only one boat running per day, which didn't leave from Chongqing but about three bus-hours further downstream. Harriet had made it back from her party on the Great Wall in time, and the tow of us and about 10 other foreign tourists embarked on our boat. Of course we all took the cheapest option on the boat (third class, 6 people in one cabin), which was perfectly fine. It was also worth bargaining for the price of the cruise back in Chongqing, so don't accept the prices they quote you in
hotels and hostels (I paid 350 yuan for the 2 nights, three day cruise). Further, don't buy any of the extra excursions through the hostel; all of them are much cheaper when you buy them on the boat!
The time spent on the river was everything I expected. The scenery was serene, and especially the tour of the Lesser Three Gorges was spectacular! We got off the main cruise-ship onto a smaller boat, which took us about 4h on a sidearm of the Yangtze through some great gorges. At the end of the river, we visited a brand new resettlement village for some of the 2,3 million residents of this area that have to move once the Three Gorges Dam will be completed in 2009. The tour of the city felt a bit like a propaganda tour, with the Chinese government showing off how much they are doing for all the displaced people. In fact, I was talking to a foreign girl that had taught at a university in the area. She told me that she had spoken to many of her students, and none of them had been offered any compensation or a new flat - they were
simply told to leave their homes and move away. I guess the truth lies somewhere in the middle, as journalists are not allowed to talk to residents of the area.
The cruise ended with a tour of the massive Three Gorges Dam near Yichang, and it was surely an impressive sights. By the time the dam is fully completed (due in 2009, but more like 2011 it seems), the water will rise to a level of 175m, a further 20 meters or so from today's level and about 91 meters over the river's original level. The discussion about the general pros and cons of the dam is controversial, but the amount of emission-free energy it will create (22.500 MW, enough for about 3%!o(MISSING)f China's energy needs) is surely impressive.
Next stop: Zhangjiajie National Park (Hunan Province, China).
To view my photos, have a look at
pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete
book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).
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Ellen
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good to see you in China!
hey Ben, heard from Li today about you, was very impressed. Nice that Chris, Li and you met in BJ! have fun in China and take good care....