World China Chongqing Chongqing

Mr and Mrs Smith - Round the World

Three Gorges - Yangzi River Oct 4, 2009

After a long bus ride (7 hours) we arrived in Chongqing on National Day (October 1st). Our boat was delayed so we had to time to kill. We went down to the river to people watch (and be people watched). It turned into quite an entertaining afternoon with us being photographed and asked to be in photos - at one point we even thought about charging. We had dinner at a restaurant that was showing the national day ceremony in Beijing and it was very impressive from what we saw.

We had heard mixed reports about the boats that you get to sail down the Yangzi River for our Three Gorges trip. Our tour company prepared us for the worst - apparently the Chinese Government control all river traffic (as most of the traffic is commercial) so you can end up on any boat at any time. So we were pleasantly surprised when our boat pulled up around 9pm - it was luxurious (for us), clean and the rooms were lovely. The boat took 120 passengers, we made up 12, there were about 10 Chinese and the rest were Europeans (mainly Germans) who had a good 20 years on all of us.

The first day on the boat we visited Fengdu and the Ghost City where all Chinese souls are said to pass through at one point. It was a really interesting and fun afternoon and we each had to pass the tests that "Yama" the God of the Underworld set for us. I got my future read and was told I would be reincarnated as a male scholar in the next life. This concerned MS - especially when we crossed the "eternity bridge" which meant we would be together in the next life.

The 2nd day on the boat we passed through the Three Gorges, the first early in the morning followed by the second an hour of so later and the third in the late afternoon so we got a great view of all three. However, the river has been dammed (by the biggest dam in the world) causing the water level to rise 150 metres from its original level. The mountains were still very dramatic but we could only imagine what it would have looked like years ago. Also, air pollution has been a major problem in every city we have visited and it was particularly bad on the river. All this added up to mediocre photos but we still enjoyed our time.

The food on board the boat was very good but was a westernised version of Chinese food. We had to explain to our Chinese guide what have the dishes were (like Lemon Chicken). But the boat was so relaxing and we really enjoyed our time on board.

We visited the Three Gorges Dam on our last day. Unfortunately,the boat could not continue down the river any further than this point as the government had stopped all tourist traffic on the river for the national day celebrations. But we got to view the dam (it felt like with half of China as it was so crowded) but it was impressive all the same.