China Part III – November 6, 2017

We have now arrived in Beijing, the last leg of our journey. Our Yangtze river cruise was phenomenal to say the least.

The Yangtze River is over 6,300 km’s long, the longest in Asia and the third longest river in the world. The River is the longest river in the world to flow entirely within one country. The Yangtze River flows through nine provinces within China and drains an area equal to 695,000 square miles of land. Truly spectacular.

Day 8 began with our first stop at Sandouping where we visited the Three Gorges Dam Project, the world’s largest hydro powered dam, measuring 696 feet high and 6,500 feet long. It is remarkable but not without its challenges. Although it has proven to be beneficial, the creation of it displaced more than 1.2 million people flooding 13 cities, 140 towns and approximately 1,350 villages. Basically, when they built the dam, those towns and villages now sit beneath hundreds of feet of water. However, prior to the flooding, the China government built new cities and towns above the water level which many prior to the construction, didn’t have running water or electricity which they now have. Resettlement difficulties for sure but a historical landmark now forever.

Day 9 continued by embarking in small riverboats (approximately 12 per boat) for a leisurely ride through Shennong Stream’s picturesque rock formations. This was one of our favorite ventures as with each excursion, they have someone “local” narrating, providing culturally stimulating information of how they live. Many, who were displaced due to the dam project, now live mountain side with a boat being their only form of transportation. Some places that are viewed from the shoreline and seem close to the eye, in reality requires a 2-4 hour hike to them so one can imagine the type of planning that is required to acquire anything. Our local guide for this day was excellent and even taught us a song to sing.

We continued in the latter part of the day sailing through the Wu Gorge, famous for its quiet beauty and then on to the Qutang Gorge, the shortest and most dramatic of the Three Gorges. Words (nor pictures) can truly do any of this justice. I am reminded how in the grand scheme of life, when compared to the visual richness that we have witnessed, we truly are ants in a large farm. The photos may display the beauty, but not the size. It was mesmerizing to stand on our balcony or on the top deck of the ship where both sides were so close. It’s dizzying to witness with the ship moving at a slow pace and the shear magnitude of size around you to clearly articulated this. Blessed to witness, privileged to see.

Day 10’s shore excursion brought us to Shibaozhai and the Shibaozhai Pagoda, a 12-Storey, 18th century temple built in Zhongxian County on the northern bank of the River. We crossed a wired, wooden-platformed bridge that naturally sways with each step taken. This was not for the weak of heart (or knee) as the climb was a bit arduous but worth the view.

We chose to limit our additional excursions to just rest a bit and to enjoy our private balcony and interacting with our other tour and ship mates. We’ve met some wonderful people and made new friends. Admittedly, we are referred to as the “boys,” and are some of the youngest on the cruise so we always like to assist some of the ladies out in the more arduous areas of the trip – stairs, crossing docks, etc. It is a highlight for us to hear many stories from the different places of the world they’ve visited and the delight to be in the presence of their company.

Side note, we previously mentioned our main tour guide, Maggie and how wonderful she is. Our “Maggie’s Group” decided to enter the evening’s Talent show where we all collaborated on singing her a song, Rod Stewart’s, “Maggie May” changing the lyrics that encompasses many of the stories shared together. To our benefit, one of our tour mates, Sandy is a screen writer and musical enthusiast so she took lead on the creation. It was a hysterical experience that was a big hit with the other passengers. A memorable time for sure.

Day 11 ended our cruise day so we disembarked and visited Coqikou Old Town. This is what one imagines China to be like having never visited before. It was VERY busy and crowded with street vendors and unique foods. D tried one of their versions of a Smor…a mango flavoured ice cream block on a stick, wrapped in marshmallow, torched on the outside. Every step we took we were met with another food smell, someone waving a pair of those plastic hands that make the clapping sound to get anyone’s attention. It was like an Asian fair with winding streets, narrow alley ways that pop up and go by if you’re not looking, offering more hidden gems. Our favourite here was near the end, a quiet alcove of many bars having people singing with guitars.

We completed our day with a visit to see the Panda Bears. This is something I was truly looking forward to as I wanted to see them in their own environment. Yes, they were still in a zoo-like setting but the climate here is natural for them. They’re visually animated and it makes the animal lover in me want to hug them. Witnessing them just sit and chew through bamboo seems juvenile in approach but warming to the heart. We were so glad to see this and learn about them. There are only about 1,600 panda bears left in the world and the Chinese government takes great strides in assuring that any newborns are cared for with the utmost priority. A true treat.

It was a very long day as we flew into Beijing last evening arriving close to midnight. We arrived at our hotel around 1:00am but it was worth the wait. Our hotel room is spectacular and to say its grand seems like an over simplification. The interior details are something that one may find in a $1,000 a night room in Las Vegas and we have been amazed by the experience of it all. We will save the details of today to our final email to be inclusive of our time in Beijing. I will add that after all the walking, our tour group offered us the opportunity of a massage so we showered, put on our robes and then answered the door to two massage therapists who provided us each with a 1.5 massage complete with reflexology treatment for the tired feet! D is asleep and I am following but wanted to send out our note as we have a very busy few days left.

We wish everyone our very best and look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Love to all…