Our ship is gliding steadily, silently, inexorably, even swiftly into the darkness. Like a ghost ship. The moonless sky is black but illuminated by a myriad of shimmering stars. The water is brown, calm with just a few ripples to reflect the powerful searchlights from the ship shining on the shore. For me this is peace, paradise and one of my personal dreams come true.
I am cruising on a ship going from Yichang to Chongqing on the Yangtze River; the river that has been so important to the past history of China and is now about to become even more important to its (this country’s) future development. I am in the area of the Three Gorges Dam Project and I am excited to see for myself, this part of China before it is submerged under the flooding waters and gone forever.
For some this river is Chang Jiang for others it is The Yangtze. This dual naming has had me confused for many years, but now I understand why it is more commonly called the ‘Long River’. I was so impressed and even surprised with the constant flow of huge volumes of water as our ship made its relentless journey through mile after mile of steadily flowing water. Day and night we cruised this river and it seemed as if it would never come to an end. This river has flowed through the history of China and the history of China has flowed through this river. It is a truly great river.
Our journey from Shantou began with bus rides and plane rides to Yichang. The getting there was quite painful and I was exhausted from the journey when we finally arrived at the hotel in Yichang, around midnight. I slept very well that night and rose early to get ready to go to see the dam. This is the main attraction in this area and will bring many benefits to the region, including many tourists such as me. It is the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken by man. The day broke a little bit misty but it was cool and dry.
The dam is spectacular. I have never seen anything of this magnitude in my life. I have seen many large dams both in Canada and the U.S.A. but this is, without doubt, the most remarkable engineering achievement I have ever seen. The authorities in that region have done a wonderful job in providing information and access for the many thousands of visitors who visit this site every day. The mist of the day seemed to make if more impressive as it shrouded the furthest reaches of the dam and made it seem even more immense; endless. The parks and many attractions surrounding the dam only add to the experience of being witness to this engineering marvel.
In the afternoon of the first day on the ship we entered the locks which would raise the ship to the highest level on the other side so we could continue our journey onward to Chongqing. Even though our ship was very large, I was amazed at how small it seemed when we entered the huge lock system. We were dwarfed by the structure in which we were then contained. Each lock could hold up to six large cruise ships at one time. Standing on the deck of our ship I felt the immense size of the holding area and began to realize just how enormous this whole project really was. By comparison, I felt very small indeed.
Our ship was really a hotel on the water. It had everything we could ask for. The cabins were comfortable. The dining room was large and gave us a spectacular view of the river as we ate. The bars, the decks and the observation areas were perfect places for passing the day in watching the river go by and taking photographs of the spectacular scenery of the Gorges. I did say this was paradise for me, didn’t I? The food was out of this world. There was never a shortage of even the most desirable dishes they made for us. And the variety of the food would do credit to any major hotel restaurant on dry land. I was also impressed with the attention all the staff of the ship devoted to our comfort. No request was too much for them. They complied with grace, courtesy and good humour to every request. I could not have been any happier with this level of service.
In addition to the time we spent on the ship, we also were taken on side trips to places of interest along the way. For me, the trip in a small boat along the Shennong River was the most fascinating. Our guide on that boat was humorous and made us all feel so much at home as she told us about the history of the people of that area in perfect English. She even sang local songs for us as and taught us some words in the local language as we cruised the river.
I learned many things on this trip; especially a better appreciation of the meaning of this river to all the people of China. I am so happy I took this opportunity to see it as it is being developed even further in the future of an even greater China. I would even suggest that everyone go to see this special place. And I hope that one day I shall be able to go again and travel even further; maybe even to continue all the way to the mouth of this river in Shanghai; another place I love to visit.
For more:
Cruising the Yangtze River
Cruising the Yangtze on Yangzi Explorer
