3 Gorges

28 photos

Our second day aboard the Yangzi Explorer was very busy.

First up was the Xiling Gorge. The Xiling gorge is the longest of the three gorges, but has fewer soaring peaks. Between that, the early hour, and the overcast skies, it was interesting but not stunning. But we did see a commuter hydrofoil goes buzzing by us.

Next, we boarded a ferry that took us into the Shen Nong Stream, where we boarded a sampan to journey further up the stream. Along the way we saw a hanging coffin, dating back to between 200 BC and 500 AD. The Shen Nong Stream used to be quite shallow, requiring the trackers on the sampans to get out and pull the boats along from the shore. With the advent of the 3 Gorges dam, that is no longer necessary, but it still makes a good show for the tourists.

Once back upon the Yangzi Explorer, we again headed up river. The next gorge was the Wu Gorge. While going through the Wu Gorge, we saw quite a bit of commercial shipping. In addition to flood control and power generation, the 3 Gorges dam has made the Yangzi much more navigable, providing much easier transportation to/from western China. A little after the Wu Gorge, we went through the shortest of the 3 Gorges, the Qutang Gorge.

But our day was not finished, yet. That evening was the Emperor's dinner. The Emperor, his concubines, and some of his eunichs (we didn't check...) came to toast with us. Several of our group had dressed appropriately, and we also had a visit from the ship's chef, who is Austrian...