After a buffet breakfast on the ship, we enjoyed a couple of presentations by the Chinese staff on board. The first presentation was a Powerpoint and video of the history of the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Dam. It was very informative.
Just to let you know, the Yangtze River is the 3rd longest river in the world and the longest in Asia. The Three Gorges Dam, when flooded on June 1, 2003, displaced between 1.3 and 2 million people. Some of these people had family who had lived in the same village for 35 generations. While they were compensated for their displacement by the government (very little), the lives of the older generation are still torn. We have noticed that the younger generations sees this displacement as an opportunity for additional types of work along the river. The Yangtze River history is truly fascinating, and I’ll try and give you a little insight to what we’ve learned as we go.
After the presentation, another followed by the doctor on board. He discussed the eastern practice of acupuncture and accupressue. Jamie even volunteered for the demonstration and still has the mark on her neck to prove it. See picture and video!
The ship is so relaxing. You can rest in your room and watch river go by out your window you can relax on the decks. We spend most of the time in the room napping and reading or watching a movie.
After lunch, we headed out to Fengdu, most known as the Ghost City of China. You can clearly see the remains of the city that was once here but is now flooded by the Yangtze after the dam’s completion. The villagers were moved across the river to what is now a city of 100,000 people. The Ghost City still remains and has been restored as a temple complex for Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. It is said that the Chinese, even those living abroad, will come back to this ghost city and be judged prior to moving on to the afterlife. It looked very similar to all of the other temple complexes Jamie and I have seen in our travels of China, but the “ghost” section of the “underworld” was pretty cool as they had sculptures of all of these ghosts depicting various character traits. Our local guide, Jimmy, led us through in typical tour guide fashion and had us do the all of the typical tourist things along the way to keep us entertained. At one point, I bunny hopped up 25 steps because I turned 33 this year. All of these little activities are supposed to be for good luck or good fortune, or for a long life. China is littered with stories like that. I guess if your country had a history of 5000 years of civilization, you’d have stories too.
Prior to dinner, we had a captain’s meet and greet with appetizers and free Champaign. Dinner was typical Chinese style and was delicious enough. Jamie and I then waited around in the multipurpose area for the traditional Chinese performance, our entertainment for the evening. The performance was very cute as it was performed by the Chinese staff on board, cleaning crew, bartenders, and dinner staff. They performed some dances and dressed in traditional dynasty era dress. Somewhat hokey, but we were pleased and entertained.
Tomorrow is an absolutely jam packed day as we leave early at 7:00 am to see the White Emperor City. More details to come, so check out all of the pictures and videos.
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