IMPERIAL JEWELS OF CHINA - October 7, 2015

DAY 6  - Wu & Qutang Gorges, Lesser Three Gorges

Today proved to be the most spectacular day for scenic cruising. During the morning we travelled through Wu (Witches) Gorge. Lush, mist-enshrouded mountains, including the legendary Twelve Peaks, rose up on both sides.

Wu (Witches) Gorge is perhaps the most beautiful, noted for its magnificent scenery of lush green mountains that are often shrouded in mist.  The river's currents shift and change constantly as it roars through the gorge, and Wu was once as dangerous to navigators as it was beautiful.  Here are the Twelve Peaks including the beautiful Shennu Feng ("Goddess Peak") topped by a naturally sculptured rock resembling a maiden looking down at the river.  Set picturesquely amidst these peaks is the town of Wushan, which looks over both the Yangtze and its Daning River tributary.

Some of the hundreds of photos taken today.  They do not do justice to the breathtaking beauty.

Steps up to a temple.  Only a small portion is shown in this photo.  A popular tourist area.

The Lesser Three Gorges lie on the Daning River.  Narrower than the Great Three Gorges, these remarkable canyons are equally impressive.  Sheer cliffs and steep mountains rise on either side and clear water flows between towering speaks covered with lush greenery.  There are also a number of historical sites, including the hanging coffins of the Ba people and the ancient plank road carved into the cliff side.  This plank road consists of more than 6,000 holes, about two inches in circumference carved by hand into the side of the cliffs.  Wooden stakes inserted into the holes supported bamboo pipes to carry brine and planks that created a road stretching more than 60 miles along the river.

The Lesser Three Gorges are already benefiting from the building of the Three Gorges Dam;  the river has always been extremely shallow, in some places only inches deep, and one could explore than only up to a certain point.  Rising water levels mean that the traditional sampans can now push further up the Daning to enjoy more of the beauty of the Lesser Three Gorges.

When we arrived at Wushan, we were transferred to smaller sightseeing vessels for our trip up the Lesser Three Gorges on the Daning River.  Our large ship could not navigate these waters.  Our local guide pointed out all the points of interest.

Our cute little sightseeing vessels with our local Chinese guide

The much narrower Daning River, the Lesser Three Gorges

Yup, this appears to be a bathroom with Western toilets, minus doors

After lunch, we gathered on the top deck for our sail into Qutang Gorge.  This spectacular gorge is the shortest and narrowest of the Three Gorges.  Our river guide Ben gave us an excellent landscape narration from the sun deck.  This area was "geologist heaven".

Once again, just a few of the many photos we took on our sail through Qutang Gorge

On the top deck, enjoying a lovely warm, sunny day

After the gorges, the landscape remained rugged, but quite agricultural.  Orange trees grow anywhere they can.  There were many small towns, shrines and temples along the river.

Orange groves

Shrine

More orange groves

Another temple 

The end of the Three Gorges

IMPERIAL JEWELS OF CHINA - October 6, 2015

DAY 5 - Three Gorges Dam and Xiling Gorge

Today would prove to be a busy, but exciting day.  It was misty and cool and we were hoping to be able to tour the Three Gorges Dam.  Thankfully, the rain stopped and in the late afternoon we boarded the busses for our tour.  More of this later ....

Terry Lei, the ship's Program Director gave us a talk on the Three Gorges Dam during the day.  At Sandouping village is the site of the monumental Three Gorges Dam project.  This immense hydroelectric project displaced 1.5 million people (estimates range between 1.2 and 1.9 million) and submerged numerous archaeological sites and nearly 2,000 villages, towns and cities.  Although the dam is controversial, it is important to remember that more than one million people have died from Yangtze flooding in just the last 100 years, and the dam holds promise of controlling the centuries-old devastation.  Additionally, today China burns 50 million tons of coal per year, one of the most polluting forms of energy, and the hydroelectric plant will produce as much as one-ninth of the large nation's electricity -- the equivalent power of 15 nuclear plants.

The Three Gorges Dam is the most ambitious engineering project of its kind.  The idea was first proposed in the 1920's and the Chinese government finally approved it in 1992.  Ten years later, in November 2002, the damming of the diversion channel was completed.  The second phase was completed in June 2003 when two passenger ships made the first passage through the new five-level locks.  The river today has risen to 575 feet above sea level, creating a lake behind the dam and smoothing out the shoals and rapids on the river.

During the afternoon we sailed through Xiling Gorge which is the largest of the three Yangtze River Gorges.  Lined with sheer cliffs, Xiling is known for its many smaller gorges and caves.

Sailing through Xiling Gorge and local fishermen who live on their boats

Around 2 pm, the ship sailed into the Gezhouba Dam Ship Lock and an hour later we left the ship to tour the Dam.  The tour bus took us to the viewing area for the dam and then we drove up to the top of a hill to view the locks.

Waiting in line to through Gezhouba Dam lock

We are in the lock

Three Gorges Dam

Monument overlooking the locks

The locks

Waiting at the base of the 5 locks

The passage through these 5-stage locks took nearly four hours and dramatically highlighted the immense scope of the project.

Passage through the locks at night

This was a very exciting and interesting day.  Along the river, during the day we saw many beautiful sights, local people and many cities.  Here are some random shots ....