China Day 7, Cruising the Gorges

Sunday July 3^rd

We were woken up at 6:00 and called up to the deck to see the scenery as we sailed through the second canyon, Wu Gorge. After breakfast we disembarked from our ship and boarded a smaller vessel in order to navigate a tributary of the Yangtze and see three smaller gorges called Dragon, Misty and Emerald Gorges. All were very nice and we saw lots of other ships sailing up and down the river as well. At one point we could see a cave high up on the mountain in which there was a hanging coffin dating back a thousand years. Apparently there was a civilization here then that believed in hanging their important dead people high up the mountain in caves so they'd be closer to heaven. There are only a few of these coffins remaining as many were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao.

After returning to our ship we continued up the Yangtze River as we had a good lunch. Later in the afternoon we could see the third of the Three Gorges, Qu Tang Gorge as we sailed through it. The photo of the city is of one of the new cities they had to construct for the displaced people. This one is now home to 80,000 people. I can't imagine what it cost to build this dam, build all the new cities and relocate the people. Later I sat in my room for awhile looking back at photos from the last few months. I think I am a bit nostalgic at the moment and amazed by all of what I have done. After that I headed down to the tea room and had a cup of green tea made for me by a young girl who works in the tearoom. There is a whole procedure to making the tea, washing the cups and pouring it, that she called 'tea art'.

After dinner we headed to the dance and Karaoke Bar for a few drinks. Allen and I played a few games of the dice game and then we challenged a couple of the waitresses to play too. It was a fun evening. It was also interesting to see how the Chinese love to sing Karaoke, some good and some awfully! Before going to bed I walked around the decks outside in the dark. The air was still very warm and I enjoyed the quiet and the night sky. Then off to bed.