During the night, we traveled through the five ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam and sailed further west until we arrived at the city of Wushan. The city as it is now is less than 10 years old while the original city is now located under the surface of the Yangtze River. When they decided to build the dam, they knew that some city would be completely submerged so they informed the people that they would be relocated when the final plans were made in 1992. By 2003, the entire population of the city was moved further up on the mountainside just above the old city. Those living in the city were offered incentives for their relocation that included housing subsidies that allowed them to buy larger homes. Unlike the rest of China, many were given deeds to their land that allows them to own the property beyond 70 years which is unlike the rest of China. According to our local guide, in 2003 she watched while it took 10 days for the old city to be completely covered by water to its present level. I cannot imagine having to watch Leonardtown being slowly drowned by a river!
Before the city was submerged, they demolished many of the buildings and used some of the materials to build the new city. The local guide described the debris that had to be collected from the surface of the river for months afterward! She seemed pleased with the change despite these descriptions. Before the dam was built, the people would travel using bicycles and now they use motorcycles and water taxis to travel within the city and to other cities or villages in the province. She told us that visiting her grandmother used to take 8 hours and now she can travel there in about an hour. This is because the water level was often less than 5 meters at times before the dam and today it was 145 meters allowing for water travel instead of land travel.
We left our ship to take a smaller boat into the Lesser Three Gorges. I must say that every time I leave the ship, I have this image of slipping off of the very narrow walkway and falling into the river! We exit the ship using a 2 foot wide plank that they have placed on top of another ship or a port or a barge and they have stationed lovely employees at both sides of the plank who smile and wish you well as you depart. They take you hand or arm as you walk across the plank which at times has been at 45 degree angles or spanning a space over the water of about 3 feet as if they will be able to stop me if I plunge into the muddy water of the river! I am more likely to take them with me!! :) I do take great care because I really do not want to have to explain how I ended up floating down the river without a passport! :)
The Lesser Three Gorges were quite pretty. The river flows between the sheer cliffs of mountains on both sides. Villages and farms are dotted throughout the area of the Wu Gorge and I was able to see a wide range of terraced farms as well as fish or shrimp farms. The fish farms looked like scaffolding in the water that held netting beneath the surface. In the Misty Gorge, I was able to see a mountain peak shaped like Buddha of which I was able to get a clear shot! In the Qutang Gorge, we saw monkeys running along and climbing the cliffs as well as the Hanging Coffins. The Hanging Coffins are at least 2000 years old and are believed to have come from the wealthy families of the Ba culture. The petrified wood coffins were placed into caves high on the sides of the sheer cliffs of the gorge. Scientists have not yet figured out how it was completed because the Ba people disappeared abruptly in ancient times. They do believe that they placed them on the cliffs up high so that it would ease their journey to heaven.
In the afternoon, I learned to play Mah Jong which is a game played by four people with tiles that resemble dominoes. I am not yet very good at the game, but I think with enough practice, I could do well enough not to lose too badly! :)
Our local guide also taught us to say "I love you" in Chinese. While I do not know the spelling or the characters to write it, I can type it out phonetically. "Oh-eye-knee" (The knee part is said with the inflection of a question.)
I am off to practice my Mah Jong!
No comments:
Post a Comment