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1997
Route in China (CHINA - Yangzi River)
Bec2004-09-19 15:53:06
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Chang Jiang
The Chang Jiang or Yangzi is the largest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Nile and the Amazon. It flows 6 300 km from its source in western Qinghai province, north of Tibet, to the East China sea at Shanghai. Now that I have seen it I must visit the Amazon someday.
Buying a ticket for the cruise down the Yangzi was like buying a lottery ticket. There are some very expensive luxury boats but amongst the several ordinary boats leaving Chongqing every day, some are new, some are old, some are clean and some are not. The central booking agency in the Chaotianmen terminal showed me nice pictures of a relatively new boat but the Guo Hua was old and the toilets were so filthy that I had to hold my breath not to throw up. It was not my lucky day. That, and the miserable weather put me in a foul mood and made for a bad start on a cruise I had been dreaming of for a long time.
Shibaozhai
The Guo Hua tied-up for the first night at Fengdu, 170 km from Chongqing. Some passengers went ashore at 6:00 am to see the city of demons and ghosts on Pingdushan mountain before our departure at 8:00. The next stop was here to visit the 11 storied Lanruodian pagoda climbing up the side and on top of the rock called Shibaozhai (Stone Treasure Stronghold) under a cold drizzle.
Guo Hua
The cruise had started poorly but the climate improved as I got to meet some of my shipmates. These two ladies from Nanjing were pleased to practice their English with the only westerner aboard. I was flattered by their attention which pulled me out of my bad mood.
The boat was old but my cabin was OK and my seven cabin mates were quite friendly. As always with me, people made all the difference. The couple with a 5 year old boy and two older men spoke only Chinese but three engineers on vacations from their plant in Shenyang spoke a few words of English
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See photographs from:
China Gallery
