Two years ago, my wife and I embarked on a 8-day Yangtze River Chongqing Tour in China. The first part of the tour was at Chongqing where we spent three days visiting waterfalls, Mountains and cultural sites. On the 4th day, we reached Yichang where we boarded a cruise ship to begin our cruise ride along the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges
三峡 and all the way upstream along the river to the port in Chongqing. We spent one more day in Chongqing visiting museums, sight seeing and shopping and before we boarded a plane and flew back to Singapore.
The highlight of the tour was a 4-day cruise ride along the Yangtze River on a five stars luxury cruise ship called the
Century Diamond. The ship has 6 decks and is equipped with a passenger lift. We had a room on the 5th floor fully furnished with amenities, just like a hotel room. The ship is also equipped with a big dance and entertainment floor, restaurants, fitness room and other facilities. There are deck chairs and a lot of open space on the upper most deck for guests to relax under the sun and enjoy the scenic view along River Yangtze.
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| Century Diamond |
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| Guest room |
As the ship sailed slowly along the Yangtze River, We sat on chairs at balcony outside our room and admired the spectacular scenery, the hills, the country life along the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges region is a scenic area along the Yangtze River which is classified a 5As scenic area by the travel authority of China. The Three Gorges span from the western cities of Fengjie and Yichang eastward to Hubei province. This region attracts global attention due to the Three Gorges Dam, which is firmly changing the culture and environment of the river and Three Gorges region. Three Gorges region has a total length of approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi). The Three Gorges occupy approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) within this region. Although it is primarily famous for its scenery, the Three Gorges region is also a historically and culturally important location in China. Many settlements and archaeological sites will be under submersion from the rising Three Gorges Dam. Apart from preventing floods that occur frequently downstream of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Dam main function is to generate electricity. It can be considered the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) with state-of-the-art turbines installed.
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| Yangtze River |
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| Gorges of Yangtze |
When the ship reached the Three Gorges Dam, all the tourists left the ship and boarded buses to visit the Dam and tour the vicinity. The Three Gorges Dam was constructed in the middle of the Xiling Gorge. The reservoir dam was completed in the summer of 2006 and the whole project was completed by the end of 2008. When we visited this place 2 years ago, a ship lift has been constructed where our cruise ship entered the lift to reach a higher water level upstream before the ship could leave the lift and continue its journey. How it works is explained here. The lift looks like a container with deep walls and gates at both ends.The ship lift spans across the river. When the gate at downstream opens, ships can then sail into the compartment of the lift. It can accommodate a few ships. When all the ships entered into the compartment of the lift, the gates are closed. Water is pumped into the compartment, this will take several hours for water to fill up the compartment. As a result, the ships are now floating at a higher level. When the water level reaches the same level of the river upstream, the gate at the other side is opened, then all the ships can sail out and continue their journey upstream of the River Yangtze. We witnessed the closing and opening of those huge gates of the lift. It was incredible, what a sight! The dam and Three Gorges Reservoir has had a massive impact upon the region's ecology and people, involving the mass relocation of towns and villages. The higher water level has changed the scenery of the Three Gorges, so that the river is wider and the mountains appear lower. However, the mountains still tower above the river, and the gorges continue to offer spectacular views of the surrounding cliffs. The riverboat companies that operate in the Three Gorges are experiencing a boom in demand for river cruises. The increased width and depth of the river permits larger ships through the gorges, and there has been a significant increase of river traffic of all kinds, including bulk cargo and container barges.
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| The Tree Gorges Dam |
Our 4-day stay at the cruise ship was not boring at all as there were a lot of activities organised for us on board the ship. First, when we arrived at the river port of Yichang, we were greeted by lion dance and staff of the ship. The second night, the Captain of the ship and his crew threw a welcoming party for us with wine and cocktails. This was followed by performance from the staff of the ship. All the workers of the ship, from cleaners, waiters to chef were all well trained in dancing, singing and even magic shows and games with prizes to win. The tourists were well entertained by the staff of the ship. On other day, there were cooking lessons for the wives and Taiji lessons for the men (if you can wake up early). The food was equally marvellous, buffet (continental style) in the morning and afternoon and dinner (ten per table, Chinese food) at night. When the ship reached a tourist spot, the tourists would disembark and went to the attraction in buses. There were also cultural performances to celebrate the National Day (October the 1st) and an artist did a painting session to promote his arts. On the last day, there was a farewell party organised again by the Captain and his crew. Wines and cocktails were served and performances organised to entertained the guests. We really felt that we were pampered like little children. No wonder the cruise along the Yangtze River were hot items these days. Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment. The tour fare is very much cheaper than the one you would pay for a cruise in the Alaska region. We enjoyed this tour so much that we are thinking of going back again sometime in the future, a great way to relax and admire the beauty of nature at an affordable price.
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| Ship entering the lift |
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| Cruise ship inside the lift |
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| Toasting with the Captain and crew |
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| Ten Yuan Bill showing the Gorges |
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| Relaxing outside my room |
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| A view from the ship |
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| Gate closing before water pumped in |
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| Morning buffet onboard ship |
Other stops the ship made besides the Three Gorges Dam included a visit to the temple (White Emperor City) where Liubei assigned his prime minister Kong Ming a task to gloom his son to take over the reign of the Shu Dynasty (a famous story in the
Romance of the Three Kingdoms); a ghost town and little three gorges (where tourists boarded a smaller ship to venture further into the region).
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| Relaxing at top deck |
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| Venture into little three gorges |
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