China Tour May 5 - 9, 2017

Chongqing
Our ship wasn't going to begin boarding until afternoon so our tour guide took us to Porcelain town for some shopping. There were long narrow streets filled with vendors. This area is known for it's noodle making and mud roasted chicken.

The chicken is the Chinese equivalent of fast food, it is encased in mud and then baked. The mud becomes hard and the chicken steams inside. It is a popular food picked up after a day's work and taken home for dinner. Once home the chicken is are cracked open, moist, hot and ready to eat.

An old Chinese saying:
Eat like a emperor for breakfast, 
A rich man for lunch,
And a pauper for dinner.

It was evening before we left Chongqing and began our cruise up the Yangtze River. It was a lovely evening to sit on our private balcony and enjoy the city lights.

 The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world and the longest river in Asia. Yangtze is really the modern name for the Chang Jiang River or "Long River." It is so long that in ancient times it was thought to be three different rivers, The "Gold Sands River", "River Passing Through Heaven" and "Tearful River."

The next morning we landed at Shibaozhai, "Precious Stone Fortress" for an excursion. This red pavilion has nine floors (about 660 ft tall) with a Buddhist temple at the top. Before the pavilion was built visitors were hoisted to the top using chains.

At the base of the hill alongside the river bank is a row of merchant stalls which follows the path from the dock to the entrance of the pavilion. On our way back we shopped at the stalls and were surprised at the bargains

 Late afternoon we were back on board and ready to watch some beautiful Yangtze River scenery.

The Three Gorges

Famous for its scenery, Three Gorges is a remote area where families seldom venture far and then only by boat. 

This proved to be an expensive boatride. Hubby was happily taking photos with his wide angle lens until there was a splash and a hush came over our little boat. He had dropped his lens into the river! Even he was shocked into silence. It took me ten of fifteen seconds to remember and lean over to whisper into his ear, "It's a good thing we insured your camera equipment for the trip." He let out a sign of relief and whispered back, "Aah yes, I'd forgotten." So the wonderful trip continues...

 

 We took another side trip the next day to the water village where the Three Gorge Tribe lives. Tourism has proven profitable for these people since the dam was built and changed their way of life.

The last leg of our cruise was to go through the locks and visit the dam. The ship barely fit as we made our way through the locks. This is a view from our balcony.

We disembarked at Jingzhou to take a walk around the ancient area of the city, dating back 6,000 years. The city walls were rebuilt in 1646 and measure 30 ft high and 33 ft thick.

We also visited the Jingzhou museum which displays a 2,000 year old male mummy. It seems like such and invasion to this soul I didn't want to take a photo, however, there were some very interesting artifacts.                                             

A "Tiger Headed Pillow"

Hem Socks  - 24 A.D.

Tomorrow, on to Shanghai.