A rectangular cabin window frames the unfolding panorama of the Yangtze River. Mist creeps across a green expanse of water in the diffuse dawn light, as a small fishing boat bobs in our wake. Ragged cliffs thrust upward, farmhouses and the occasional temple dot rice terraces on the lower banks.
Iconic images are one of the rewards of a slow boat down the Yangtze, an epic journey that is even more interesting now that it comes with a happy ending at the humungous Three Gorges Dam.
There's a proverb that says, "You haven't been anywhere until you've traveled the Yangtze." The longest river in Asia has its source in the frozen heights of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and flows for 6,300 km through some of China's most spectacular scenic spots, the world's biggest metropolis and eventually exits in the East China Sea near Shanghai.
Known in Chinese as "Long River" (Chang Jiang) it was mistakenly dubbed the Yangtze by early foreign travelers, after the place where they caught a ferry. The river spawned China's earliest civilizations and a good portion of its history has been written trying to harness its elemental forces, up to the present time.
The river's largest port, in Chongqing, is the departure point for our trip. Much of the municipality of 31.4 million souls is a building site as it struggles to absorb thousands of new residents, some of them displaced because of the dam. According to a Guardian report, each day there are 568 deaths, 813 births and 1,370 new arrivals. It's not pretty, but it is impressive.
We take a boat for domestic tourists rather than one of the swanky crafts favored by most foreigners. These include the recently launched MS Yangzi Explorer, which has all the facilities of a five-star hotel, including movie theater, espresso bar and fitness center. We reason this is a holiday away from the treadmill and there will be more local color on the good ship Hainei Guanguang 10. We are not disappointed.
After a bit of haggling near the city port, where the Jialing River flows into the Yangtze, we pay 580 yuan ($85) each for a two days-and-nights cruise. This compares with $3,900 for the Explorer. The boat is set to sail at 10:15 pm and the agency boss arrives at our hotel with a "bang-bang man" to carry our luggage. These migrant workers earn a living by transporting heavy goods with just a bamboo pole.
Our porter is gaunt and short but carries our luggage at a clip and arrives by the quayside before we do. Guilt makes us generous and we pay him 50 yuan ($7). Not bad for 15 minutes of work.
Our second-class accommodation is sparse but reasonably clean, with four bunk beds and a large window, the sort fitted in old-style Beijing apartments. No amount of perfume can disguise the smell emanating from the hole that passes as a toilet, despite my mother's best efforts. There are four decks above water and a couple below, where the accommodations are decidedly spartan and close to the ship's engines.
On time, we slip our moorings, drift into the shipping lane and watch the dazzling nightlights of Chongqing fade into a memory. Meanwhile, our ship's captain creates a kind of son et lumiere experience by shining a searchlight on the far bank and sounding his foghorn.
Early next morning we are between Fengdu and ZhongXian. The scenery has changed from industrial to post-industrial (beached, rusting ships) and farmland. There's no fan or air conditioning and although the cabin window is open as far as it can go the atmosphere is muggy, which drives everyone up for air onto the decks. The mist clears and there's a scent of honeysuckle, which is grown for its medicinal properties.
Families stake out territories by sitting in a circle on the prow and pass around steamed buns for breakfast. Someone commandeers a small plastic chair and scans the bank with binoculars. Most passengers seem content to enjoy the scenery, talk or read.
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A Yangtze cruise on a boat for domestic tourists is a journey filled with local flavor. |
As for dining, it's best to take your own supplies, otherwise you'll be buying pot noodles at the shop, or experiencing galley food, a diet of rice and vegetables seasoned with pickles and washed down with beer.
After another night we're in the Three Gorges, an approximately 192 km stretch of scenic beauty comprising Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorges. There's fresh excitement at this juncture and every other passenger becomes a photographer - even if all they have is a phone.
They snap towering limestone cliffs and point out the famous peaks. The river here is sometimes more like a lake, with islands in the middle inhabited by farmers. They tend orange groves, herb gardens and golden rape fields. The blossoms of spring and the falling leaves of autumn makes these the ideal seasons for a cruise. Summer is too hot and winter, too cold.
We arrive early afternoon in Yichang, which used to be known as "Gateway to the Gorge", but is now as much a stopping off point for visits to the Three Gorges Dam. We could go further, downstream to Wuhan, scene of the Battle of Red Cliffs, to Nanjing and Shanghai. But we have had enough of adventure and it's good to be back on terra firma.
