The Three
Gorges boat tour began in Chongqing and we immediately set sail for Fengdu.
Since we arrived late on the boat, the first thing everyone did was sit down
to a meal.| China 2000 Home | Around Nanjing Normal | Student Activities | Travel | Student Pages and Inquiries |
Itinerary:
September 29 -5:30 am meet in the hotel lobby, bus to airport for 8:00 am flight to Chongqing, board boat "Xishi" at 20:00.
September 30 -Visit Fengdu (Ghost Town), welcoming party on the boat in the evening
October 1 -Visit Xiao Sanxia (The Lesser Three Gorges), see the Gezhou Dam
October 2 -Arrive in Yichang, transfer to Wuhan by bus, stay in the Jiangcheng Hotel
October 3 -Wuhan city tour of the Yellow Crane Pagodak, 20:20 flight back to Nanjing
The Three
Gorges boat tour began in Chongqing and we immediately set sail for Fengdu.
Since we arrived late on the boat, the first thing everyone did was sit down
to a meal.
Wu Jianzhong,
who works in the International Students office at Nanjing Normal University,
accompanied us on the trip. He's the one who helped coordinate transportation
and meals, thus ensuring that we had a smooth trip. Wu is also the one who provides
students with their meal tickets back at school. Needless to say, he has become
everyone's buddy on this trip.
Everyone is getting
used to eating communally, but it's hard to avoid heaping a large spoonful onto
one's plate. Chinese set all the dishes on a lazy Suzan, from which everyone
takes a bite here and there as the dishes spin by. On the boat each table sat
about 7 or 8 people and for each meal, 7 or 8 dishes were served, not including
soup and appetizers.
At 6:00 AM everyone
left the boat for a tour of Fengdu or "Ghost Town."
Everyone was surprised
to discover that the town that lies below the Fengdu temple is going to be flooded
due to the building of the Three Gorges Dam project. This image shows how many
days are left before the flooding begins.
It was a very
rainy day, and a very cloudy trip for that matter. But that made the chair lift
ride to the top of the mountain that more ethereal.
The Fengdu temple
is known as the threshold to the Buddhist spiritual world. When someone dies
her or his spirit will come to this temple to find out if s/hecan pass into
heaven or will be sent to hell. If s/he is to be sent to hell, there are 18
levels to which s/he can be sent.
Joe Releya encountered
one of the spirit demons that guards the gate to heaven. This demon is known
to eat humans. Luckily, Joe got by unscathed.
When the spirit
passes through the gates of heaven it encounters the image of a beautiful goddess.
Many travelers to this temple often stop and pray to her, hoping that she will
bring them good fortune. Ian Saratovsky was inspired by her as well, and sat
down to strike a meditative pose.
Back on the
boat, the cruise director orgainzed a welcoming party for everyone. Some of
the workers on the boat performed traditional Chinese dances. All the guests
were asked to join in karaoke. Jeanne Hinckley and Pam Lutin were inspired to
sing "The Greatest Love of All."
Besides karaoke,
the guests were invited to play a couple of games. Lee Stevens looked like he
was primed for winning the seat at musical chairs, but the final victor was
Pam Lutin.
The next
day we stopped in Wushan in order to take a smaller boat up the Lesser Three
Gorges. This area will also be flooded. We saw signs everywhere marking how
high the water will rise when the area is flooded. We also saw signs of new
construction on higher ground.
Since
it was a rainy and misty trip, the Gorges really did look like traditional Chinese
paintings. Unfortunately, these images don't show the beauty of the scenery
on a website.
We
saw lots of boats, mostly tourist ones, passing through the Gorges. It seems
as if everyone is trying to visit the Three Gorges before it is flooded.
After returning
to the boat, we set sail again down the Yangtze River. Pam Lutin is shown here
taking in the scenery, waiting for the next gorge to appear.
We arrived in
Yichang on the eve of Chinese National Day. We took taxis to the center of town
and saw that despite a little rain, the plaza was crowded with people enjoying
being outside and celebrating. A large group gathered around couples who were
ballroom dancing.
But if ballroom
dancing drew a crowd, the arrival of 13 foreigners soon became a more exciting
spectacle. Everywhere we went, students were asked by the Chinese to pose for
photos with them or their children. Campbell Heath usually gets singled out
more than the rest of us because he's over 6' tall. It's still very rare for
Chinese to see foreigners, and even more rare to see someone so tall.
Yichang is a
small city, but everyone seemed excited to see us. Students made fast friends
there.
The following
day we disembarked in Wuhan. Kitty was our tour guide who showed us around the
city and encouraged us to join her in singing on the bus. Everyone was more
interested in seeing the city and how it compared with the cities they've visited
thus far.
Wuhan is one of
the most modernized cities in China. It hosts several joint ventures with foreign
companies, such as a French car maker and Budweiser beer.
One of the most
interesting sights in Wuhan is the Yellow Crane Pagoda. Since the National Day
holiday lasts for 3 days, the place was packed with tourists.
As in Yichang,
students again found themselves to be at the center of attention. They were
even singled out by Wuhan TV for interviews. Neil Routman is giving his impression
of the city to journalists.
Kwok Lee wasalso
interviewed. Chinese enjoy reporting about overseas Chinese who return to China
for a visit.
Averi Pakulis took
advantage of a seal carver on the top floor of the pagoda and made a chop for
her paintings (see Student Activities).
This is Averi's
name in Chinese.
Another shop on
the grounds of the pagoda was dedicated to Maozedong memorabilia. There were
hundreds of badges on display, many books by Mao, as well as figurines, car
tassles, and just about anything else you could think of.
Ian Saratovsky
and Pam Lutin drove a hard bargin with the shop owner to get her to lower the
price of two books on the sayings of Mao Zedong. They stuck to their guns and
ended up getting a good deal.
Modern Languages | East Asian Studies | Terms Abroad
Term Abroad in Nanjing, China
For questions about the current program contact Megan Ferry
Last updated October 8, 2000