China 3 (River Cruise)

Photo by Philip Galvin

1. Chongqing

We took a one-hour flight from Xi’an to Chongqing. We had a lovely hot pot lunch in downtown Chongqing before boarding our ship to cruise the Yangtze River. When we arrived at the port, we were surprised to see so many steps we had to take to reach the dock. Stading at the top of the steps, we began to wonder how we could carry our luggage to our ship all the way down. However, an elderly local porter with traditional clothes approached us quickly and offered to take them down.  When we agreed to accept his service, he placed our luggage on a rope attached to each end of a pole. He then lifted the pole over his shoulder while balancing our luggage. He skillfully reached the bottom of the steps and moved quickly across a narrow floating dock.  It was like watching an old movie.  It happened so fast; we didn’t even have a chance to take a picture of him.

 2. Shibaozhai Pagoda

We arrived at the port to see Shibaozhai Pagoda which we already viewed from the cruise ship on the way to its port. We followed the guide and walked through an outdoor shopping area before reaching Shibaozhai Pagoda.

Once we went through Shibaozhai Gate above, we were almost there. The sculptures of twelve animals, according to the Chinese horoscope, were displayed along the way.

                                                                  Red Pavillion of Shibaozhai

Through the main entrance, we climbed up each floor of the pagoda and saw many colourful and interesting exhibitions as follows.

After returning to our cruise ship, we continueed to enjoy the views from our deck.

4. Outdoor Entertainment and Shopping

We were taken to a small manmade floating island by a colorful boat below.   There, the local people entertained us with some music and dances. Along the floating sidewalk, there were many souvenier shops set up.

More views from the cruise ship

5. Three Gorges Dam

We took a shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam. This dam is one of the China’s largest construction projects undertaken. This great dam, the largest of its kind in the world, provides China with tremendous power generation and flood control services. 

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We went through a couple of locks to bypass the dam.

From the highest point of the building site, we saw the panoramic view of Three Gorges, the exhiition house, natural scenic spot Mongongshan and Huangling Temple.

After visiting the dam, we continued to enjoy the scenery from the cruise ship.

  6. Yichang Sanxia Airport

After our river cruise, we were taken to Yichang Sanxia Airport to catch a flight to Shanghai. This airport was quite impressive as shown below.