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 Travelogue
on Yangtze Cruise
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--- By Yin Shuo - Director of Ground Operation Regent China GORGEOUS VIEWS ON YANGTZE CRUISE http://www.regenttour.com http://www.orientroyalcruise.com
There were three American passengers on board; the remainder were Chinese and Japanese. This was useful for conversation at dinner becausethey had to speak to each other in English, too. We boarded in the evening and I had to pay around RMB100 (13usd) for my first dinner,a simple Chinese meal of spicy pork and rice. The food for the remaining two days was included in the cost of the cruise, and there was nothing to complain about here - four varied Chinese meals a day, concluding with 'midnight snacks' of rice or noodles at 10:30pm.
Of course, the ship isn't tht important (as long as you stay afloat), because the whole point of the cruise is to see the breathtaking scenery of the Three Gorges before it disappears underwater. The idea of building a dam here came from Chairman Mao but the biggest hydrodelectric project in the world, which will cost 200 trillion RMB(25 trillion usd), wasn't approved until 1992. All the way along the route there are 135m (443ft) and 175m signs on the rocks, indicating the levels are to be demolished and the people of the region are being rehoused, while only the peaks of the former Three Gorges will remain visible.
At Yichang, where the cruise ended, we viewed the vast dam construction site at night. Through binoculars we could just make out part of the dam wall, surrounded by cranes, bathed in yellow light. It looked like a medieval castle. Beside the site was a brand new suspension bridge, also lit up. After this came the captain's banquet and the crew show, but these could hardly compare with the sights we'd seen.
The cruiser Queen has five decks, tow deluxe suites, three special standard cabins and 73 standard cabins, with toal capacity 172 passengers. The ship is air-conditioned and facilities include bar,restaurant, karaoke, dancefloor, souvenir shop, business centre, recreation room, sauna and massage. Laundry, foreign exchange, IDD and fax services are also provided. The cabins are equipped with satellite TV, in-house movies and telephones. Queen sails from March to December
between Chongqing and Yichang in both directions. Price start at USD680
for a standard cabin and go up to USD1,580 for a presedential suite. Discount prices are available at Regent China Tours Beijing Office Attn: Yin Shuo Beijing
Office - Regent China Tours |
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Regent
Tour China Your China Specialist. Email: webmaster@regenttour.com
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| Wuhan | |
| Jingsha City | |
| Yueyang Tower | |
| Yichang | |
| Xiling Gorge | |
| Zigui | |
| Shennong Stream | |
| The Lesser Three Gorges | |
| Wu Gorge | |
| Others | |
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| ...... | |
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A
soothing melody was playing over the loudspeakers as I boarded the cruiser
Queen at Chongqing docks. Hang on, that's the theme from Titanic, I suddenly
realised. I began to wonder whether the ship had enough lifeboats and
what the chances were of hitting a stray iceberg on the Yangtze. Later,
at a briefing by the English-speaking Chinese guide, Kevin, I broached
this subject gently. "The captain does not like to hear the ord Titanic!"
he replied, assuring me that the ship had never sunk.
In
the cabin I could relax and look out of the window or watch one of the
in-house movies (although these weren't announced in advance,so you had
to guess when to turn the TV on), Apollo 13 or Saving Private Rya dubbed
into Chinese. Apparently one of the crew members is a fan of Tom Hanks.
The fridge was stocked with a single lonely bottle of Chongqing beer RMB18
(2.5usd). 
The
highlight of my trip came when we disembarked from Queen at the lesser
Gorges, put on our lifejactets and got into small wooden boats, which
were pulled upstream by teams of three men. They tied a rope around their
waists and chanted as they waded through the stream several metres ahead
of us. A boatman helped us along by punting with a bamboo pole and using
its sharp metal end to push us away from the rocks. The experience was
staged purely for tourists - similar boats equipped with motors passed
alongside us - but it was a fascinating and impressive dispaly that really
caught the atmosphere of the place. On our way back downstream the pulling
teams sat in hte boats and our guide sang us a traditional Chinese song.
The
next morning we aere unceremoniously hurried off the ship at 8:30am so
that she could depart again immediately with new passengers.I took a taxi
to the Yichang International Hotel and left my luggage with the concierge,
finding an internet cafe around the corner to pass the time in. This proved
to be the right decision because the airport proved to be empty and unheated.
At least there was no chance of missing the announcement form my flight
to Beijing, as it was the only one that afternoon.
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