Three Gorges Academic Exchange Hotel Yichang

... free time in Wuhan when we got there to feed ourselves and stock up on supplies for the cruise before boarding another bus in the evening down to the cruise ship. On the coach we passed by the Three Gorges Dam, which the Chinese are constructing as a means of supplying 15% of the population with power. They are very proud of this and Tomic our tour guide has been banging on about the Dam for the last 24hours. When we pass by it's all lit and looks ...

... drinks and dinner and a Cabert.

Wrong!!!!! We went through the huge locks of the Yangtze river and it took 6pm till 11.30pm to go through 4 of the 5 locks. When the river gets to 175 mts they will use the 5th. Michael stayed in the 5th deck and watched until the end and then sat on the balcony and watched us dock for the night. It was fascinating to watch. Our boat went through the locks with 4 other barges and ships.

By again.

... where we booked our tickets. After a bit of harsh Chinese, we argued our way into the forward 1st-class cabin with frosty AC, reclining seats, and clear[er] windows. The previous night, we had found a brochure at the hotel which set the price for 1st class hydrofoil tickets at 600 RMB, while our final price had been 300 RMB. Not cheap, but a much better deal than booking through a travel agency, which probably would’ve seen us seated in 3rd class ...

3 days 2 nights on cruise ship on the yangtze river. Gorges were impressive. Dam was dam impressive. largest in world. portaged at 3 sites along the way back including the little 3 gorges (which was the most visually pleasing). The sites we stopped at were temples. one was ...

... but now a river valley in its own right. In the rain the narrow gorge was still covered in mist but we managed to see one intriguing sight, a coffin wedged up on the cliff face. The tradition was to place the dead in coffins high on the cliff faces, presumably as a kick start to heaven. Now the water levels are rising and some coffins have had to be rescued from the waters. At a flat spot on the river bank we spotted a group of golden monkeys. At 'Mianzhuxia' we ...

... having the most famous hot pot in China. It certainly lived up to its name, which the locals says even puts Sichuan spicy food to shame. Luckily the plane ride was only an hour and I got back to my dorm with my stomach still on fire. At least this time I have plenty of time to recover... Chinese word-of-the-blog 三峡大坝 pinyin= sān xìa dà bà; pronounced= sahn sha dah bah; Meaning= Three Gorges Damn (lit: Three Gorge Big Dam)

... grab an item from the audience like a shoe, camera, belt, etc...there were four players and Jana was #1! Ha! Guess what she got? A beeeaaauuutiful map of the 3 gorges area. Winner, winner, Chicken dinner! We were glad we had the chance to be on a cruise and see the 3 Gorges project, the damn wasn't our top highlight but the scenery was pretty impressive. However, we were also glad to get off the boat and ready for change.

... minutes later, the Chinese person sitting in front of this man, who had been speaking to him in English for several minutes, gently let me know that the man was in no mood for conversations, and that I should wait a while. Wait I did. The tour went on, in eloquent Mandarin, and we eventually made our way into the dam area. It was at that time that Oscar the Grouch in flesh and blood decided to be personable again, and I found out that he was from Manchester, and that he was ...

... to the actual dam. Canola everywhere -- when they can find a patch of land there is something grown. I had a Chigong massage -- from the guy who led the tai chi class. Speaking of which, it has started already so I am going to run. Catch you later.

... reach so it was more private and quiet!! We got the seats in the sun on the top deck and watched the scenery as it went by with the guide gicing us stories about the area we were passing through and pointing out sights that we should see. We were on the same boat as the GAP tour so it was good to see them again and spent the day with them. We went through the small gorges, starting with Misty Gorge, then through to where there are the hanging cofins. A long time ago the ...