1 River, 3 Gorges and a Whopping Big Dam
Trip Start
Jul 11, 2004
1
15
19
Trip End
Oct 10, 2004
Yichang,
China
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
The poetry of motion. The real way to travel. The only way to travel. Here today - next week, tomorrow! Villages skipped, town and cities jumped - always somebody else's horizon
- Toad, Wind in the Willows
Loopy
I completed my little loop of eastern Sichuan and returned to Chongqing, where I had first visited 6 days earlier on route from Guiyang, Guizhou province, to Leshan. While I was only passing through last time, this time I was on a mission to secure a berth on a Yangtze river ferry for the 3 night trip east to Yichang in Hubei Province.
Can I go with you guys?
Searching out recommended travel agents for Yangtze ferry tickets the afternoon I arrived in Chongqing was an exercise in frustration as trying to find addresses, any address, as printed in my guidebook just wasn't working, however I tried. I was attempting to get a tourist ferry because that's all I though plied the route as they were the only ferry options discussed in my aforementioned guidebook. But while trying, unsuccessfully, to find any of the guidebook listed agents I did find the public ferry, the non-touristy option that the Chinese themselves use. I say non-touristy option because most tourists don't go this route, although they are welcome to. I was glad to do so and I ended up sharing a basic, very basic 6 bed dorm with 5 other Chinese. The Yangtze River terminates 2400km downstream from Chongqing in Shanghai, about 6 enduring days away. Thankfully I wasn't going that far. I was heading for Yichang, in Huebi Province, a 2-3 day cruise and 670km away. I planned on getting off there to view the controversial Three Gorges Dam and hop on the next overnight train north to my next stop, Xian in Shaanix Province.
The Dam Yangtze
The Yangtze River is 6,300km long, making it Asia's longest river and the 3rd longest in the world (after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South American). Historically the river has been a political boundary between northern and southern China, due mainly to the difficulty in crossing it. From as early as the reign of the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220) the Yangtze region became crucial to China's economy. The establishment of irrigation systems made agriculture very stable and productive, so much so that during a period of the early Qing dynasty (1636 - 1912), a region, then called Jiangnan, provided a third to a half of the nation's revenues. Today the river is an important transport and shipping corridor, and a scene of controversy. Throughout history flooding along the river valley has caused great destruction of life and property. In November 1997 Chinese engineers, in a bid to control the flooding, diverted the main channel of the river, clearing the way for construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project. Construction proper began in 2002 and is scheduled for completion in 2009. It is the biggest and most ambitious construction project on the planet; the dam will measure 186m high, 2km wide, 115m deep at the bottom and 40m deep at the top. All told it will cost in the region of RMB180 billion (€17 billion, USD$22.5 billion). It will create a reservoir stretching back from the dam measuring about 650km (about 400 miles) in length, permanently flooding many existing towns (including numerous ancient cultural relics), causing large-scale changes in the local ecology and forcing the relocation of an estimated 1.2 million people. Opponents of the dam point out that there are three different kinds of floods on the Yangtze River: floods which originate in the upper reaches, floods which originate in the lower reaches, and floods along the entire length of the river. They argue that the Three Gorges dam will actually make flooding in the upper reaches worse and have little or no impact on floods which originate in the lower reaches. Yep, certainly controversial. The cruise on the river has always been a popular draw for Chinese and tourists alike, but these days people are clambering to the river to see it and its most famous section, The Three Gorges, before they are changed forever by the rising water levels. The Three Gorges, sitting not too far upriver from the dam, are a 200km section of sharp bends, constricted between towering limestone cliffs. I had read a lot about the gorges before setting out on this trip and I was looking forward to seeing them. What I didn't know before setting out was that there is also an area called the Three Little Gorges, a popular side trip off the main river, just beyond the aforementioned, and infinitely better known, Three Gorges. What I also didn't know beforehand was that I'd enjoy these Three Little Gorges a lot more than I'd enjoy the 'main event' of The Three Gorges (see the pictures for more).
My take
There's not too much to report from my time on the boat. We left Chongqing on a Saturday evening and I wasn't to leave the ferry until early Tuesday morning, having reached the massive locks of the dam itself late the previous evening and docking in Yichang in the early hours of Tuesday morning. I spent most of my two full days on the ferry (Sunday & Monday) sitting on the forward deck with headphones on, watching our progress, watching passing ships, admiring the numerous new bridge construction projects spanning the river and scouting various riverbank markers showing the expected level of the risen water once the dam is completed. Aside from a stop off to see The Three Little Gorges (a highlight of the trip.... see the pictures for more) our progress was routinely halted as we'd stop to have a look around various towns and villages being demolished and, if they were lucky, relocated to higher ground in preparation for the rising water levels. Seeing the logistics of the whole operation, from the demolishing and rebuilding of towns and villages to the construction of the dam itself, made me wonder if it was all going to be worth it, and will the dam actually be a success? On the one hand you have the controlling of the immensely destructive flooding and the valuable, much needed, source of income for the area that the dam will bring (via electricity generation). But on the other hand you have the destruction of towns, villages and ancient relics and the radical change of life for the millions being affected by the relocation process. I'd rather sit on the fence on this one folks, if that's alright with you?
Yichang, Hard Seat & KFC's moment in Daves sunlight
Having docked in Yichang during the early hours of Tuesday morning we were allowed stay onboard to finish our nights sleep before being kicked off at a more reasonable hour of the morning. It was still early, about 6am I think, but it sure beat having to get off at say 3 or 4am. I quickly went to the train station and purchased an overnight train ticket north to Xian. I quickly discovered that Yichang, although a fairly sizeable city, isn't a main railway hub and few trains originate from here, with most just passing through. As a result it's hard to secure sleeper class tickets, unless you reserve them well in advance. So what that meant for me was a stern "No" to my request for a Hard Sleeper berth, my usual class of travel. I also got a similar reply to a request for a Soft Sleeper berth. Okay, what then? The only thing available was Hard Seat, whatever that is? It can't be good though... it was cheap, very cheap ...... and apart from anything it - HARD seat - doesn't sound good... time will tell.
After that I enjoyed a KFC breakfast. I'll repeat that. I enjoyed a KFC breakfast (KFC is the predominant western fast food chain in China and you'll see it everywhere, whether you want to or not?). On the ferry I knew I hadn't been a good boy with regards eating sufficiently (didn't I just advise against that in my last entry?) and I needed comfort food. So I actually.... I can't believe I'm admitting this.... I actually waited for KFC to open at 8am before feasting on a Twister, fries & Pepsi (2 Pepsi's) for breakfast. It was probably the best fast-food meal I ever had and just what the doctor ordered. Thank you Kernel Sanders. I used to hate your joints but now I have slightly less, but only slightly less, distain for them.
Getting a proper look
Once I had my train ticket and was fed & watered I headed out of town to get a look at The Three Gorges Dam, about 30 minutes from town via local minibus. I had spent about 4 hours on the forward deck of the ferry last night watching us going through an endless expanse of hydraulic locks, one after another, after another, but I failed to get a good look at the dam itself because it was dark, and anyway, you don't tend to see much from the confines of a dam lock, not locks as big as the ones we were passing through. I had no idea where to get off the minibus, something I needn't have worried about as it's hard to miss the dam once you're in the general area of its construction. The nearest I could get to the dam, without signing up to a ludicrously expensive tour of the construction site itself (someone has to help pay the €17 billion construction cost I suppose), was, I would estimate, about 2km away. Even from that distance the size of the dam and the scale of the construction project were astounding. Standing there looking at the dam I couldn't help but fear for the surrounding area should the dam wall ever give way. Not that it is ever likely to, but this is China after all, and that alone will draw questions about the 'quality' of construction. Maybe I'm doing the Chinese a disservice because from where I was standing they seemed to be doing a mighty fine job. One thing is for sure; if they do run into difficulties they won't be calling on the Irish for advice.
Walk. Don't Walk
Leaving the viewing area from where I was viewing the dam I attempted to walk to the dam tourist shop/museum. It was on the other side of the river, across a bridge I had been brought over on the minibus from Yichang. Approaching the bridge I found it strange that it seemed to be guarded. Nothing fancy (this is China after all), just an authoritive looking guy sitting in a shed by the side of the road. I soon discovered why it was guarded shortly after I attempted to walk across it. Amongst the verbal tirade I was subjected to from the guard, who pursued me the few yards onto the bridge that I had actually managed to walk unhindered, I figured out that the bridge is a big time no go for pedestrian traffic. I've no idea why. It looked like a harmless enough bridge to me with no particular reason I could see to prevent pedestrian traffic (the bridge did have paths on either side of the roadway). While the guard was getting his point across ("Alright dude, I understand") a taxi came along and I hopped in. Literally 20 seconds later, and on the other side of the bridge, I hopped back out with the taxi driver requesting RMB40 (€4) for his services. "You having a laugh, mate?" Needless to say he didn't get anywhere near his requested RMB 40 but he was paid more than sufficiently for a trip that barely required him to leave 1st gear (in fairness to the guy he did leave first gear but..... well, you know the point I'm trying to make, right?).
No such problems for the rest of the day which saw me snoop around the dam gift shop (my budget even extended to a cool souvenir booklet on the dam) before making my way back here to Yichang for tonight's train to Xian. As I type I'm sitting in the train station waiting for the departure. I'm looking at my ticket too. Hard Seat. Ummm. I wonder what that's going to be like.
