Dam That's Big!

Trip Start Oct 22, 2005
1
52
224
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of China  ,
Saturday, December 31, 2005

We got the overnight train and arrived in Yichang around midday. We bought an onwards ticket to Xian for the evening with the help of an English speaking Chinese girl. With our train leaving at 5 pm we jumped in a taxi to the Three Gorges Dam. She dropped us at a tour desk (we think but it was all in Chinese) 20 minutes out of town. Eventually we figured out the cost and were ushered into another car with an English guide and headed towards the dam site. The drive was pretty hairy with a full fog driving past two head on collisions along the way. They also had these cool tunnels through the mountains with no lights inside.

At the dam we saw the huge five stage lock for the large passenger ships that cruise the Yangtze River. We then saw a mini model of the dam site and the dam wall it's self. With the heavy mist we could only see half the dam wall, but even then it was huge. It was interesting to read that after the initial build of the wall some cracks formed, but they pushed on anyway and flooded the wall to 120 meters. If it ever fails there will be over a million people drowned.

Back at the train station we got on the hard sleeper to Xi'an. On the train we met two guys that had had a little bit too much rice whiskey with their dinner. This had let them overcome their shyness and we got into a long conversation with them. They knew a little English and taught us some Chinese. It was really cool, looking at the LP guide, our photo album, pictures of their family etc.
Slideshow Print this entry Yichang hotels