Chongqing and our Three Gorges Cruise

Just a 3 hour bus ride from Chengdu and we were in Chongqing. The greater Chongqing area is the most populated area of China with more than 32 MILLION people!!! That's more than all of Canada and the area is about the size of the Greater Toronto Area. Another thing....it's supposedly the sister city of Toronto. I don't know what makes cities sisters, but this one was slightly like Toronto.

Though it had tons of hills (it's basically just a bunch of mountains), the streets were thin (this is not the case in any of the cities we've seen in China) and the cars were plentiful (this is also not like China. In China many people ride bikes--it saves space and money, but because of the hills in the city bikes just don't exist).


There wasn't much to do, so we walked around and had some food and spent our 24 hours just seeing the city. When that was done, we took a cab to the city dock and boarded our cruise ship.



Chongqing is a major port for cruise ships travelling the Yangtze River. With the construction of the Three Gorges Dam outside of Yichang, it will become a major shipping port for China and will allow the inner portion of the country greater access to resources.



We were on a very empty cruise ship and so upgraded our room to a delux one for half the price and spent 2 days eating, watching the scenery go by and going on short excursions through the Three Gorges Area.

The area is beautiful. The Yangtze River is the largest river in China and the 3rd largest in the world. It is a major source of transportation for many of the citizens in China's interior.


This is just one beautiful sight on the Yangtze River. The first day on the ship, the fog was so great in the area that little could be seen, luckily for our last day the fog lifted....the sun even came out...and the Gorges were beautiful.

This is the first of the three Gorges, the Qutang Gorge. The Yangtze River has risen about 60 meters since the beginning of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. After the completion of the dam, the water will rise another 20 meters and the height of these gorges will decrese drastically.

Another pretty sight on the river.


This is a picture of an old hanging tomb. Hundreds to thousands of years ago, families began to use the mountain as a place to bury the dead. Though I have no idea how they did this, the families of the deceased would place the body in a cave made in the side of a mountain. The higher the tomb was in the mountain, the more important, or the more money the family had. Like many things in China, this is just another way to show someone's status in society.

The final short excursion on our last day, was through the minor gorges on the Yangtze river. Slightly disconcerting was the tiny handmade canoe we had to board. This is the canoe with the Chinese passengers in it....there are clearly 2 very old men standing at the back of the canoe----these men helped to row the canoe---and though they're close to 80 they really did a good job.


Even though it seemed scary at first, the canoe trip was great.


These guys---the paddlers---are now tracking the boat. When a boat hits shallow water these guys get out, strap themselves in and begin to pull. Up until 15 years ago, these guys used to do this naked---thank goodness things have changed.


The last days was a visit to the Three Gorges Dam just outside of Yichang. Since it is really foggy is Yichang the pictures and visibility were horrible, but it was still interesting to be there.


The Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam in the world. It is 186 meters above sea level, has been in construction for over 17 years and has caused the relocation of over 1.5 million citizens. The total cost will be over 70 Billion US dollars. Though the Chinese hope this dam can open the interior of China to shipping, many western environmentalists think the effects of this dam could be devastating....its possible it could hold enough water to change the tilt of the Earth.


This is a picture of the ship lock at the dam. Here, they will even build the world's only ship elevator. Though the Chinese are proud---Western engineers are concerned about the safety of its construction.

It was really great to be on the cruise and see so many things along the Yangtze River, especially the Dam. Regardless of the truth and effects of this construction, I must say I'm a little glad I won't be here when it's finished.