We boarded the cruise boat, ‘The Three Kingdoms’ last night, but didn’t set sail until this morning. We have a comfortable cabin with twin beds, en suite shower and a huge picture window which gives us a great view of the river side. The weather is terrible; there is a heavy mist which hangs over everything giving it rather grey and ghostly hue. Today’s highlighted is a shore excursion to Fengdu also known as the Ghost or Devil town for its celebrated demon statues housed in temples at the top of the Mingshan mountain by the riverside. The temples are reached either by climbing 700 steps or taking a chair lift. There are the inevitable souvenir stalls strategically placed at the start of the ascent as well as in the monastery at the top, designed to entrap tourists on arrival and departure. The stall holders can be incredibly insistent and difficult shake off, following us down the street with their wares. We buy some beers at 12 for 50 yuan, which is a reasonable price here and a significant saving on the ridiculously expensive equivalent on board.
The boat is supposed to be a four/five star cruise ship but it would struggle to reach three star at home with it’s battered furniture and lack of facilities. There should be a gym and shopping centre on board according to the sales brochure, but they don’t exist. The staff are friendly but its billing as an ‘international’ boat with English-speaking staff is a little optimistic and we discover this actually means that there is one person who speaks English fluently and the rest have very limited knowledge. Ordering a snack proved quite a challenge last night; and even after after repeated attempts to explain what we wanted from the English/Chinese menu, Andy still ended up with sausage and tomatoes instead of sausage and scrambled egg!
At Fengdu we make the mistake of taking the chair lift (which is no good for my vertigo) when we could have easily made the gentle climb to the top. Fengdu is a typical temple complex with both Daoist and Buddhist temples and and unfinished pagoda which isn’t open to the public. We are beginning to realise that whilst many of these sites look old and claim to date back to the Ming dynasty it’s not unusual to find that the buildings have been rebuilt several times and as recently as the twentieth century. It is still an interesting couple of hours and we have a guide to explain all the local superstitions and traditions associated with the site.
The Yangtse and it’s tributaries have all been affected by the Three Gorges Dam which began operating in 2003 and will be the largest dam in the world when it is finally completed in 2009. The flood waters have already caused the level of the Yangtse to rise 100 meters and consumed much agricultural land, towns and villages on the river banks. In 2009 the the river is set to rise a further 175 meters and Fengdu will be completely submerged. It’s hard to imagine a project with such colossal environmental and human impact being undertaken in in the West. Whole communities here have been re-located to newly built towns. It is argued that not only will the dam address electricity supply needs, but will also improve navigation, boost fisheries and recreational facilities as well as tame the notoriously wild waters of the river.
There are some 300 people on board the cruise boat of which 170 are passengers and the remainder are crew. We are sharing our table in the dining room with Australian, Anthony, and his Chinese wife, Vivien, their daughter, Josie, and Vivien’s parents as well as two Chinese ladies. The passengers on the boat are mainly Chinese; there are only 14 foreigners including 10 Dutch, 1 Belgian as well as ourselves and Anthony. The food for non-vegetarians is very good, but unfortunately the chef is not very imaginative when it comes to vegetarian dishes and while everyone else gets a selection of dishes to share, I get a plate of boiled vegetables, usually swimming in a watery liquid. This despite the fact that the same vegetables are cooked completely differently for the rest of the table.
There is a Crew Cabaret Show (pronounced ‘Shoe’ by our the English guide) in the evening that includes a series of international dances such as the Can-Can danced to a cover version of a Slade classic, belly dancing from Spain(?) and an unidentifiable Indian dance and a fashion parade of clothes made from tablecloths. In between these entertainments the audience is invited to participate in some rather interesting games, including a version of musical chairs, and lucky card game which involves paying 30 yuan for a beer and a chance to win a tacky prize. The grand finale is karaoke and which point we escape to bed.