Richard hops out of bed to go to tai chi first thing this a.m. All of us rally for the breakfast buffet.
First on the schedule are brief presentations by the two artists onboard.
David demonstrates how he paints the inside of bottles, a tradition that began in the Qing Dynasty with bottles that were used for snuff. He learned this fine art from his father and has been doing this for 16 years. The brushes are very tiny and have firm tips that point upward. We all have a chance to give it a try.
Then we learn from Peter about Chinese traditional art on rice paper or silk. Takes about 300 days to make rice paper of which one ingredient is tree bark. An ink stick and various pigments are used with brushes that are made from bearded goats, wolf, yellow weasel, or rat hairs. His personal favorites are brushes from the goat or wolf hairs. Different brushes are used for different kinds of paintings. The three kinds of paintings that Peter describes are free hand, detailed, and combined. The traditions started back in the Qin Dynasty era. He related that he started to practice his art in high school followed by studying art in university. His father is an engineer while his grandfather was a calligrapher. Some of us step up to the plate to give this style of painting a go. Later, Peter explains to Anna and me that every Chinese art student learns how to paint the following that each represent a season: plum blossoms, bamboo, crysanthemums (the Chinese national flower), orchid.
Next on the schedule is Aaron Jiang's talk about the Three Gorges Dam Project entitled "Taming the Wild Waters" in which the "pros and cons" are to be addressed. A smaller,older dam exists in Yichang, but the new dam was constructed about 22 miles away in the 3 gorges' area. Dr. Sun Yatsen was the first person to propose the dam construction in this area. (Aside: He attended medical school in the US.)
In 1944, John Lucian Savage made an inspection tour and the possibilities were discussed, including the generation of electricity. Then the Chinese civil war ensued. In 1958, Chairman Mao swam across the Yangtze River at Wuhan, inspiring energy to pursue building the dam. However, USSR/China relations soured and China had to make payments to USSR in order to fulfill debts. The Cultural Revolution followed from 1966 to 1976. The first premier of the new China, Zhou Enlai, who commands much respect among Chinese people, proposed that a smaller dam be built which was completed in 1988 - the Gezhouba Dam, located in Yichang. It initially helped by controlling a flood but was not effective in another. The National People's Congress voted in 1992 to build a new dam in the Xiling Gorge area (where there is a mountain called Chairman Mao Mountain because of a resemblance of him that people see). The new Three Gorges Dam Project was operational in 2003 and fully completed in 2009. Alongside the dam, there is a double laned 5 step ship lock service that takes about 3 to 4 hours to go through. Aaron goes on to describe the assets of the dam project:
1. Widens the river channel for ship traffic.
2. Power generation - the largest hydroelectric facility in the world, to provide 11% of energy needed, to decrease the need for coal.
3. When complete, reservoir will extend all the way to Chongqing. An additional reservoir will provide water for the north.
4. The handout on the dam lists flood control as a purpose also: "During the winter months, the reservoir water level reaches 175 meters above sea level, approximately 110 meters (363 feet) above the original river level prior to 2003. During the summer months, the reservoir level is lowered to 146 meters above sea level in order to regulate and capture flood water. Throughout Chinese history, floods along the Yangtze regularly threatened and brought devastation to the 15 million people who live in the rich agricultural region below the dam."
Aaron went on to describe the potential problems/concerns of the dam:
1. Silt sediment - may build dams on Golden Sand River in Chongqing area to capture silt; also plan to plant more trees as well as dredge.
2. Resettlement - 1.3 million people to be resettled and the number is rising due to landslides; old towns taken down as new ones have been built; farmlands and homes being inundated with water so new homes being built higher though soil not as good necessitating farmers to carry better soil from the lower to higher climbs; not enough farmland for all of the farmers; some farmers relocated further away but problems created by language differences. Aaron notes here that young people have been generally happier, due to newer, larger living quarters, with the relocation efforts than the older people.
3. Loss of some valuable cultural heritage. Debris in the water to this day from these cities, including the remains from ancestral tombs that people either didn't have time or money to move.
4. Landslides have increased the need for relocation of people and brought about the need for prevention projects such as a rock stabilization project. Aaron showed a photo of a landslide in the Wu Gorge in 2008.
I am heartened to hear that the cons are being acknowledged in a public way in China such as in a lecture on this ship, albeit that it seems that the Chinese are now having to respond to more problems than they anticipated that are arising as a result of the dam.
In response to a question from someone in the audience, Aaron says that the Chinese received engineering assistance from France and equipment from Germany for construction of the dam.
At the conclusion of Aaron's talk, we all head out to the bow to see the Qutang Gorge, the first of the three gorges. Takes only about 20 minutes and is spectacular. Hopefully, our photos of this whole journey will do more justice than any words can.
After lunch during which our ship docks next to another ship, we disembark the ship - walking through another ship to a series of ramps and onto a ferry boat that takes us along the Daning (- "da" = big; "ning" = peaceful) River and through what are known as the Lesser Gorges. The summary on our handout describes our passage: "Wushan is the starting point for the popular boat trips through the Lesser Gorges on the Daning River and the Mini Gorges on the Madu River. The Daning River winds it's way 33km (20 miles) through the beautiful Lesser Gorges... The water is a deep, clear shade of green and forms a striking contrast to the muddy, turgid waters of the Yangtze. The first Lesser Gorge is known as Dragon Gate Gorge. In this gorge, the river ranges from only 10 to 30 meters wide while the cliffs on either bank soar to an average of 800 to 1000 meters... Each gorge is separated by lush terraced fields where a variety of crops grow during all four seasons of the year. In the Misty Gorge, a 2000 year old 'hanging' coffin can be seen suspended on a precipice high up on the cliff-face. The coffin is a relic left over from the Ba people who inhabited the gorges region 3500 to 1800 years ago. At one time hundreds of these coffins could be seen throughout the Three Gorges and the Daning River, suspended from seemingly inaccessible areas on the cliff-sides. The Emerald Green Gorge, the farthest from Wushan, is covered with lush bamboo groves and foliage. Midway through the Emerald Green Gorge, passengers can sometimes disembark from their Daning River ferry boats and board motorized sampans to sail through the Mini Gorges of the Madu River". (-"Ma" = horse) Tina is our guide on the ferry boat, and she is from Wushan. In 2001, her parents and she were relocated from a 40 square meter abode to a new apartment of 150 square meters that is ample for her parents, husband, and son. She describes that until 7 years ago, the water was only 1 to 2 meters deep and the river was very narrow so access to the Lesser Gorges was very limited. Laborers known as "trackers" would pull boats along the narrow passages of the gorges. It is now 80 meters deep (- usually in summer 70 meters deep), but in the winter, the water will go up to 90 meters in depth. There are fishing boats on the Daning River fishing for catfish. We also see square structures made with wood that hold nets, some of which appear to have lights suspended in the center, to attract the fish into the nets at night. At the Madu River, we get off the ferry and cross over to the other side of the pier to board the motorized sampans referred to above and journey up the river and back, seeing a hanging coffin en route. I volunteered to put on a primitive costume of a fisherman made of reeds lashed together and stood on the bow for a photo. In terms of wildlife, there seemed to be very few birds, may have spotted one monkey, and heard one bleating mountain goat, but that was it. Once on the ferry, we head back down the Daning River, disembark, and reembark the Victoria Queen in time for tea. Our ship gets underway again and we sail through the Wu Gorge passing Goddess Peak on the north bank of the Yangtze. Gorgeous views of which we hope to have captured some in photos.
Our day winds up by enjoying the Captain's Farewell Banquet followed by a "cabaret" show that includes a variety of talents performed by the ship's staff and several volunteering passengers. The magician taps Anna and a young boy in the audience to come to the stage to assist him with a silly trick where he makes it appear that he yanks the boy's underwear from him. The show concludes the day and we are off to bed, packing up for our departure tomorrow.
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