A riverboat cruise on the Yangzi

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Is there anything better than sitting on a bus for eight hours???? Well, maybe, but it was our transportation to get from Emei to Chongqing where we would board our river boat for three days down the Yangzi river. Although there were plenty of stops and options for tours off of the boat, we chose the relaxed route and spent our entire first day lazing on the boat.

The best part about being on the Intrepid tour is getting off the beaten path and this is one example. You did not find us on the usual luxurious cruise boat with a bunch of foreign tourists as you would find in the states, but rather a modest river boat where we were the only western tourists on board (barring two other western couples). The highlight of our first evening was in the lounge where we watched and some participated in a dice game where you gambled for beers (or pijiu as it’s called) – did I mention that the Chinese love to gamble?? The lounge was packed and the Chinese were all cheering everytime someone from our group participated – very welcoming. Then there was the moment where a portion of our group did karaoke with the song Pretty Woman – now that’s entertainment. We also tried to play a Chinese table game called Mah jong, which is sort of like rummy but with tiles, but we decided to leave it for another day when we had english instructions!

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As for the river itself, there are some very stunning parts along the way – with the three gorges and all. You can also see where the towns are being rebuilt as over 1 million people have already been or will be relocated as the river rises with the dam. Our local guide says it is tougher for the older people to be moved, but he as a younger man thinks it is great to have a new place. The river was originally 60 meters or so deep and that level about doubled in 2003 and by 2009 will have risen to a height of 175 meters. You can see markers along the way showing what will be the eventual height of the river.

The first of the three gorges on the Yangzi
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Tidbit of the day: The Yangzi river is the third longest river in the world (after the Nile and the Amazon). Construction of the dam began in 1993 and is scheduled to be completed in 2009. It will provide around 10% of the power for all of China. Doesn’t seem like much on a percentage basis, but when you see the massive numbers of China’s population and see the amount of coal being used along the way, you see that in shear magnitude, that will make a good difference.