China Pictures -- Yangtze River Cruise

At almost 4,000 miles long, the Yangtze River (or Chang Jiang) is the longest river in Asia, the third longest river in the world, and the world's busiest waterway. There are three gorges along the river that create breathtaking scenery.Unfortunately, the Yangtze also happens to be the most polluted river in the world, which is a little alarming since over 200 cities relying on it for drinking water.

During our trip we took a four-day cruise up the Yangtze through the Three Gorges from Yicahang to Chongqing. Each day the boat docked and we were able to go on excursions to interesting places along the river. It was a fascinating trip!  Back to China Websites

Three Gorges Dam

Historically, the Yangtze has provided rich silt for farmland, but has also be the source of destruction due to the fact that it usually floods every ten years. When the Yangtze last flooded in 1998, it submerged an area the size of New Zealand! In order to prevent future flooding, the Chinese government decided to build the world's biggest dam which was completed in 2009. Once the dam was finished, a huge area of land was submerged. As a result, 1.3 million people had to be relocated to other areas of China and about 4 million more will be relocated in the next 10-15 years. The good news is that the hydroelectric power created by the dam is enough to meet 10% of China's needs. We went on a tour of the dam and were amazed at how HUGE it was. After touring the dam our boat entered the locks so that it could be raised up to the river's higher level above the dam. It was so cool to watch the huge doors close and the water fill up the locks.

Shennong Stream

The Ba people have lived on the banks of the Yangtze near the Shennong Stream since ancient times. Thousands of years ago they became wealthy due to the fact that they had salt to trade. We took a "peapod" boat ride up the narrow gorge created by the Shennong Stream and were stunned by the beauty of the river and mountains. The men rowing our boat sang their traditional songs, which was very fun. We saw the Ba people's "hanging coffins" that are lifted into high caves or suspended in the air because the people believe that by doing so the spirits will be able to ascend into heaven more easily. (Look closely to find the three pictures that show coffins in the caves.)

Fengdu (Ghost City)

Fengdu was an interesting place, to say the least. For the past 2,000 years it has been the location where the Chinese believe that all souls go when they die. It is a place where Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist beliefs about the afterlife come together. There is a throne room and statue of the "King of Hell" as well of statues of the judges that help him judge the souls of the dead. Just outside the throne room is an area with statues that show what the Chinese believe happens to people after death if they do bad things in this life. In addition, we saw the three bridges that each visitor chooses between to determine what he or she will experience in their next life: health, love, or wealth.