Down the Yangtze> > by Rhonda Bannister      
Known in China simply as 'the long river', the Yangtze slices its way through the heart of China. From high on the Tibetan Plateau,it races eastward,cutting through steep mountain passes and deep ravines, before winding its way past some of China's most spectacular scenery,including the Three Gorges whose dramatic beauty and scenic canyons have inspired painters and poets for centuries. Cruising this fabled waterway is cited as one of the great river journeys of the world. Our river journey began in Chongquin,a megalopolis of 32 million citizens in the western region of China and around a 90-minute flight from Shanghai. Situated at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers,it is from here that passengers depart for a three,four or seven - day cruise along the Yangtze and it's here,under the multicoloured neon dazzle that lights up the city like a huge Christmas tree that you first begin to understand just how much electricity this country of over 1.3 billion needs. Apart from seeing the famed Three Gorges,a big part of the fascination for my partner and I was being able to see first -hand the dam project which will help feed that insatiable demand for power and also stop the natural flooding which has caused millions of deaths over the centuries. But progress has a high price and the project has generated huge controversy both inside and outside China. Because of the dam,the river's waters have risen from around 65 metres to a level of 175 metres,and with the rising water has come the destruction of more than a thousand regional cities,towns and villages and the relocation of over a million people,along with the heartbreaking loss of over 160 archeological sites that now lay buried under the water like King Neptune's treasure. We cruised from Chongqing to Fengdu where we moored for a few hours to take a tour of the 'Ghost City' atop Ming mountain. This is a mystical world of temples and shrines combining the religions of Taoism,Buddhism and Confucianism so as you can imagine there are lots of different Gods living here and a multitude of superstitions. In ancient times it was believed that when people died,their spirits congregated around the temples where both heaven and hell are represented and where you would be judged for your sins. Mae,our local guide,said one sure-fire way to beat the system and ensure your spirit would be successfully lifted to heaven was to climb the 33 steps from one level to the next in one breath and without looking back and then stand on a slippery rock for one minute without falling off! Below the temples,the ramshackle old city of Fengdu that once sat on the banks of the Yangtze has now disappeared under the water. Its population of 750,000 now live in a new,purpose-built city on the opposite bank where,Mae assured us,everyone was happy as now they didn't have to live with their in-laws but,as in her case along with her husband and daughter,could afford to live in a three-bedroom,two-bathroom apartment with a better standard of hygiene and living. She said "In my heart I am happy. Sacrificing what we had in order to help our country's achievement,it's worth it and for me,it's better. Now I don't have to leave to find work in a city,I have work here". We made sure we were up very early the next day to enjoy the spectacle of entering Qutang,the first of the Three Gorges,which we had read,was short (only 8 kilometres long) and narrow,but with quite spectacular vistas of giant canyons carved out of the towering mountain ranges. As an introduction to the gorges it was short and sweet and we hardly had time to scramble from our cabin up to the viewing bridge,set up the camera and start snapping before we were already through,but the mist-wrapped mountains and sheer cliffs of pink and ochre were a lovely indication of what lay ahead. We had to disembark into smaller vessels to cruise up the Daning River,a tributary of the Yangtze,to view the Lesser Gorges which,I have to say,are almost as spectacular as their bigger cousins and which still hold a few ancient treasures. This river is not as broad as the Yangtze so everything is much more intimate and at times you feel as though you could reach out and touch the towering mountains of rock. The ancient Ba people of China,a little known group who lived in the valley from about the 16th-century BC to the third-century BC,believed (more superstition!) that the closer to heaven you were buried when you died,the faster you would arrive,so they hung the coffins of VIPs hundreds of metres high on the sheer mountain walls flanking the river. Not only were they too high up to have been carried to their final resting place,they were also too far down the mountain face to have been manually lowered and positioned by human hand. How they accomplished this marvellous feat is still argued by differing branches of the scientific and archeological communities,but it's a subject that made fascinating dinner conversation after we glimpsed three or four of the coffins that have been left here,the others having been moved to a museum. Next came Wu Gorge,an exquisite area of rolling green hills and high mountains,secluded houses and villages and quaint little bridges spanning the myriad canyons. Here and there,on mountain sides cut and bruised with the raw scars of construction,whole cities of new high-rise apartments appeared just above the water line,a dramatic reminder of all that has changed for the local people who,generation after generation,shared their villages with the same families. I wondered if they were still neighbours,if meals were still shared and their children were still playmates,or had they lost that close bond along with their village? Late that same day we reached the Xiling Gorge,the last and to me,the most memorable of these gorgeous formations as it's actually a series of four different gorges bearing the very Chinese monikers of Precious Sword,Horse Lung and Ox Liver,Soundless Bell and Shadow Play Gorges. Under a sullen sky of heavy cloud and light rain,we cruised past mountain ranges that folded one into the other,hazy with mist and wood smoke and I felt as though I was drifting through a classic Chinese watercolour of ethereal mountains juxtaposed with the strong lineal lines of the towering granite cliffs that graced the banks of this sinuous river ... searingly beautiful vistas that were truly breathtaking. Our journey was almost over but before we got to the dam,our boat had to go through the five-stage ship lock system where we dropped 100 metres over a period of five hours. Even for a scientific dullard like me this part of the journey was utterly fascinating,as was the tour of the dam the following morning. Our tour guide was a font of knowledge about the dam,so like good little soldiers we dutifully followed his flag around the site as he parlayed facts and figures that made the mind boggle. At 2.3 kilometres across and 180 metres high,the Three Gorges Dam is the largest concrete hydroelectric dam in the world and one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by mankind. It is designed to supply around 10% of China's electricity needs,although as the population uses ever more power for their new electrical goodies,that figure has been downsized to 3%. As a key facility to hold back flood water,the Three Gorges Reservoir is capable of holding 39.3 billion cubic metres of water,including a space of 22.15 billion cubic metres for extra flood water. Is your mind boggled yet? According to our guide,the question of environmental impacts associated with the Three Gorges Dam include the claim that erosion and silting of the Yangtze River threaten several endangered species and will create a huge,stagnant pond 660 kilometres long. Chinese officials say that's not correct and the dam will help prevent devastating floods and generate clean hydroelectric power that will power Shanghai and other cities into the future and enable the region to reduce consumption of around 50 million tons of coal per year,thus lessening air pollution. Only time will reveal the truth. I'll never know if this journey is as dazzling as it was before the water was raised but I do know that our cruise was a visual feast of unique sights we'll see nowhere else and a small window into the lives of the ordinary Chinese who have inhabited this area for thousands of years. For us this cruise was just an appetiser and we know we'll return to China as there's so much more to discover about the complexities of its cultural past and the trajectory of its dynamic future. |
