Before I begin I must tell you that the Dragon’s of Europe are frightening. The Dragon’s of Asia a considered lucky and friendly.
Shangahi was called ’’the head of the Dragon’’ and I believe the YANGTZE RIVER is the ’’body of the Dragon’’.
We wanted to take this Cruise before this year, (2002), as they will be not Cruising these waters again as the water levels are going to be raised and many of the attractions will be under the water. Following our few days in Shanghai be boarded the 4 star Ship called ’’The MV Yellow Crane’’ for a four night Cruise.
The Cruise took us through the three Gorges up to the Dam.
THE SHIP:
This is the newest ship to sail the River. She began operating Cruises in 1996.
There are 4 Decks, (that Passengers can use). The Ship can carry about 150 Passengers.’’
The ship is 91.3 meters long, 16.4-meter wide, draft 2.4 meters, with a speed of 32 km per hour’’.
OUR STANDARD CABIN:
The three Suits, (that did have a tub), were already booked so we took a Standard Cabin.
Our Cabin was an outside one in the middle of the Ship. I made sure that it was not above the engine room, the kitchen or had a blocked window.
The Cabin only had the basic things. There were twin beds, one night table, two chairs and a tiny table, a closet that was divided into two. On one side you could hang up your cloths and on the other were bins to stack your cloths.
The Bathroom was very small and only one person could go into it. It had a step into shower stall with a tiny ’’lip’’ to stop the water from flooding the floor, a toilet, a sink and a mirror. We each had a bottle of bottled water and a large thermo pot of boiling water.
I always come prepared with zip lock bags that are filled with tea bags, sugar, creamer and instant coffee, (this is the only time I drink that powdery tasting stuff). I also have a few plastic spoons, two plastic cups, (that I wash by running the hot water from the thermo pot over), and a box of small tissue paper.
THE OTHER THINGS ON THE SHIP:
1) Our meals were included. They were fine but not great so this was the first Cruise we took that we didn’t gain weight. There was always bottled water on our table and the food was served steaming hot.
Nothing above mattered, as this was the most beautiful place we had seen in China.
THE PUBLIC ROOMS:
1) Shanghai restaurant and provide authentic Shanghai style Chinese food.
2) The Lobby was quite large and had Chinese art on the wall and a few Statues. I didn’t use the Beauty Shop but a lot of people did. There was a Kiosk, A Gym with a Sauna, Massage Rooms, (no Pool).
3) In China at this time of year the mornings and evenings are very cold but by mid day it can we very warm. When it was cold we used the indoor observation lounge and we sat on deck chairs on the front of the Ship when it was warm.
4) For entertainment you could arrange to play cards, or chess or dance in the evenings.
5) We did use the Business Center and our ’’Hot Mail/MSN Messenger kept us in though with our Daughters.
.WHAT WE SAW:
As we traveled along the River we saw a lot of mist in the morning, Animals, round hilled Mountains, large Rocks covered in moss, a variety of Plants, road that were made out of wood, the Mengliang Stairway and some Ancient hanging Coffins, (that our Guide told us were made by the Ba People).
1) There are three Gorges and we loved them all. They are separate valleys and the water was so clean and clear.
In English they are called ’’the Dragongate Gorge’’, ’’the Misty Gorge ’’ and ’’ the Emerald Gorge ’’.
In Chinese they are called ’’the Wu Gorge’’, ’’the Xiling’’ and ’’the Quatang Gorge’’, (the smallest but most spectacular one) and the
From where we started until we sailed out we had traveled about 200 kilometers.
Small ’’Pea Boats’’ took us ashore to see the flora and fauna. While we were going ashore our Guide told us that over 8 million people live along the River.
2) Our Cruise began in Chongqing. This is the largest City in southeast China.
3) At Fengdu we visited one of the many Temples, a Shrine and saw more Statues of Demons than I needed to. Our last stop was at the Ghost Touring Pass to visit the 3 Ghosts who live here, (I didn’t see one)!
4) At Wuhan we visited the Yellow Crane Tower and the Guiyuan Buddhist Temple, (Temple of Original Purity).
5) Our Guide told us that Jingzhou was named for a Chinese Story of 2 Patriots.
6) We passed through the Gezhouba Dam Ship Lock. After about an hour we arrived at the Three Gorges Dam. We made a stop Sandouping is being built, (the Guide said into a ’’Historical Project’’), and we had so much fun walking around the construction site.
7) At Badong there is an open food Market and we walked through it and sat down and ’’people watched’’
8) The only thing of interest at Shibaozhai was the 12 story red wood Pavilion.
9) Waning is an Ancient town. It was lovely to walk through it until we reached the Baidi Cheng Historical Site. We saw an Acrobatic Performance before we left.
THE COMPANY:
’’The Conifer International Hotel Management Company manages the Ship.’’
SOME THOUGHTS:
I am happy that we made this voyage and if you haven’t then you won’t get a chance if you don’t book this year.
©LL2002