Part 4! We are nearly there trepid adventures. To see the journey so far up to this point please check out Part 1-3 @
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So this being my first time on a cruise ship I didn't know what to expect, walking across the pontoon bridge made me feel all giddy. It was a strange experience but one we soon got used to as this was the norm for entering and departing.
I like to call this the Three Gorges Yangtze River and Bridge Cruise because the whole way is crossed by more bridges than I've ever seen in my entire life. And they aren't just any bridges, they are ever type of bridge you can think of, many resembling famous bridges from around the world. At night they are really impressive as they are lit up with LEDS and flood lights.
Our first stop on the Three Gorges was to the Shibaozhai Pagoda. The actual pagoda is impressive but it's recent history in conjunction with the Three Gorges is amazing. Below is my low quality photo but It deserves a better representation so I've added one from a tourist web site.
My potato quality picture of the Shibaozhai Pagoda
IMG source https://www.chinadiscovery.com/yangtze-cruises/shibaozhai-pagoda.html
Here we can see what the area used to look like before the Three Gorges Dam project. I took this photo from a hanging picture on a wall.
As you can see a wall was erected to preserve the Pagoda but the village below was not so lucky and its residents were 'relocated'. The village is still there underwater, most probably mostly washed away when the floodwaters were released into the gorge.
The Pagoda is 50-60m in height and its's base starts about 20m below the outer wall. The architecturally amazing feat of the structure is that not a single nail or bolt was used in it's construction. Originally built with 9 levels by the Qing dynasty, representing the nine layers of heaven, 3 more were added during repairs it more recent times but still used the same no nail techniques.
To get there was had to depart the ship a fair distance away and make the climb up through the closest local village which was, to be honest mostly concrete, littered with tourist traps and hawkers trying to sell you there wares. There were some nice statues, plaques and structures but the smog being at high levels during this time made all the grey materials seem a bit dank.
After making our way through the village we come to the start of a wooden suspension bridge aptly named the 'Drunken Bridge' as it twisted and swayed as we crossed, there were a few that did not enjoy this experience but I thought it was fun!
The Pagoda being at the top of a 200m tall mountain meant that it wa always going to be a destination full of twists and turns as we scaled up the paths. The ornate detail of everything here is amazing and the time and care taken to create such beautiful master pieces is evident in every step.
Each level you access is filled with plaques and carvings, statues and ornate features. The ancient wear in the stone steps, evidence of the countless travels up them over the centuries since they were built.
Once the days activities had been completed and tired legs ensued we retired back to the ship and were to be treated with some traditional Chinese dance and opera by the ships crew. They even got the crowd involved selecting members from the audience to join in! The evening was filled with bright smiles and happy faces as the music and dancing was infectious and a great time was had by all.
After all the festivities had concluded I made my way to the top outer deck to watch the world go by and I was rewarded with one of the greatest light shows I've ever seen. In the distance a bridge could be seen all lit up with flashing lights but the closer we got to passing it the more detail that could be seen. To my amazement there were images floating through the lights. I could see fish swimming in the air, birds and other creatures in flashing light. It was like a giant TV screen in the air. The suspension cables were covered in millions of LEDS and synchronised to imitate visual floating images! the work gone into this display really must have been epic.
These images don't do the light show any justice but I hope it gives you some sort of idea of how amazing it was to be sitting on the deck and coming up to this out of now where in the middle of the night.
Well that concludes this part of the series. I hope you have enjoyed it and I will be back with more as my Tales From The Far East series continues.
- Platypus-Dundee
