Cruising on the Yang Tsé River

[Yahoo 1]

The Wushan Three Little Gorges also called Daning River Three Little Gorges, zigzags about 31 miles from Wushan County in the south to the Dachang Ancient Town in the north. It refer to the three gorges of the lower reaches of Daning River (the largest branch of Yang tsé River) in Wushan County - Dragon Gate Gorge (Longmen Xia), Misty Gorge (Bawu Xia), and Emerald Gorge (Dicui Xia).

The Three Little Gorges, regarded as a bright pearl of the Yang tsé River, offer a chance to experience another way of Yang tsé river where life is calm, natural and simple.

 

[Yahoo 1]

Misty Gorge :

Also known as the Iron Coffin Gorge, it measures six miles. In the cliff of this section, there hangs black Suspended Coffins (look at the red squares). Because the color of it is like that of iron, the coffins are called the Iron Coffins, hence the name. The gorge is characterized by rare rocks on both banks. Some take the form of the monkey fishing for the moon and some look like Kwan-yin sitting on the lotus platform. All of them are full of humor and wit.

 

[Yahoo 1]

The end of the gorge canyon can be reached on a classic little boat, in the calm and tranquillity of a beautiful natural environment.

In the cooler late afternoon we will once again board the main boat to explore the eastern part of the Yang tsé river, on a night passage.

 

[Yahoo 1]

Watching the superb sunset on the Yang tsé river, we head in the direction of Three Gorges Dam to continue the journey to our final destination, tasting the charm and the authenticity of a night crossing on the river.

 

[Yahoo 1]

It is still early in the morning when we arrive at the commercial port which is our final destination, the mist partly hides the mountains but the sight is beautiful.

Even if I regret very much to leave the boat that took me along the stunning Yang tsé river, I am very excited to discover the Three gorge dam, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world and symbol of the Chinese economic miracle, at the end of an epic building project which had lasted at least thirteen years.

 

[Yahoo 1]

The Three Gorges Dam Project was completed in 2009. Situated at Sandouping Town of Yichang City, Hubei Province, the Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydro-power station in the world. The Three Gorges Dam includes three areas: the dam itself, a hydroelectric, and a system of locks.

The height of the Three Gorges Dam is 185 meters (607 ft) above the sea level. The dam is about 2,300 meters (7,546 ft) long and about 115 meters (377 ft) wide. With a water capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters, the dam will hold a huge reservoir which will efficiently prevent flooding in the middle and lower portions of the Yangtze River.

Construction workers used some 21 million cubic yards (16 million cubic meters) of concrete in the structure—a world record.

Chinese authorities estimate that some 300,000 people were killed in the 20th century's largest Yangtze River floods. They believe that the dam will protect some 15 million people from such deadly waters, as well as 1.5 million acres (607,000 hectares) of farmland.

Some 44 million tons (40 million metric tons) of cargo are transported via the Three Gorges Dam. That's up from 14.75 million tons (13.4 million metric tons) in 2003, when the reservoir first began storing water.

Higher water levels will allow larger vessels to ply the river, travel faster, and motor from Shanghai, at the river's estuary, all the way to Chongqing, on the Yangtze's upper reaches.

 

[Yahoo 1]

Departure for city of Ychang, we ride a taxi (a French car, Citroën made by Peugeot in China) down to the railway station to catch my train to Beijing (another delicious restaurant on board !).

End of an exciting, constructive and rewarding adventure, where I enjoyed discovering stunning sceneries only accessible through the river, meeting with a wide variety of people, in a land where the extremes and the oddity of which can hardly be bigger.

Thanks to everyone who has followed me over the journey, good bye !

The end.

 

[Xsbank]

Thank you Pilou, fascinating!

 

[RT Firefly]

 

[dwhatty]

Thanks Pilou. Enjoyed your travelogue. Where to next?

 

[Yahoo 1]

Ken,
Monsieur RT F,
David,

Many thanks kind Sirs !

Thank you David for your question. Next would be about my journey last month on a 45' motorboat from the North Sea to Atlantic Ocean and back, cutting the North of Scotland through the Caledonian Canal and Loch Ness.