Different Trails

Yangtze (Day 6 - part 1)

When we awoke in the morning, we had left the flat countryside and now found ourselves among the hills.

Life on the river

Water is still carried up from the river by traditional means.

A floating home

A narrow pathway is etched into the hillside.

Another one wraps its way around the steep cliffs.

This tight pathway ends in a cave.

Small villages line the shores.

There was some kind of celebration happening today. Fireworks could be heard exploding around the entire countryside. Such celebrations could be for a wedding, new house, funeral, etc.

Mining was big in this area. Lots of factories and smokestacks lined the shores, and large barges filled with coal and other mining cargo filled the river.

Coal is being dumped from a truck, and a conveyer belt loads it onto the barge.

Eventually we arrived at Yichang, home of the Gezhou dam. The city of Yichang serves as a major transit port along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Known as the Electricity Capital, it gets power from both the Gezhou Dam and the Three Gorges Dam, located 25 miles upstream.

Historical records show that Yichang (called Yiling back then) was already a city of substantial size as far back as 2,000 years ago.

Passing by the city

A new bridge spans the Yangtze River.

A traditional Chinese-style pagoda. These were built as homes to appease the evil dragons that lived in the river and caused floods.

Highly decorated graves cover the hillside on the other side of the river.

Giant new apartment buildings tower above the city.

Countless new high rises began to appear with the start of the Three Gorges Dam project. The city's population is currently at 3 million, with over 250,000 just here for the jobs created by building the giant dam.

Kites decorate the long wharf.

Before 1949, the wharf area was only 1/3 mile in length and so poorly equipped that no ships could moor for direct loading and unloading. After 1949 (when new China was founded), more than 50 wharves have been constructed so that the area is now almost 9 miles long. The wharves can handle dozens of 2,000-ton vessels simultaneously.

Natalie continues her tour as we pass under a cable-stayed bridge.

The channel to the shiplock

We then turned off the river and headed down a long channel, at the end of which was the shiplock.

A satellite map shows an overview of the dam and shiplock. Two small islands, Gezhouba and Xiba, divide the river into three channels.

Heading toward the shiplock

Past meets present as this traditional pagoda is flanked by giant modern towers of steel.

Christianity has existed in China since at least the 7th century.

Fishing by the channel

Sanpan

The sanpan (or sampan) is a relatively flat-bottomed Chinese wooden boat about 12 to 15 feet long. Some include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. They are generally used for fishing or transportation in coastal areas or rivers, since they do not have the means to survive rough weather. The word originates from san (three) and pan (board), since the keelless boats are generally made of at least three planks. Traditionally propelled by a paddle, pole or oars, more modern ones are outboard-motor powered.

Gezhou Dam (or Gezhouba Water Control Project)

Gezhou Dam was built from 1970 to 1988. It is 1.6 miles long, 230 feet high, and has three shiplocks and two power stations. The lake created by the dam is 20 miles long.

As a tourist boat, we didn't have to wait in a long line to use the shiplock, unlike everybody else. We are one of the three largest ships on the river.