Within
a half hour of leaving we would enter the Quatang Gorge, the last
and smallest of the Yangtze's Three Gorges. Unfortunately the weather
wasn't cooperating and it was approaching dusk so the pictures aren't
at all spectacular, in fact, they're just passable. As a result I
won't bore you with to many of them.
Hanging
coffin
All
along the Yangtze and the Da Ning rivers were signs of ancient Chinese
civilization. One of the more interesting ones was the hanging coffins
(picture left). These date back approximately 2,000 years when the
custom was to bury the dead in caves along the shear rock cliffs
along the gorges. This picture was actually taken on our excursion
up the Da Ning River as it was one of the more easily spotted coffins.
Many weren't evident to the naked eye and you needed binoculars
to see them, but this one could be made out with the naked eye.
You
would also see holes in the side of the rock face cliffs where wooden
planking was placed to form a footbridge along the cliff face. It
was from these foot bridges that the peasants would pull the boats
and barges upriver. From what we read many died in the process when
they lost their footing and fell into the ragging Yangtze River.
There were some places where these bridges were still being used
today.
Caves
in the Qutang Gorge
Meeting
a cargo ship in the Qutang Gorge
This
bridge is scheduled to be torn
down as it will be under the water level
Narrow
passages along the Qutang Gorge
Coal
operations along the Yangtze
Our
sister ship, the Princess Sheena
Anne
enjoying the last moments
of our passage through
the Yangtze's Three Gorges
With
the Three Gorges behind us we looked forward to our next adventure
... a city tour of Wanxian. Continue to the next page for pictures
of a city soon to be flooded ...
