Last full day on the East Queen

This morning we have a shore excursion to the Shibaozhai Pagoda, sometimes called the 'Pearl of the Yangtze River. The Pagoda is built on the sheer hillside of the banks of the river and incredible how they did it.

The excursion lasted a few hours and by the time we got back to boat it was lunchtime and we cast off heading further up river taking in all the sights and sounds of China.
In the evening there was a farewell dinner with lots of free wine, Chinese of course.
Photos can best describe what we are seeing.
So the first part of this great trip is nearly over and I must say the the travel agent we used Page and Moy have done a good job.

Now in to the Western Gorge

This morning we continue our journey through the western Xiling Gorge and it was possible to get of the ship and visit the Shennong Stream Shore excursion which of course we did and that was fascinating. The stream joins the Yangtze River at Xirangkou and consists of three Gorges each with its own character.
We spent about an hour wandering around this area before returning to the boat and it was funny the locals spent quite a lot of time looking at all these white colored people with different eyes.

In the afternoon we continue our sailing through the Wu Gorge which is flanked by towering peaks and mountains and very impressive indeed.
After this we finally enter the Qutang Gorge which is the shortest and narrowest of all the the three gorges. So far this has been  a really good trip and the boat and views were really nice and we shall be sorry to leave the ship tomorrow night.

In the evening we joined in the dinner which was a buffet and with both European and Chinese food much to the relief of some of the guests.
And so to bed after a really fascinating day.

Sailing up the Yangtze River

This morning we will sail through the eastern point of the Xiling Gorge, the largest of three gorges, before its most dangerous rock were moved in the 1950's this was the most perilous part of the journey.

The trip was very interesting as there were already signs that people were being moved out of there houses in readiness for the water to start building up because of the new dams which is to be built a little further up river.
After lunch we all get off the boat and take a short coach trip to visit the new Three Gorges Dam project, the largest project of its kind in the world. It is us due to be completed in 2009 and the dam will be 1983 metres long and 185 metres high and should contain enough water to help with China future needs.

We were given a interesting talk on the construction of the dam and also the many challenges that they have faced including the moving of thousands of people to new locations and of course many of the older folk do not want to move.
After the introduction we could walk fairly close to the construction site which was truly massive and you would wondered where they would have started from
After the tour of the site we headed back to boat for a glass of something before a very nice Chinese meal and by which time many of the tour group were beginning to get a little fed up with all the Chinese food although Jennifer and I were in heaven.

A day visiting more sights of Shanghai then a flight to Yichang

The morning was spent visiting yet more gardens and they are really quite beautiful an tn to see. This time we went to the famous YU Garden built during the Ming Dynasty and then on to the Jade Budha

temple which was truly amazing and then finally to visit the famous BUND over walk where you can see all the huge skyscrapers.

After lunch we then headed to Shanghai Airport where we board and plane for Yichang and n from the airport to join the vessel 'East Queen' passenger vessel for a trip up the Yangtze  River for a few nights. 
The flight was very nice and the crew and also the flight crew came in to the cabin and bowed to wish us welcome and hope we have a nice flight. Most unusual to have this happen and I doubt that it would happen on British Airways.
We arrived on board and were given a very nice cabin complete with all facilities and then upstairs to the bar for pre-dinner drinks before the formal welcome dinner with load of Moutai the famous'bloody awful' Chinese rice wine.

Looking forward to the train journey to Suzhou

The coach collected the group of about 40 people and took us to Shanghai Station where we boarded the train for Suzhou. The train rattled past the countryside where you could see the well kept rice and vegetable plots.

We arrived at Suzhou Station and then on to the coach where we taken to see the production of Silk Institute which Suzhou is very famous for. We were given a complete guided tour and Jennifer really enjoyed the information and the opportunity to see the brilliant work they were doing.
Then back on to the coach and off to visit the 'Humble Administrators Garden' the largest garden in the city and it was really beautiful.
And then another garden and this time it was he Lingering Garden which again was quite amazing and really cared for and both gardens were quite busy with visiting tourists,

At this time we put ourselves toward the back of the coach to avoid seeing the near deaths of cyclist's as a result of appalling driving but this is China and Noel has seen and loved through it many times before.
A couple on the coach when asking them about the trip said they were dissapointed, and we are asked why? and they said it wasn't the China they expected and seeing all the skyscrapers in Shanghai was not expected, wow...no comment

A busy day ahead

Following breakfast we all piled in to a coach and driven through the crowded streets of Shanghai and we were lucky to get front seats but that was frightening as the coach driver dons't seem to care who they nearly kill.
Today was a day of sightseeing of local markets where you can purchase all sorts of copy DVD, watches etc . We also went to Nanjing Road which is a huge shopping street, we were there the previous evening for dinner and Noel had been there before on business. 

Following a Chinese lunch we were back on the coach and off to visit the Shanghai Museum which was a huge place and interesting for a while but museums are not really our thing but it was interesting to see all the artifacts and they did point out several times the amount of artifacts that had been stolen and taken to Taiwan.
The relationship between China and Taiwan is quite bad at this time and the Chinese have sent their warships to circle Taiwan and occasionally Taiwan does the same thing on a tit-for tat basis.

In te evening we went to a Chinese restaurant which was not too bad if you like Chinese food and there were a few people on this tour who though they would only get European food and not Chinese food and so they could not eat all that was provided, more fool them.
From the restaurant we were taken to see th famous Shanghai Acrobats  and they were really amazing and watching the motorcycle whizzing around inside a metal cage with six people on it was something to behold
So back to the Hotel for a good nights sleep as w have an early start to tomorrow..

We leave for China leave on 14 and arrive on 15th

Up early to connect with a London to Paris flight on Air France and then a two hour layover before our flight to Shanghai. We had been originally informed that we would be travelling on Lufthansa to Shanghai and a good friend in Lufthansa had high hopes of getting us upgraded from economy only three days before the departure we were informed we would be traveling on Air France instead. Damn!!
All in all the two flight and waiting at CDG Airport took about 18 hours and we were pretty tired by the time we arrived in Shanghai Airport.  e then transferred to the GRAND YOU HOTEL

Looks like a prison

  in the Pudong area of China and the rest of the day was free unless you wanted to join the group dinner. e chose to meet one of Noels business colleagues who arrived at the Hotel in a large chauffeur driven BM 7 series much to the interest of the other people in our group. We had a  nice dinner with Noels colleagues and then back to the Hotel for some well earned rest.
The Hotel was sort of OK with small rooms and not of the quality that we are used to stay in, buts the way it is.