Yangtze River Boat Cruise - July 20 - 23

We entered the first of the 3 Gorges at 6:30 a.m. on July 22nd. I was so excited that I woke up early and was on deck by 6 a.m. to ' save' my spot for viewing. I have always wanted to see this part of the Yangtze river because of its spectacular scenery. China is very mountainous and there are many craggy mountains that give inspiration to artists.

Along some stretches of the river, trackers' paths can be seen. These are the well-worn paths of the men who worked as beasts of burden, pulling the vessels up river when the water level was low.

Other sections of the Yangtze river contain burial caves, which are the burial grounds of wealthy people whose descendents chose this offbeat site to thwart grave plundering. It is not known how these coffins were hoisted into the mountains. There is speculation that any paths leading to the caves were destroyed to hinder access. As the river rises, many of these unique caves will be buried under water.

Visited tributaries of the 2nd Gorge via a smaller boat and a sampan. The locals in this area do not look like 'typical' Chinese. Their clothing is more 'ethnic' in appearance.