We woke up this morning berthed below the Three Gorges Dam. We had spent a better part of the night navigating the 5 locks at the dam. Every time we entered a lock, another 5 ships accompanied us, so it took a while before the gates could close. Once we cleared the locks, we were 100 metres lower on the river than we had been before.
Then we had a quick tour of the dam. The dam has been fully operational for 1 year now and the water levels we experienced were the highest they have ever been. So whatever the Yangzte and the villages along it looked like before the dam, we’ll never know.
Some things along the river haven't changed much, like the women, above, coming down to river's edge to do their wash. This is a seriously polluted river so I don't even want to think about the health ramifications.
The dam itself is the largest in the world and the Chinese are very proud that it was their creation. The 17 year project has employed over 10 000 people. Although it’s created a lot of hardship, it’s also improved the lives of many. Will it solve the flooding problem? Only time will tell.
Our flight to Shanghai was on Shanghai Airlines out of Yichang, one of the many cities along the Yangzte that has experienced tremendous growth due to an influx of displaced people from the Three Gorges Dam project. One point three million people were displaced, most of them farmers, who haven’t recovered the amount of land they previously could work. This means a huge lifestyle change for them.
Once in Shanghai, we headed for dinner. This was not cheery prospect for many of our group who are suffering a variety of stomach maladies. We did meet our Toronto tour agent, Victor for dinner before he flew off to Beijing to visit family.
By 8:30 we were at our hotel, the beautiful Minya Hotel in the eastern part of the city.
For the next few days, we’re bus touring and then we return to this hotel for our last night in China.
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