We flew from Shanghai to Yichang , which is c. 1000km away, and is the embarkation port for the cruise on the Yang Tse. The flight was suprisingly civilised – I keep assuming similar standards to the CIS. And I keep being surprised at how much more advanced the Chinese seem to be, at their relative state of development. Yes, passports are still being checked for internal flights, but the domestic airport is just as new as the international one, spacious and clean (not one of these Russian dumps). The B-757 seemed ok, the service friendly and efficient (food the same plastic as back home, though). Generally I've seen lots of Boeings (and an Airbus) around. They seem to have gotten rid of the Tupolevs and Antonovs as quickly as they could (when I mentioned “Tupolev” to our guide, he just burst out laughing – as in "we don't need those things anymore, thank God!").

Driving through Yichang (a provincial town of a "mere" 4m people) was odd: the place is still littered with communist style prefab housing, but every nook and cranny seems to have been converted into a shop of some sort. Saturday night, and the streets were filled with local night life, street cafes, or even street billiard halls. The main square was lit up like a gaudy Xmas market – flashing neon everywhere. And traffic, traffic, traffic! Bicycles and scooters going absolutely everywhere… if it wasn't for the houses and the Chinese characters, it could have been any Mediterranean seaside resort!

It can be hot and humid. It can also be quite misty, so the views along the river aren't always as spectacular as on this postcard. But otherwise – yes, the river is like they say it is! Deep gorges, craggy hilltops, exotic vegetation…

The Yang Tse, is both familiar (if you've seen Norwegian fjords) and foreign. Chinese peasants still toiling away on the terraces on the hillsides, right next to the very large signs saying "terraces are illegal". The locals shrug and have a saying "The mountain is high and the emperor is far away". Makes a certain amount of sense, I suppose.

	The official line regarding the Three Gorges Dam is still that this project will bring enormous benefits to all concerned. In this country, of course, there only IS the official line. Protest is considered treason, a threat to the Party and all that. I suppose that if the dam is indeed a disaster we'll know in 10 or 50 years. By then it'll be too late.

On-board entertainment includes the odd spot of Tai Chi...

One may also take a little boating trip, which involves being transferred to tiny little canoe-like contraptions which are still being steered the old-fashioned way - by some chaps pushing bamboo-rods... at least they keep fit! (Picture source: National Geographic Magazine) At the end of that little gorge they’ll invariably try to sell you some souvenirs - tourist junk (free markets are alive and well!)

It is extraordinary to see whole new towns being built from scratch along the river. To be exact, the new dam will raise the waterlevel by some 140 meters, which means, of course, that anything actually bordering the river now will be flooded – at a length of over 100kms. Thus, towns are being shifted "up the hill". Some of the hovels and decrepit socialist prefabs are better off destroyed, anyway, but one wonders whether the new stuff will be any better in a few years time. Not to mention the total destruction of the countryside: lovely green hills are suddenly dotted with ugly high-rises. Milton Keynes is beautiful in comparison (if somewhat flatter).

The river carries a fair amount of traffic, mostly barges with cargo like coal (China seems still mainly coal fired). But I tell you – real rust buckets! Formerly functional, but probably state-owned, and therefore hardly maintained, or so it seems. On the other hand there are simple-looking shipyards at each major town, where a bunch of coolies can be seen to be hammering away at a few sheets of metal, and somehow turn the whole contraption into a boat. Dry-docking is simple: tow the ship to the edge of the river and wait for low water (summer). Once the river carries more water, the ship will float again. There are also boats made of concrete: they pour a simple elongated bowl of concrete, and attach a few tractor engines, as outboards. Cheap, and it seems to work…

The river is totally brown, mainly from earth which eroded into the river further upstream. Plus a fair amount of garbage. Eco-conservation can only be afforded by rich countries, it seems, even though the poorer ones need it too.

Dotted along the shore there are signs indicating the height of the water after the completion of the dam... plus the occasional bit of advertising (this ad for China Mobile would amuse some of my colleagues!)

Fengdu - another town which will be flooded. Point of interest here: this is where the entrance to the underworld is. Chinese religion seems to be a bit of a mishmash of various ideas and religions: animism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and bits and bobs of others. Buddhism, for instance, has been adapted in that the Chinese have "invented" thousands of specialised Buddhas (no doubt to the horror of Indians…). China, it seems, has always been religiously tolerant – there never was a war of religion. Most sensible. The locals believe in reincarnation: the process involves a trip to hell, where one is judged by how good one has been in the previous life. You then either stay, damned forever, or you get reborn (anything between a bug or a Brit, depending on merit), or you may go to Nirvana, in peace forever. There are also 18 levels of hell – if you've been only a little bit of a bad boy, hell ain't too bad. In general, life as we experience it is considered a tiresome and unpleasant phase of the whole process of reaching Nirvana – eventually. Happiness on earth is not really expected or sought after – the afterlife is what it's all about.

You get to take a little ski-lift sort of contraption to alight the mountain - the more foolhardy may walk, of course...

The National Geographical Magazine (from which these pictures are taken) demonstrated quite dramatically the effects the new dam will have once completed (the temple entrance being visible on top of the hill):

Feng Du before the flood...

... and after.

Chongqing! Am impressed – this is supposed to be a provincial town, but it turns out to have 7m inhabitants (and 30m in the greater metropolitan area!), an area as large as Austria (!), and the shoreline looks like Hong Kong or Shanghai! I knew China is big, and has loadsa people – but to stumble upon a megalopolis in the middle of nowhere?!? The town is bustling – new high-rises are being built everywhere and one may actually buy a flat (the mortgage takes a perfectly normal 20-30 years to pay back). There is a private motorway to the airport (toll). It's really most impressive, not a Mao-suit in sight, instead it's modern, Western fashions, TVs, cars, flats… Capitalism has come back with a vengeance! I'm definitely impressed. On the other hand, there are plenty of peasants in town, recognisable by the bamboo sticks they carry – they hire out their labour during the times they're not needed on the fields, and are cheaper to hire than a taxi. Done a lot of shopping? Lift a arm and watch some peasants run to you. Haggle (weight and distance being the determinants), and watch your stuff brought home. According to our guide, this suits all.

Language is frequently a problem. Only very few westerners speak Chinese, and, so it seems, equally few Chinese speak English. Even at the “good” hotels one may have to hunt for quite a while before one finds somebody with a smattering of English. Which makes it very interesting, for instance, to order Room Service on the phone. Lacking the possibility of using your hands and feet and / or pointing to a picture or someone else’s dish this attempt will invariably lead to disaster. However, at Chongqing airport the traveller is surprised to find directions such as those pictured here!

China being an authoritarian state there are frequent signs encouraging proper behaviour - even in temples (which is where I found this peculiar sign).

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