A VISIT TO CHINA

We took a guided tour of China during April 7-23, 2001. The tour was organized by SmarTours of New York City. The tour included a five-night cruise of the Yangtze River from  Wuhan to Chongqing, including the Three Gorges Dam project and locks at Yi Chang. Places we visited were:

• Beijing (3 nights),
• Wuhan, Yueyang, Yi Chang, Lesser Gorges, Wanxian, Chongqing (while staying aboard the "Victoria Pearl" cruise ship, 5 nights)
• Xian (2 nights)
• Guilin (2 nights), Yuangzhou (Li River day trip),
• Guangzhou, en route to Hong Kong (3 nights)

The tour began with tension still running high because of the US spy plane incident on Hainan island. This matter was never mentioned by our tour guides nor people we met, and did not detract from Chinese hospitality and our enjoyment of the tour. We are very glad that we went, and consider SmarTours an excellent value.

By making the Yangtze River cruise the centerpiece of this tour, we were able to see a lot of China without the hassle of frequent packing, unpacking and luggage transfers. During our 15 nights in China, we stayed overnight in only five places (counting the ship), for periods of 2 to 5 nights, and had plenty of time to relax. Meals were good to excellent, and hotels were deluxe class or better. There were few add-ons; almost everything we wanted was included.

We were able to see many picturesque farms and towns that will be submerged by the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam in a few more years. The waters will begin to rise in 2003 and will reach full capacity in about 2006. It will be the largest dam in the world, and supply 10% of the electrical power requirements of the country.

We were quite impressed with China overall, and surprised by many things we didn't expect. Some are listed in a separate section at the end of this web page. Our main negative impression of the country was the air quality. Blue skies were seldom seen. In Beijing the problem was windblown dust and sand from the Gobi desert that limited visibility to a mile or two at most. In the Yangtze valley, it was industrial smoke from the burning of coal, and in southern China the problem was mainly haze or low clouds associated with the high humidity. The haze does add a special quality to the Li River rock formations, however. Some of the digital pictures shown here have been contrast- or color-saturation-enhanced to compensate for the low contrast and greyness of distant scenes.

SELECTED PHOTOS:

Scenes of China

Our Tour Group

Us

Jiskha Homework Help

============================

about the pictures...

impressions and surprises

Here are some other recommended websites about similar trips that I found while making this site:

• Into the Sunset (a British playwright humorously describes an 8 day Yangtze cruise)
• Cruising the Yangtze (Yangtze photo album with Gallery links to many other scenic destinations)

Comments or questions? Click here:  

FastCounter by bCentral