We visited the Yangzi River (or Yangtse/Yangtze) in 2007 knowing that once the dam was completed we'd never be able to visit the 3 gorges again (or at least, not in the same way). We took a 4 day cruise down the river from Chongqing to Yichang. We got a really good deal, but we got what we paid for. The boat we were on was cramped full of as many people as possible (mostly Chinese tourists, with only 14 foreigners on board) with some people even sleeping in the hallways. There was a relaxation deck on the top level of the boat, but youhad to pay to have access to it. There wasn't much food available (most of what was there sat out all day), so we had to bring a lot of pot-noodles with us to hold us over! :)

While that may not sound like everyone's cup of tea, it actually was a fun and very relaxing cruise. It was defintely different than if we'd paid for the higher cost/higher end "tourist" boat, but we would've missed a lot of the culture that we experienced. I still have no idea how to really play mahjong but I watched a lot of it in those 4 days!

We still made a lot of stops and had time to get off the boat and see some temples, some ghost towns, and the Abode of Ghosts outside of Fengdu. We took a side cruise through the Little 3 Gorges and it was beautiful! And when you get to the dam at the end you'll be blown away at how massive it is! It;s truly a feat of engineering!

I'm really glad I had to chance to experience life on the Yangzi before it all changes forever. What it lacked in comfort, the cruise more than made up for with culture and personality! :)

The gorges are most impressive at sunrise with first light of day cast over the mountains that seem to shoot straight down into the Yangtze River. Unfortunately, as the reservoir above the Three Gorges Dam fills, we lose some of the angular depth of these views and many people lose their homes, farms and burial grounds. The degree of contrast between the mountains and river will never again be quite the same, although the landscapes are still rather majestic.

As the 3 gorges dam project nears completion and the area begins to flood, these monuments and cities between chongqing and wuhan will be flooded never to be seen again.

Shite place