We settle down on the front outside observation deck to take in the full view of the Yangste River. We pass fishermen, small villages, large towns and river inlets. The guide tells us nothing about where we are and what we’re seeing, but we have the makings of a map, and we know of one significant feature coming up - the red pavilion of Shibaozhai. The pavilion hugs on side of a 220m hill. It has a tall yellow entrance. The nine stories were built in 1819 with a further three stories built in 1956.
Would Kathy announce the oncoming red pavilion? Wait! I hear her voice over the ship’s tannoy - “Good affernoon ladies gennlemen, lunch served, please go restaurant”.
We watch the pavilion until it is out of sight, then go for lunch.
It’s time to write some postcards after lunch, so we sit on our balcony, watch the south bank pass by while we write a few postcards, after which we relax further by reading, which is interrupted by a China Travel rep. coming to the cabin to explain what to do about tipping the crew and guides.
About 4.30 we dock at Fengdu and go ashore for an excursion to the City of Ghosts, which is located at the top of a hill which we access by chair lift. Muggins here (aka tour leader) has to collect the fares for the chair lift, and buy the tickets while the local guide, whose English name is "Bonny", looks on. It turns out somebody slipped me the wrong money, so I have to make up the difference from my own pocket - I don’t think I care too much for the tour leader job!
Walking up to the chair lift, Bonny asks my name, I reply that my English name is Andrew, but my Chinese name is Hung Chung Wo. She is thrilled "Oh, you have Chinese name!!". I don’t know what I said but it certainly impressed.
We go to the temples on the hill, a sort of city of the dead. I don’t think I could have been listening because I never really got to grips with what the place was all about, but you got nice views over the river.
To help explain what the temples here are all about I will quote verbatim from the leaflet:
"At the large Ying - Chao - di - fu’, the gods of immortal, Taoism, Confucius, Buddhism and ghosts are forcibly occuping their temples; they are rigidly stratum and stays at their duty"
I think that explains it rather well
The tour runs a bit late and I am continually asked if we will get back in time to change for dinner - as tour leader I gather I’m supposed to know these things.
We get back, having lost 4 people who made their own way back when we were late, and there is time to shower and change, which is the response I was giving anyway - what a lucky guess.
Tonight is the farewell banquet hosted by the captain and ship's manager. The menu includes: Big colourful dishes, six cold dishes, peanut with fish-rice, fried pork slices, "beef stick with pepery sauce", fried crab, steamed dumpling, beancurd, "snack" and fruit.
A bit of chit-chat in the coffee bar after dinner before retiring to our cabin and bed - well I went to bed, Val had to pack the cases.
Go to Chongquin and back to Beijing
Copyright © 1997 Andrew J White