Day 227 – Wednesday Work

Another day of teaching classes for David and me.

After lunch, I tried to put my leg up again and see if some of the swelling would come down.  We did some work on the computer and then went to the canteen for supper.  When we came back, I got things ready for tutor the four girls.  We had a fun time with the activities I had planned.  Lisa tells me that the girls and their mothers are quite pleased with my class and wish that I would be coming back next year to teach them again.

Lisa offered to help me with my computer and get the Trojan virus off of it tomorrow, so we made a plan to meet at the South Gate at 9 a.m. to go to the technology store that could fix it.  

Day 226 – Back to Work for Me

We arrived home at 2 a.m. and I had to get back up at 6:30 so I could teach my classes today.  David doesn’t have classes on Tuesday, so he stayed home and slept in.  My classes went well and we had a fun time.  The students especially liked watching, Cheaper by the Dozen with Steve Martin.  We will finish it next week.

After we had lunch, we hurried to Carrefour so that we could get some groceries.  We needed milk and yogurt since we had been gone and ate it all before we left.  David had square dance with his students at four, so we had to hurry back.

My left leg has started to swell pretty bad since the bad cramp from the first day of the cruise when we were on the bus.  I laid down to put it up for a while.

Day 225 – Three Gorges Dam and a LONG Day at the Airport in Wuhan

We left the boat after breakfast and put our suitcases on a bus that would later take us to the airport and then we boarded the bus that would take us to the Three Gorges Dam.  It was about a 45 minutes drive to the dam, but with spring in bloom and the fact that the sun was almost shining through the haze, we didn’t mind the ride. 

We had to go through security to go to the dam site, almost as much as we would at the airport.  Then we rode several escalators up and up and up to the top where we could survey the surrounding area and watch the locks at work.  The tour took almost two hours and then we were back on the bus.

 

Going through the five locks at the Three Gorges Dam.

We were all glad that we didn't have to climb the stairs to get to the top,  This is one of five long escalators that took us up there.

The one on the bottom left: "Don't Playing on the Autowalk."

Looking down on the area of the locks with ships going through.  One side is for going up the river, the other is for going down the river.

They call this the "Baby Boat Lift."  When it is completed later next year, it will take small boat through the dam area.

We had a four-hour ride on the bus to the airport.  We stopped for “lunch” at a “convenience” store and rest stop.   Not a whole lot to choose from though.  Then we were back on the bus and then we had one more short stop before we got to the airport.  Some of the flights left within an hour of arriving.  Others left within three hours.  Our group from Jinan had over six hours to kill at the airport, so we were grateful to have the Internet to entertain us, since we had been away from it for almost four days. 

I think we would say, "Slippery when wet."

Our flight left at 11 p.m. and we arrive in Jinan at 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday.  Long, long day and I had to work the next morning at eight!

Day 224 – Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Shennong

After breakfast, we went to the theater and watched a documentary on the Three Gorges Dam.  We didn’t get much out of it because they had the Chinese and English versions going at the same time, plus they had the reverberation on the sound.  A lot of people just got up and left. 

At 9:30, they had a free movie to watch and it was Ender’s Game, which I wanted to see, and since we didn’t go on the excursion today and we didn’t have anything else to do.  It was pretty good, but they had the same problem with the reverberation on the speakers and it was hard to hear. 

David decided to "tickle the ivories" on the piano in the lounge area.  It was sadly out of tune and needing repairs, but at least we got a picture of it.

Lunch was nice and then we started through the first gorge on the Yangtze River: Qutang Gorge.  It was beautiful, what we could see.  It was raining and misting, so it was hard to get good pictures. 

 

From the deck of the President 8 Cruise Ship entering the Qutang Gorge.

In the gorge.  Misty and narrow. 

There are farms along the way.  They call this the "orange belt" for all the orange trees along here.

This sign was warning you that when the whistle blew on the boat, it was really loud in this area of the (no) sun deck.

We assumed that this sign was a warning about the opening for the electrical was under the boards in this area.

This pagoda was only accessible by a very steep path that you could reach from a boat landing below.

This barge was carrying logs through the gorge.  

An interesting inlet that we saw in Wu Gorge.

The next gorge, Wu Gorge was right after that.  The rain stopped and it was a little clearer, but good pictures are still hard to take.  At four o’clock, we arrived at the spot where we were to go onto another transport that would take us to the Shennong River.  This part of the river was where the naked runners would take you in a sampan boat.  They pull the boats along the side of the river and they used to do it naked because their clothing was rough and it would chafe them as they ran.  Today’s runners were fully clothed, thank goodness! They only run a small part of the way now, just to show you what it was like.  Because the rising waters caused by the dam, they don’t have the sandy beaches to run on as they once did.  The row you down the gorge of the Shennong River for about 20 minutes and then row you back.  Our guide sang some traditional Chinese folk songs to us.  She has a nice voice.

As we traveled along the Shennong River, we were able to see this place where there were some ancient "hanging coffins."  Some of these are a thousand years old.  Not sure why they put them in coffins made of basswood and hung them in the crevice, but it was neat to see.

This is a cave that goes back into the mountain for 8 km (5 miles).  We didn't go it, we had another destination.

The man in the blue jacket on the mountain side was representative of the ancient sampan runners that used to pull the boats up the river.  Because of the rising waters of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, the flat places where they used to do this are gone.  They have made this track along part of the mountain where they could at least demonstrate what it used to be like.  The people who were once fishermen and boatsmen, are now involved in the tourism industry for eight months of the year.

This was our guide on the Shennong River that sang for us.  She talked about the feelings of some of the people that live in the area.   There is sadness because of the river's rise and the loss of old jobs, but she is also grateful to be living in a modern house now that has electricity and some modern conveniences.  She still lives on the top of the mountain and goes up and down every day for her job as a river guide.

David and I doing a "selfie" while riding in the sampan.

This is what our boats looked like.  Three oarsmen in front and one in back, plus the "driver."

We got back on the shuttle boat that took us back to the ship and we had just enough time to put our coats away before dinner was served.  Then we went up to the lounge area where they had a talent night for the passengers.  We were going to skip it, but one of the BYU teachers was going to sing a song in it, so a lot of us wanted to go support him.  Rich Pinegar sang a song in Chinese and he was the hit of the night!  Little kids were bringing flowers to him, LOTS of photos and plenty of applause, not just from the BYU teachers, but everyone there.  It was a love song and he gave his wife a red rose at the end of the song.  We were very proud of him and the whole boat has heard of the BYU tour group that was on the boat.

We checked out tonight so that we can get an early start tomorrow.  

Day 223 – Fengdu: Ghost City

We sailed through the night and docking was so smooth, that we were surprised to wake up and find that we were docked at Chongqing.  We had breakfast and then met our group that was going to Fengdu: Ghost City.  We had to walk across several pontoons that had planks set between them before we even got to the shore.  Then we walked up a pretty steep hill where we were put in 12 passenger golf carts for a ride up an even steeper hill. 

 

Crossing the pontoons with ramps across to the shore.  Notice the lack of railings...  It was a rainy morning and it just got worse. 

They had these for sale for a snack!!  YUUUUUMMMMYYYYYY!

The gate to Fengdu - Ghost City

Masks for sale.

This weekend, China is celebrating Ming Qing, so a trip to the Ghost city is appropriate.  The belief that you are made of two parts: a spirit and a body, is part of their beliefs and so the spirit, or ghost part, is not thought of as a scary thing.  Fengdu is to help people learn about the journey of life, living a good life and how not to go to a purgatory.  After the golf cart trip, we started climbing the first part of what would end up being over 175 steps.  Up, up we climbed, stopping at different places to have our guide explain what was being represented in different temples and by different statues. 

 

This guy guards the door to heaven.  He detects if you are evil and will snort at you if you are. 

This guy guarded the other gate and he would detect if you were educated or not.  Have to be educated to get to heaven.

This is a symbol of good luck.  The bats represent happiness in Chinese culture.

These are two of the three bridges that you pass over in life.  One if or health, one is for happiness and the other is for love.

In one of the pagodas.  David climbed while I stayed down.  I had hurt my leg and it was too painful to climb.

This is a test to see if you are a good husband,  If you could get this 400+ pound half-semicircle to balance on the knob, you would be a good husband in the ancient farming villages.

The have a guy who does this for a living.  You give him a tip afterward so he can feed his family.  Probably makes a pretty good living when you consider all the times he probably does this in a day and all the people in China that come to see it done.

We continued climbing for the next two hours until we had reached the top pagoda and then we took the “short cut” down the hill back to the golf cart and then back down to the dock and then back over the pontoons to the boat.

We had a fun group to chat with at lunch and then it was naptime.  Today was very rainy and it just seemed to get worse as the day went on.  The scenery is all shrouded in mist and rain, so there wasn’t much to look at as the boat passed by, but we tried.

About 4:30, we docked at Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda and again crossed the pontoons and ramps to the shore.  Up that hill we climbed and climbed.  They had people who offered to take you up in a sedan chair (two people take you up the mountain while you sit in a chair for 40 Yuan), but we chose to walk.  I think it was best for my leg with the cramp to keep it moving and limber, so long as I walked carefully.

We walked through the village and all the venders to then walk across a “swinging” bridge to the island where the Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda was located.  This was amazing to see and we could have walked up the twelve stories to the top and then followed a winding path back down the mountain, but we opted for the less crowded way and that was to walk around the mountain and then back across the bridge.  The bridge was a little unnerving to walk on with the swaying and trying to keep your balance.

 

Walking across the swinging bridge to the Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda.  It was rather nerve-wracking with all the people on it.  You could feel it waving back and forth,  The rain didn't help either.

A view of the bridge from the safe side...

Shi Bao Zhai Pagoda.  Built right into the rock.

After we were back on the boat, we had about a half hour to wait for dinner.  This was the captain’s dinner, so we all had a glass of wine at our tables.  Marvin protested for us about the wine, but he was told that it was just there for the ceremony to toast the captain and the voyage. 

Tonight they had entertainment provided by the ships crew.  It was loud and not very entertaining, but we stayed for lack of anything else to do.  Hoping for a good rest tonight.

Day 222 – Chongqing

We had breakfast and cleaned up and took a few minutes on the computer and when we went down at 7:50, Mr. Zhang was waiting for us.  We then went to pick-up the Pace’s from their place and headed to the airport.  We got there just before 9, got out tickets and then had to wait until 10:30 for our flight.  The flight was delayed from starting for about 20 minutes because they were waiting for a passenger to arrive. (Must have been some bigwig.) 

We arrived in Chongqing and there we were met by the guide who collected all the BYU teachers that had arrived and then we were driven to the Government Offices and also the Three Gorges Dam Museum.  We just looked at the office building from the outside and then walked over to the museum.  We watched a film that almost made us motion-sick.  It is a theater in the round and the film is shown in 360 degrees around the top of the theater.  Some of the shots of the river trip were from a helicopter and many of us had to stop watching because it was making us nauseous.  After another 30 minutes in the museum, we met back at the bus for a trip to the Flying Tigers Museum (aka The “Frying” Tigers). 

The Government Buildings in Chongqing.  They are on of the independent states in China and proud of it.

David fits in well with the sampan at the Museum of the Three Gorges Dam.

This was in the museum also.  Rather impressive.

At the Flying Tigers Museum, this artist painted this as we watched,  Loved his techniques.

Here we are at the "Flying Tigers" Museum.

During WWII, the Chinese were being attacked and bombarded by the Japanese.  A retire Air Force Officer was asked to help the Chinese build up their Air Force, so with the help of some other retired personnel, they started the Flying Tigers that were a great help to them.  They were able to do quite a bit of damage to the Japanese; 2600 Japanese planes destroyed and only 500 Flying Tigers. 

At the museum, we were told about the history of the “frying tigers” and then an art professor came in and demonstrated the Chinese painting techniques.  He did the painting in less than 5 minutes.   Then they want to sell the paintings to you, along with a lot of other stuff, too. 

Then we were taken to the sight of an old soccer stadium that they no longer use except as a practice field.  They had a new one they have built and use, so this one has grass growing among the bleachers now.  I didn’t go up the steps to see it.  The entire sitting today caused me to have a muscle cramp in the back of my left leg and I could hardly walk.  I stayed down and did some stretching.  I have had to be careful walking all evening.

We walked to a restaurant for dinner and then they took us to the cruise ship.  We had to walk quite a way to get to where our boat was docked.  We were told that we would be cruising on a five star vessel, but the vessels we first saw when we got to the dock did not impress us.  We were afraid of what the Chinese definition of five stars was!  Thankfully, when we did arrive at the correct boat, we were greeted with what would be very nice accommodations.

Making the long walk to the ship.  Besides the stairs, we had to walk a long, long pier to get to the steps.

We settled in our cabin and rested for a while, but at 8:30 we had to go to the lounge on the 5^th deck for an orientation meeting.  We visited with some of the others, explored some of the ship and then came back to the room.  It has been a long tiring day.

Our cabin on the cruise.  It was rather nice.  At least I slept well here, the beds were perfect! 

A view of the river in Chongqing as we were leaving the city.

Day 221 – Buddha Mountain and Dinner with the Ding’s

David taught his class this morning and then we met Wu Jun, (David edited her paper a few weeks ago) and her husband.  They took us to Buddha Mountain.  There was a “Mountain Festival” going on that had a lot of local food and activities.  They also had a “dating” service going on.  They hang a paper with their name, and information like: age, weight, height, education level and what they expect in a spouse.   There were probably thousands of papers hanging and lot of people, young and old, male and female looking at them and either taking notes or taking pictures of them.

 

Thousands of advertisements for spouse wanted!

Advertisements for a spouse.

Then we tasted some local food and hiked up part of the mountain.  Wu Jun’s husband wanted to take us to where the blossoms on the trees were really pretty.  We stopped to take a few pictures here and there, but he wanted us to keep going because there were supposed to be some extra pretty ones up by the big golden Buddha.  We were under time pressure because they had a meeting in the afternoon and we had to get back and they wanted to feed us lunch also.  We hiked back down the mountain and then discovered another campus really close to the mountain, called the “South Campus.”  That is where they took us for lunch, the canteen that is on that campus.  The food was pretty good and we had a nice visit.

 

The bought us one of these local treats.  It was pretty good, but I don't remember the name of it.

This was a local comedian.  All in a special Shandong dialect, so if we could have understood the Chinese, we probably wouldn't have been able to understand his dialect....

After they left us at our campus, we went to the street market so we could buy a potted flower to take as a gift to the Ding’s when we went there tonight. 

We got back to the apartment and I was hoping and praying that I would be able to make the video that I do for the Primary Music without any problems.  I got all the music downloaded and organized in a file.  The computer started to act funny again (well really slow), so I restarted it and when it came back up, I only opened the files I need open to make the video.  I was able to make the video while David was doing square dance with his students and then I worked on the captions for the words.  It all went pretty well, but I didn’t get it finished before we had to leave for the Ding’s apartment.

They had a nice dinner for us and we performed the reader’s theater with Alan that we had rehearsed for the last few weeks.  His parents really liked it and of course, they recorded the whole thing.  We continued to visit for an hour after the performance and then we had to get home so I could finish the video and hopefully get it loaded on Dropbox where the rest of the Primary could access it on Sunday.  It all worked, but I am still having some problems with my computer being sluggish if it has been on for a while.  We leave on the Yangtze cruise in the morning, so it will all have to wait until we get back on Monday.