Travel China Planner

At the rotating presidency conference on Hubei and Chongqing Three Gorges regional tourism cooperation held in Chongqing, the governments of the two regions issued the Three Gorges Regional Tourism Cooperation Declaration.

According to the Declaration, the two regions will together work out a general plan for the Yangtze River Three Gorges Scenic Spot, seek large corporations to conduct integration of tourism resources and create the tourism brand of Three Gorges. They will also work together improve their key travel transportation and other facilities covering inter-provincial and inter-city highways, main railway lines, regional airports and travel terminals.

Joint promotion details have also been determined between the parties. From 2010 Hubei and Chongqing will hold the China Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival spearheaded by China’s National Tourism Administration. Promotional materials including video, a directory for Three Gorges cruises, and a tour commentary for the Gorges. In addition, the two regions will launch a joint marketing campaign including media publicity, participating in exhibitions, and Internet marketing.

Costa Crociere S.p.A., the largest cruise company in Europe, announced at the Fourth China Cruise Industry Development Summit held in Sanya that it will introduce a new ship, Costa Romantica in 2010, to take the place of Costa Allegra.

Pier Luigi Foschi, the chairman and CEO of Costa Crociere, said China is an important market for Costa. The company aims to contribute more memorable cruise vacations to Chinese tourists while expanding its fleet.

Costa Romantica is the sister ship of Costa Classica which entered the China cruise market in April 2009. The 53,000 tonnage Costa Romantica can accommodate up to 1,697 passengers. and, compared to the Costa Allegra, she is larger and more comfortable. Passengers will be able to enjoy art works of Roberto Sambonet, Susumu Shingu, and Alberto Andreis on the ship.

Shanghai and Tianjin will be the home ports of Costa Romantica. Kumamoto in Japan and Pusan in South Korea will be the cruise destinations. From June 27, 2010, Costa Romantica will be based in Tianjin operating 11 voyages and transfer to Shanghai from August 25, 2010 operating 13 voyages.

Being on a hill there are very few bikes and even more cars and scooters than other cities. This was the departure point for a 3 day Yangtze River cruise including the three gorges. It was quite a large cruiser with a large Brazilian group, Chinese group and us English speakers on the Imaginative Traveller tour. Cruises to China are similar with European style. There were three day trips whilst on the cruise: ghost city at Fengdu, cruising up minor gorges and the three gorges dam.

Yangtze River Cruise

Once onboard we were offered the option to purchase room upgrades to three additional grades. Feeling plush or not excited by the small cabins and twin beds, we opted for the junior suite which had a queen size bed, lounge and importantly for entertaining purposes, a fridge. Surprisingly for a cruise, we were able to take our own booze onboard and hence save paying cruise ship costs. This backfired slightly for Steve when he paid 90 rmb for a six pack of Tsing Tao on the wharf at Chongqing which someone else picked up for 20rmb the following day at dock. Mark and Anna lent us their mini speakers for the mp3 player so that we were then able to host our own ship’s entertainment which beat the fashion and talent show provided by the crew upstairs.

Can’t remember the exact figures but so far the three gorges dam project has resulted in a rise in the water level of 60 to 100 m. On the banks there are large markers and scales showing the final water level above sea level when the project is completed – another 40 m or so higher. We were in a unique position to see the transitional effects of the dam project. In some places whole towns of over 100,000 people have been rebuilt above the new water level. The gorges themselves were still impressive despite the loss in depth. These days they are a lot easier to navigate.

The dam is between the second and third gorges and while it’s the largest in the world at over 2 km long it wasn’t overly impressive, we can’t forget the service provided on the Yangtze river cruise, perhaps because we couldn’t appreciate its height or because it was one long straight wall and not one of those nice curved dams like Hoover. Impressive china cruises has caught us eyeballs pretty much.

I headed for a trip on the Yangtze River and through the famous Three Gorges. At 6300km, the Yangtze is the third longest river in the world (after the Amazon and the Nile), and the longest in Asia. It starts in the Tibetan mountains and runs all the way to Shanghai and into the East China Sea. We bought the Yangtze river cruise before we arrive chongqing. Cruises to China are as good as in most European countries.

Most tourist cruise the Yangtze starting in Chongqing and ending in Yichang, which is the section that runs through the Three Gorges. As the region around Chongqing was badly hit by the recent earthquake in China, there weren’t many tourists in the area, and there was only one boat running per day, which didn’t leave from Chongqing but about three bus-hours further downstream. Harriet had made it back from her party on the Great Wall in time, and the tow of us and about 10 other foreign tourists embarked on our boat. Of course we all took the cheapest option on the boat (third class, 6 people in one cabin), which was perfectly fine. It was also worth bargaining for the price of the cruise back in Chongqing, so don’t accept the prices they quote you in hotels and hostels!

The time spent on the river was everything I expected. The scenery was serene, and especially the tour of the Lesser Three Gorges was spectacular! We got off the main cruise-ship onto a smaller boat, which took us about 4h on a sidearm of the Yangtze through some great gorges. At the end of the river, we visited a brand new resettlement village for some of the 2,3 million residents of this area that have to move once the Three Gorges Dam will be completed in 2009. The tour of the city felt a bit like a propaganda tour, with the Chinese government showing off how much they are doing for all the displaced people. In fact, I was talking to a foreign girl that had taught at a university in the area. She told me that she had spoken to many of her students, and none of them had been offered any compensation or a new flat – they were simply told to leave their homes and move away. I guess the truth lies somewhere in the middle, as journalists are not allowed to talk to residents of the area.

The cruise ended with a tour of the massive Three Gorges Dam near Yichang, and it was surely an impressive sights. By the time the dam is fully completed (due in 2009, but more like 2011 it seems), the water will rise to a level of 175m, a further 20 meters or so from today’s level and about 91 meters over the river’s original level. When we finished the Yangtze river cruise then we had a lot of free time to explore the rest of cities in China. Compared with most other cruises in China, the Yangtze river is the best. The discussion about the general pros and cons of the dam is controversial, but the amount of emission-free energy it will create (22.500 MW, enough for about 3% of China’s energy needs) is surely impressive.

We take a ride where we transfer to peapod boats. The Shennong Stream is a tributary of the Yangtze River off of the Three Gorges area. My picture is dark as I didn’t have time to turn off the flash — but at least I saw it (many didn’t). I was glad I was on the right side of the boat and had just taken out my camera as I caught sight of a wooden box resting lengthwise inside a hole in the cliff. That was it.
The monkeys were not out in the rain and neither would we have been but for the want of seeing the monkeys.

The highlight of the trip is supposed to be when the boatmen get out and use a bamboo rope to tow the boat — pulling it through the water by brute strength. However, this feat was overshadowed for our group when our boat hit a rock and tore a hole in the bottom of the boat. We had a hole in our boat. The two women in the front row could see it. There was water coming in and at one point I helped pass a rag to the front to plug the hole. Now and then you would see the “front captain” bailing. He made us all shift to the left and I was half hanging out being on the outside edge. It makes for a better story. One guy yelled at another boat, “You’re just jealous because your boat doesn’t have a hole in it!”

The singing of the traditional songs from our captain and from other boats as they passed on the river was a treat. I bought a CD of it and hope it brings back lovely memories.