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China |
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May-June
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:: China
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Love Boat? Who hasn't dreamt of cruising down the Yangzi River... a name full of dreams and promises! We spend four days cruising the river, on an old ferry full with Chinese tourists. The boat seems to come from another century, even the first class cabins look like if they never were brand new. Most of the Chinese travellers stay downstairs, where are the tiny cabins they share with six or eight travellers. The laundry dries next to the engine room, vegetables are stored on the kitchen's floor… We feel like if we were on a ghost ship, and the Chinese tourists participate to this silent and fantomatic atmosphere, which is somehow disturbing, as they never use to be so quiet… |
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After dinner, we discover all our Chinese companions at the bar, men are singing an awful karaoke while women dance or train their hoola hoop skills on the dancing floor. Is it a love or a ghost boat? During the day, the boat stops at different sites to visit the sites along the river, from the impressive Three Gorges dam to a surprising amusement park in the well named "Ghost City". A cruise on the Yangzi River is a unique occasion to discover a region which will be submerged in a few years, when the dam project will be completed. |
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The shores and buildings we see will then be underwater and everywhere we see boards announcing the height of the river : 75 m, 110 m, 145 m, 175 m… The inhabited shores are really impressive : building are demolished and reconstructed a few meters higher. Walking through these already dead cities gives a strong impression of war and abandonment. These deserted places strengthen the dramatic atmosphere of the cruise... pagodas appear suddenly through the fog, desert temples are mysterious also because they will soon be partially submerged, and the Three Little Gorges are a spectacular natural beauty.
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