China # 16 Yangtze River Episode 4 Ghost City at Fengdu

The visit to the Ghost City at Fengdu was another memorable trip.

The Ghost City is a Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist temple enclave. Built in different eras, twenty-seven temples march up the steep mountainside. Before Mao decided to rid his people of religious hindrances during The Cultural Revolution, there were seventy-five temples here. Although persecuted (and perhaps because of the persecution), monks preserved the remaining structures as best they could in ornate and colourful splendor. Sadly when the government discovered the tourist potential in 1984, the devotees were summarily kicked out and the state took over the preservation and restoration of the site (which is an ongoing project).

Ghost City got its name when Two officials from the imperial court Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping decided to come to Ming Mountain to practice Taoist teachings. Through self-cultivation they became immortals. Combining their surnames produces the term "Yinwang" meaning the "king of hell." Later, during the Tang Dynasty, a stupendous temple was erected on Ming Mountain depicting life in hell. It displays demonic images and torture devices and reflects the notion that good people will be treated well in the afterlife and that bad people will be punished by going to hell. The temples and the statues are so beautiful, if somewhat grotesque, that it would have been tragic if they had been destroyed.

On the day of our visit we left the cruise ship and travelled in little electric buses to the base of Ghost City. We walked past market stall, where the whole family helped out, even if it was just looking and learning from a young age!.

A lovely walkway took us into the square.
Here there were more stalls and the entrance to the walk up to the city.
Some of us were rather lazy and took the easy option, well I couldn't let my friend do it alone could I!
On the way up we had some lovely views.
Some of the workers who are helping restore this wonderful site.


These are just some of the beautiful artefacts that we saw in the various temples. There is a story behind all them but I'm just going to let you enjoy the pictures








This guy was so strong, but there is an art to getting the ball on top.

Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge:(below) the bridge connects the nether world with the real world and is a testing point for good and evil. According to legend, the Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge is composed on three identical stone arches. The middle arch is used for testing people. There are different protocols for crossing the bridge depending on your gender, age and marital status. Below the bridge are square-shaped pools of water. Virtuous people will pass over the bridge without obstacle; villainous people will fall into the pools below. The other two arches are called the golden and silver bridges respectively. When preparing to leave, visitors are encouraged to pass these two bridges because according to local superstition this will bring them good fortune.
Just to be sure we all walked over the tree bridges in turn for our health, wealth and happiness.



The pagoda below is still being repaired and if one could seen the view from the top I'm sure it would have been spectacular.
Having seen Ghost City it's really hard to imagine why anyone would want to destroy such beauty and I'm so glad that some of it was saved and can now be enjoyed by so many visitors.

Archives:
2008: House with two views
2007: Scattergories

China # 15 Yangtze river Episode 3 Three Gorges Dam

This enormous dam is an amazing engineering feat and it's very difficult from the pictures here to actually convey the depth of these locks. Before we actually sailed through the lock system we were taken to the visitors centre to see the model of the dam and learn a little of it's history. We had also hoped to see views of the dam. Unfortunately this was the wettest of days and it was very misty so the views were almost non-existent. Below leaving the safety of the boat.
Nevertheless, we appreciated the mammoth task it had been to build this dam. It has been quite a controversial project because of the displacement of over a million people, the flooding of archaeological sites and the changes to the ecology. If you are interested you can read more about Three Gorges Dam
Below is a (not very good) merge of two halves of the model, but it will give you an idea of the size of the area involved.
Below is a model of the ship locks that we went through, it takes several hours to get through all the locks.These are some of the sights we saw at the centre

I was not as brave as some so didn't make it the top in the rain. We gathered afterwards that the weather is nearly always wet in this area.Below view of the dam.I think everyone was glad to get back aboard the boat and dry out.
It was then time to sail through the locking system.It was a fascinating process.
Once the huge gates are closed it actually only took about eight minutes to fill the locks and despite the rain we all made sure we were out on deck to watch the process but only for the first couple of times, it was then inside to the warmth and comfort of the lounge area.
I'm not sure if these pictures will convey the size of these locks. As the boat enters the lock you feel quite small with the sides towering some 180+ feet above you. It really is amazing to see the boats rising so quickly once the lock fills with water. The fact that this actually takes less than ten minutes is even more amazing!
It took quite a lot of skill to pack as many boats as possible alongside the cruise ships.This temple was close to where we boarded the boat, we didn't have time to look inside but it did look well cared for and somehow out of place alongside market stalls (sorry poor picture taken from a video).The rain did eventually stop and once through the locks it back to the scenery.
Despite the weather it was a memorable day and I've enjoyed sharing it with you all..

Archives:
2008: Witty Wednesday-62
2007: Fun Monday-31

China # 12 Yantze River Part 2 Trackers(Boatmen)

After sailing through the three Gorges (that's another post) and upstream of the Wu Gorge, which is the longest gorge, we transferred to another steamer to get to a tributary of the Yangtze River near Badong County. Our guide for this part of the trip was delightful. The Tujia guide, had a beautiful voice and, together, with the boat captain she sang a tradition love song. Apparently this is how young couples communicated if they lived on different sides of the gorge. The trackers way of life is gradually being eroded as the the river rises and tourism is very important to their local economy. We were told they would do two of these trips each week. Some boatmen take a couple of days to row their boats back to their villages. The rise in the level of the river means lots of the villagers have had to move from their homes along the shore.
We were a little apprehensive when we saw the small sampan 'pea pod' boats that were going to used for exploring the Shennong Stream. The boats are rowed by 'trackers' and they are incredibly fit and strong. In places the boats were pulled by trackers in the same way that the enormous junk ships were once dragged up the Yangtze (now really a show for the tourists). The trackers used to pull the boats naked but this no longer happens. I didn't want to disappoint you so I found a picture!
It was well organised and we all had to wear life jackets. The seats collapsed to make it easier to get people on board.
In places the gorge was incredibly narrow.
As I've said the strength of the trackers was amazing and we even had races with other boats...ours won, managing to overtake a couple, our contribution was all vocal, urging them on and cheering.With all the cruise ships it can get very crowded in some places as you can see below. This is where the boat is pulled around for the return journey.Some of the views we saw.This is a new bridge recently completed and saving the locals a lot of time when they want to cross the river. It seems to be well used. Across the bridge we noticed a make-shift shelter among the trees and assumed that this was home to someone.
I've really enjoyed re-living this part of my trip through doing this post....I hope you enjoy seeing the pictures.

Archives:
2008: No Archive
2007: Niagara on the Lake