"Red Heart Moon" a WEST MEETS EAST China Weblog -- by Kevin Hart

Cross-cultural musings about life straddling the Pacific.

last modified Jun 16, 2004 at 17:43

Monday, May 15, 2006

Not One in Every Crowd

Working in tourism, you get to meet all kinds. Last voyage on the Yangtze, we had a 94 year old guest from the United States who was the most ornery, crankiest critter I had ever seen. He did not walk well and relied on his cane to support some of his frail frame, but refused help from anyone getting on or off the ship or up and down the stairs. Several times he struck our staff on the legs with his cane if they got too close to him or if he felt they were blocking his way. All we could do was stand by and hope he did not collapse right in front of us or assault any other unsuspecting passers-by. He was rather proud of the fact that he had lived with prostate cancer for 28 years and it had not got him yet, but refused to eat anything except bananas and bread for his meals. He was convinced all our other food was polluted and that he was "bound to keel over and kick the bucket" if he ate anything else.
On the first day he told me he had discovered how to prevent malaria and cholera but could not figure out why no one listened to him. The others in his group did not want to sit with him during meals, and everyone pretty much stayed clear of him for the entire four day tour.
I kind of felt bad for him, but if he was not so stubborn and combattive, I think he could have actually enjoyed his Yangtze cruise.

153936 | posted by xinwenyang at 20:34 | 0 comments

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Tour Groupies

If the Chongqing Government can ever get their act together, it could really stand to benefit from increased tourism over the next few years. It should not only be the embarkation point for the 3 Gorges excursion, and efforts need to be made to "package" Chongqing, with or without the cruise, and offer it as a complement or alternative to the tried & true tourist haunts of Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian. But it can't compete with the sights there, you say? I beg to differ.

First of all, as any Chinese person over the age 20 can tell you, Chongqing is quite unique as a Chinese city, with its hilly topography and inland port city feel. While Beijing and nearby Chengdu are so very flat, the three dimensional qualities of CQ certainly add to its peculiar atmosphere. Attractions? Plenty. The People's Hall (compare that to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, not one tenth as famous, but ten times more impressive), the new 3 Gorges Museum, west China's best, the ever expanding pedestrian malls of Jiefangbei, Jiangbei, and Shapingba (now complete with Starbucks, alas), the main port of Chaotianmen right downtown at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, the old town of Ciqikou, and the very central Pipa and Eling Parks high above even the highest skyscrapers. These are just a few of the sight-seeing spots that are becoming well-known among Chinese but remain little known to outsiders.

153797 | posted by xinwenyang at 1:39 | 0 comments

Monday, May 1, 2006

Higher Waters

Since last I uploaded, lots has happened. The 3 Gorges Dam authorities apparently are moving up plans for the next jump in the reservoir water level. It is rumored that the water will hit 156 (up from 139 m. now) in October of this year. I am not sure if there has been official word yet, but that is the talk on the river. If that is the case, they will have to start "shaving" the banks of the Yangtze again very soon, as they did last time in 2003, to prevent debris from clogging up the channel and doing damage to the power generators at the dam.

153549 | posted by xinwenyang at 19:42 | 0 comments