Thursday, June 16
Wednesday night we went through the Three Gorges Dam locks. We were scheduled to go through around midnight so we left a request for a wake-up call at the desk and went to bed. It was interesting to be out on the top deck and be able to reach out and touch the huge concrete wall inside the lock. Lee suggested that they should supply pieces of chalk so we can leave messages on the wall. I lost interest in the process more quickly than he did and headed back to bed. It takes about three hours to travel through four locks - there are five locks at the dam but the river level is low right now so it takes one less lock to get to the downstream side.

The next day we docked and took a bus back to the dam and locks. Walking around gave me a good feel for how truly massive the project is. The guide rattled off all of the statistics but there weren't any museum-type displays. I overheard one of our boat companions say, "There aren't any exhibits? All we get to do is walk around?" On the one hand, I thought she was being lazy, but I also would have liked to see the history of the project or an explanation of how the power is harnessed or exactly how the locks and boat elevator work. It's like they want you to look around and be amazed, but don't linger.

Looking down at the two bottom (down-stream) locks.

The doors of the locks starting to open.

This is a barge waiting to move upstream.

A long view of the dam.

The dam, closer up.

It was so hot even the trees are hooked up to IV's. Just kidding. It was hot but not unbearable, to us anyway.

After the dam we went another two hours down the river to the city of Yichang. We'd arranged for a transfer to the airport and with a couple hours to spare our guide took us to a "cultural exhibit." It was actually a store selling silk embroidery and a very minimal explanation of the process. The work was beautiful - it reminded be of the silk fabric I saw in Changsha 15 years ago - so we did our bit for the Chinese economy and bought a few pieces.

Then back to the van, off to the airport and a short two hour flight to Beijing. That, by the way, was how Lee spent his 56th birthday. Last year we were at Versailles in France, this year in China. Next year, who knows?

Here's the birthday boy.