The Weather [Wushan, Yangtze cruise]

We’ve had a spot of rain here in the South, what with traveling in the rainy season and all. So we’ve been modeling the local rain gear:

Lonely Planet [Shanghai]

I brought two guidebooks — Lonely Planet China (2008 ed.), in hard copy, and China Adventure Guide, on Kindle. Both have been terrific, providing additional background and allowing us to depart from the scheduled itineraries.

Until last night. Tom & Aaron set out for the Peace Hotel Bar to see the Peace Hotel Jazz Band, where “Two of the old-timers — including the band’s founder and trumpet player Zhou Wanrong, — are former members of China’s first all-Chinese jazz band fronted by Jimmy King in the 1940’s, which had a regular slot at the Paramount.” [LP p. 271] The Adventure guide describes the Peace Hotel as “still one of the places to stay in Shanghai” and mentions the “lively jazz bar.” [Location 7409-19)

It was demolished two years ago.

How Much for Your Camel? [Guilin]

Outside the Reed Flute Cave was an excellent market, where the children acquired all sorts of fine weaponry to add to their collections. There was also a camel, tethered by his nose, in the bus parking lot.

The guide informed us that this was a mountain camel, much softer and healthier, but smaller than its desert brethren, but not local.

Smart-ass Aaron tried to negotiate with the owner, who did not speak English beyond “ten yuan,” for purchase of the camel. Jeffrey and Riki, however, had the right idea.

Shanghai Skyline

It’s amazing. Skyscraper after skyscraper, but few of them glass boxes, and all surrounded by green, so I don’t get that claustrophobic canyon feeling. Here’s a random sample from the bus ride into town. [I’ve been doing a lot of shooting from buses, and as a result have a lot of blurs, window flares, and pavement shots, because my PHD (push here dummy) camera has a very slow shutter speed and my reaction time is pitiful.]

Three Gorges Dam [Yangtze]

This was one of the two subjects which have generated the most defensiveness among the people we’ve talked with – the other being the one child policy. In both cases, they’ve been extraordinary frank – but plainly have talking points to cover.

The cost is roughly $25 billion to date – reportedly half to compensate and resettle the over 1.4 million people who were displaced from 13 cities, 140 towns, 1352 villages, and 657 factories. It started in 1992 and will be completed, in most part, this year. The ship elevator is still under construction,; now traffic moves through 5 ship locks

The positives: flood control, purportedly reducing flooding by 90%; 84 million annual kw/hours of hydroelectric power initially projected to cover 15% of China’s needs and replace 50M tons of coal; and more than tripling navigation to 10,000 ships.

The negatives? Enormous environmental and cultural impacts. 1.4 million people have lost their homes, hundreds of ancient temples and cultural sites are now underwater, and at least three species are threatened with extinction. The glory of the gorges –while still astounding – is diminished. And, were the dam to fail, millions of people would die- and the dam is in an area of earthquakes and landslides. And it’s just heartbreaking to see all the signs of where the water level will be.

We talked to one man who said his village had been displaced. He, his brother, and his father – like 10,000 other displaced locals -- were all hired to work on the dam, as part of the landscaping crew.

He says that he learned English drinking beer with the American, English, and Australian foreign dam workers. As a result, he reports, he was the only one of the 10,000 blue collar workers to be promoted to white collar. The blue collar workers live on the left bank of the river in dorms with no ac; the white collar workers, in nicer dorms with AC on the right bank.

He says that every night his father, who plants trees, walks across the river to stay in his room.

Was there a choice? Probably. China could have built a series of smaller dams that might have generated as much power with fewer population and environmental impacts. Indeed, that’s the next step – given power demands, the government is now planning several more dams further upstream, nearer to Nepal and the headwaters.

Traditional Chinese Medicine [Yangtze Cruise]

One of the more interesting educational sessions was a demonstration of traditional Chinese treatments. Dr. Xu (who also led morning tai chi sessions) asked for a male volunteer with back or shoulder pain.

Then he asked the volunteer to take off his shirt and proceeded to demonstrate

Acupuncture

Cupping

Scraping

Acupressure

Chris reports that he has more shoulder mobility than he’s had in years.

Emperors & Empresses [Yangtze]

Last night of the cruise, a bit of dress-up…