Category Archives: Three Gorges

Photo galleries from Yangtze River Cruises from Yichang to Chongquing, through the Three Gorges.

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Three Gorges: Xiling Gorge

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This is my last Gorge post, it finishes my little project of trying to organize my photos from two trips through the Three Gorges region in China. Xiling is the easternmost of the gorges and is downstream of the Three Gorges Dam, running from the outskirts of Yichang city up to the base of the dam.

Even with two trips I never got to see much of Xiling Gorge. Because it is downstream from the Three Gorges Dam, and the river cruise boats dock above the Three Gorges Dam at Maoping when they cannot go through the locks we were bused from Yichang in 2014 and to Yichang in 2017.

In 2014 we were able to see a little bit of the area by taking an optional excursion to a scenic area called “Three Gorges Tribe”. This is in the Xiling Gorge and to get to it they bused us to a local ferry that took us to the spot. Here are some pictures from that excursion:

Last spring, April of 2017, we had time between when the buses got us to the dock in Yichang and our flight. I had arranged a guide and we went to a couple of parks that included an overview of the eastern entrance to the Xiling Gorge. The statue overlooks the start of the Three Gorges area.

I learned from our guide that day that there is a tourist ferry from Yichang. It goes up through the concept dam and Xiling Gorge to the base of the Three Gorges dam, you take a tour of the dam from there then a bus back to Yichang.

If I decide to go again I will definitely arrange to spend an extra night in Yichang and take that outing, even though it’s an extra tour of the dam, to make sure I get to see Xiling Gorge. If I had known about it before the last trip we might have been able to do it. China has some lovely scenery, and many very interesting cultural sights, but it can be difficult to find out about things to do that are not specifically aimed at foreign visitors. I often feel like you have to go places at least twice to really get to know them.

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Three-Gorges: lesser three gorges

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This outing, commencing in Badong, is to an area where the streams drop directly into the reservoir formed by the Three Gorges Dam and is touted as an opportunity to see scenery reminiscent of how things were before the dam was built.

The area is very lovely. The outing consists of riding on a tourist ferry then embarking on a sampan to explore a stream that is tributary to the Yangtze.

Bridge over the entrance to the lesser three gorges area.
Scenery along the way.
Fish pens.
Looking up to the hanging caskets.
Close up of the hanging caskets.
Sampan of trash pickers.
Tourist sampans heading upstream.
Lesser three gorges scenery.
Lesser three gorges scenery.
Lesser three gorges scenery.
Lesser three gorges scenery.
Lesser three gorges scenery.

A practical note, if you are planning to go: The sampan part was optional and cost a bit more, to stay on the ferry, which I believe travels farther on the more major tributary was included. If you are not fairly spry you might prefer to not go on the sampans.

Still working on the Daily Post Prompt:Gorge

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Three Gorges-Wu Gorge

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Entering the Wu Gorge from the east (going up river) during the blue hour.
Goddess Peak in the Wu Gorge
Hillside shrine in the Wu Gorge.
Temple on the mountain in the Wu Gorge.
Side stream entering the Yangtze
Typical scenery along the Wu Gorge.
Sampan collecting trash after flood.
Bridge at the eastern entrance to the Wu Gorge.
Mountain scenery along the Wu Gorge.
Side stream entering the Yangtze.
Shipping traffic in the Wu Gorge.
Creek and mountains along the Wu Gorge.
Peek-a-boo view of the Goddess Peak in the Wu Gorge.
Hillside shrine.
Hillside shrine.
Hillside shrine.

Wu is the middle gorge of the three gorges. It is between Wushan and Badong cities. You can see a larger version of any picture by clicking on it.

On the Yangtze River cruises there is an outing from Badong. I don’t know what the general rule is, or if there is one since we took different cruise lines different years, but going up the outing was to what they called the “lesser-three gorges” (hopefully my next post), going downstream last spring it was to Shennong Stream.

*If you read this post earlier: I made a mistake earlier and the actual name of the outing was “lesser three gorges”, sometimes called “mini-three gorges”, there is a similarly named “three gorges tribes” themed area in the Xiling Gorge.

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Three Gorges-Qutang Gorge

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Since I didn’t do a thorough job of assigning keywords to my pictures it is taking me some time to sort through my Gorge pictures.

Qutang Gorge

Entering Qutang Gorge from the east (facing upriver).
Qutang Gorge, heading upriver.
Trash picker, in Qutang Gorge.
Shipping traffic in Qutang Gorge.
Shipping traffic in Qutang Gorge.
Looking back toward Qutang Gorge from the exit.
View of the entrance to Qutang Gorge, Kweimen, from White Emperor City.
Entering the Gorge from the west, heading down river.
Mountain tops along Qutang Gorge.

If you are heading down river the first gorge of the three gorges is Qutang Gorge. It starts at the White Emperor City (Baidicheng) and ends at Daxi. Here are some images from two trips through the Qutang gorge. In fall of 2014 my Dad and I went up river and in spring of this year, 2017, my son and I went downriver. The photos with brown water are from the fall of 2014, right after a flood, which washed a lot of soil and trash into the river. The ones from the spring of 2017 are, I’ve been told, the more normal water color.

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Three Gorges Dam

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Today’s prompt: Gorge got me armchair traveling back to the Three Gorges in China. I never really finished going through and organizing the pictures from two trips through the three gorges one in September of 2014, and in April of this year, 2017.

Both trips the five step locks were not operating at full capacity so the tour boats were not allowed through. In 2014 there was flooding in the upper Yangtze and this year they were doing the annual maintenance. So I still haven’t actually been able to go through the locks.

Third time lucky? I’d love to actually go through the locks but I still haven’t decided if I’ll try again, since I would have to travel at a different time of year than I usually do to avoid both flood season and annual maintenance.

April-2017, China, Snapshots from a Happy Life, Three Gorges

Shennong Stream

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I’m still working my way slowly down the Yangtze, photo-wise. The last “shore excursion” on our cruise didn’t include going ashore…or any steps.

They loaded us onto a passenger ferry in Badong, which took us to Shennong Stream, where they loaded us into sampans to go upstream. 


Before Dam the stream was too shallow to row and the boatmen would hop out and pull the boats…often in the nude. Our boatmen didn’t doff their clothes but they did demonstrate jumping off, pulling and jumping back on. 

The peak experience happened when our guide, Cherry, and one of the boat men started singing Chinese folk songs as we glided along through the mountainous landscape. It was as if we landed in a living Chinese painting.