After 12 hours of travel, involving a bus, two trains, and even a gondola to haul us down to the boat, we finally arrived on board our home for the next three nights: a much fancier than expected cruise ship. After a hectic week and a half on the road, we were looking forward to a few lazy days sailing along, casually viewing the Three Gorges and the famous Three Gorges Dam. However, a quick scan of the itinerary handed to us upon boarding revealed that relaxation was off the menu. Breakfast is served from 6:30 to 7:30 every morning, and every single day is packed with activities. Admittedly, some are optional, but since we are only in China once, we naturally signed up for every single one.
The next morning, following a quick buffet breakfast, we boarded a coach for our “Tribe of the Three Gorges” tour. The trip promised a look into the lives of a Chinese ethnic minority tribe living along the Yangtze. We were taken to a 14 square kilometer cultural park built to preserve traditional Ba and Chu ethnic lifestyles, ancient river customs, and classic stilted buildings.
One of the main attractions was a staged reenactment of a weeping wedding. Traditionally in these mountain regions, getting married means moving to your husband’s village. Given how difficult travel between villages used to be, brides might not see their families for long stretches. This led to tearful goodbyes, which eventually transformed into an actual wedding ritual. Brides would wear weeping veils over their faces and try to cry as much as possible for two weeks leading up to the big day, operating on the belief that the more you cry, the richer you will be after marriage.
The village itself was beautiful, featuring old stilted wooden buildings nestled against the main river and along smaller tributaries. The water was remarkably clear, and wildlife was everywhere, including a very cute group of monkeys lounging on the river rocks. Seeing traditional boats with giant sails alongside people dressed in vibrant traditional clothing was certainly cool.
That said, it did feel a little like the locals were cosplaying their own culture. Everyone was wearing wireless microphones while pretending to go about daily tasks like washing clothes in the river, except they washed the exact same shirt for an hour straight. There were fog machines under the bridges, massive speakers scattered everywhere, and the weeping wedding demo devolved into a spectacle featuring dramatic host battles, audience participation, and water pistols. It felt a bit like Punch and Judy. I suppose it has its place. China is a modern country moving forward at full speed, and I do not expect the tribe could survive on fishing forever. This setup lets them stay in their village and keep their traditions alive, even if it felt entirely surreal and bizarre to witness.
In between the dramatics, we managed to get our local guide on her own to ask a few questions, which is when we learned the really interesting details. For instance, married local women wear large baskets on their backs to carry children, while unmarried women wear smaller baskets to gather flowers. When an unmarried woman finds a man she likes, she offers him those flowers, and if he accepts, they marry. If she proposes to an outsider, he must first move to the village and prove he can cook and clean for three months before the wedding can happen.
We also learned about their belief in hanging coffins as high up as possible to bring loved ones closer to heaven. Some of these coffins are visible way up in the cliffs, and our guide admitted they have actually lost the knowledge of how people managed to get them up there in the first place. All in all, it was a very fascinating morning.
We also learned about their belief in hanging coffins as high up as possible to bring loved ones closer to heaven. Some of these coffins are visible way up in the cliffs, and our guide admitted they have actually lost the knowledge of how people managed to get them up there in the first place. All in all, it was a very fascinating morning.
In the afternoon, after a quick lunch, we headed off to tour the Three Gorges Dam Museum. Seeing the giant machinery used to construct the dam and hearing about the international collaboration involved was genuinely impressive. The exhibits detailed the river’s history prior to construction, highlighting past floods and local wildlife like the Chinese paddlefish (now extinct), the Chinese Sturgeon (critically endangered), and river dolphins. Unsurprisingly, the dam disrupted their natural spawning habits and habitats, though our guide casually mentioned they are now farmed elsewhere, so it is not an issue.
This seemed to be a recurring theme throughout the tour. Many of the less pleasant details, such as the forced rehoming of millions of people, were left out entirely. I suppose that mindset is partly why China can charge ahead with such massive infrastructure projects, having completed the world’s largest dam in just 17 years.
A lot can change in 17 years, though. Due to rapidly rising national power demands, the dam that was originally designed to supply 30 percent of China’s energy now only provides about 3 percent. Still, that remains an impressive feat, providing green power to over 100 million people.
After the museum, we got an up close look at the dam itself by riding the boat lift. There are two ways for vessels to pass through: a system of massive locks that takes three to four hours for large cargo ships, or the ship lift for smaller boats. As the name implies, the lift raises or lowers the boat and its surrounding water across the 80 meter height difference. Watching the massive counterweights move and the giant metal spiral gears turn was incredible, and we covered the distance remarkably fast. Soon, we were back at the top of the dam, sailing off to reunite with our main cruise ship.
After dinner, the final event of the day was the captain’s speech and dance performance. The speech was an absolute trip. The captain was walked in to blaring music like a professional wrestler making an entrance. He gave a speech that seemed like a fairly standard welcome message, yet other guests were standing up, videoing, and scrambling to take photos. As he left the stage to even more blaring music, people swarmed him for selfies. Maybe he is some kind of major maritime celebrity we did not know about?
By that point, we were completely exhausted and left the party to the rest of the guests. Another big day of touring lies ahead tomorrow. I will share all the details soon!
Lots of love,
Alice x