Saturday was a travel day into the interior of China. First, we flew for two hours on a China East airline from Shanghai to Wuhan, whereupon we boarded a bus and traveled another six hours until we reached our river cruise ship, the Victoria Katrina, in Maoping. After a quick night of sleep, we arose to eat breakfast and depart on a tour of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. The largest dam and water conservation project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam took seventeen years to construct. The main purpose of the construction was to control the river of the severe flooding with its corresponding loss of life that had occurred throughout the centuries on this third longest river in the world that has over 700 tributaries. Next, the river is a source of hydroelectric power, providing three percent of China’s power for its nation of 1.4 billion people. Since the dam would hold back a huge volume of water and thus raise the level of the river, the government, which owns all property in the nation, relocated millions of people to new cities created above the new water levels. The Chinese are naturally proud of this marvelous feat of engineering.

In the afternoon we visited the Tribe of the Three Gorges in the Xiling Gorge. The tranquil and serene setting that was attained via foot featured a crystal clear river/stream and a beautiful waterfall surrounded by towering forest-covered hills. Old water mills and wooden fishing boats intermingled with intricately carved wooden buildings. People in colorful clothing representative of the local tribe were interspersed along the pathway, some singing, some playing Chinese musical instruments. It was a 2 1/2 mile walk, but the weather was pleasant and we were mesmerized by the beauty as we learned about the culture and customs of the indigenous Tujia people. Arriving back at the cruise boat, we enjoyed a good Chinese dinner. Too tired, Kathy and I skipped the captain’s reception and evening entertainment and went to sleep in our small but comfortable suite. WEG

Today was an exciting day for us because we were going to be able to visit with Kourtnie, a young lady we have known from her childhood. The morning was first spent taking a ride on the world’s only magnetic levitated train (no wheels-it rides on air) where we reached a top speed on 264 mph. Later, we visited a silk worm exhibition center to see the production of this fiber from beginning to end. The Chinese lead the world in silk production and already, in ancient times, cultivated a special mulberry tree with larger leaves and no fruit that gave them an edge in both quantity and quality in their silk products. Later, we visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Center to learn of the vision for this city that is the site of the largest building program in world history. (To get to this part of the city, our tour bus needed to climb a multi-lane spiral highway to reach a massive bridge over a river that cuts through the city.) We then went to the Chinese Cultural Museum where we were to also meet Kourtnie.

Our time with Kourtnie was blessed. We eagerly heard of her ministry with children with disabilities. These are “throw away” children. Because of the strict and enforced family planning in China, a high value is placed on having “perfect” children, and kids with disabilities are often not acceptable, and thus handicapped children are left in dumpsters or abandoned in parks, etc. Kourtnie and the ministry with which she is associated take in these children and, with great sacrifice, take care of them and raise them. There is no hope for adoption. Amazingly, the children are being raised to speak three languages so that they can get a job later in translation or in the service sector, i.e., hotel industry where knowledge of English is highly prized and rarely available. Thank God for people like Kourtnie! We had a delightful time eating an extended and somewhat late lunch and walking in the expansive and beautiful park at People’s Square. We were surrounded with tranquility, beautiful flowers, stands of bamboo and lily pad-covered ponds as we meandered a beautifully tiled walkway. High above us, however, were skyscrapers with amazing architecture. Kourtnie took us back to our hotel on the spotlessly clean subway, after which we said farewell. Oh, yes, we delivered gifts to Kourtnie from her parents. She was a happy girl. WEG

Over the past fifteen years, Shanghai has grown from six million people to 27 million people. To accommodate this growth, the city was totally planned down to the last apartment building. It is awesome! Huge green spaces and beautiful parks with amazing flower plantings frequently dot the landscape. The architecture is creative and modern. We drove for miles amongst 30-50 story apartment buildings with taller skyscrapers forming town centers here and there. It truly is impossible to overemphasize the efficiency of transportation, the distribution of green space, the eye-catching architecture amidst the immense space of this city transversed with rivers and streams. There is nothing cookie cutter in Shanghai.

We spent time at the Hu Gardens—the ancient city home of a wealthy merchant. It is a fine place with many separate and traditional Chinese rooms scattered among the streams and ponds with native vegetation that make this a garden. One quite interesting item on display is one of the most valuable rocks ever discovered. The emperor at the time gambled his kingdom on purchasing the rock, only to have it lost in a storm at sea as it was being brought to land. He spent a fortune having the area searched, but the rock was lost. It was found much later and brought to the Hu Gardens. The rock is a quite large limestone with 74 holes, but each hole is connected individually on the inside so that when water is poured on the top, it follows the interior channel to each hole (one at a time) until it flows out at the bottom. No other such rock is known to exist.

We visited the trendy French Concession with its galleries, boutiques and restaurants set in tree-shaded colonial Shanghai. Across the river, the Pearl Tower, Shanghai’s iconic skyscraper/tower vied for attention with the “beer bottle opener tower,” with its square topped opening at the top, and the 120 story spiraling Shanghai Tower. The “beer bottle opener tower” was designed by a Japanese architect with a round opening, but when it was discovered that the sun streaming through the opening caused a reflection that closely resembled the Japanese flag, the architect was fired and the circle became a square.

After another dim sum dinner, with way more food than was possible to eat, we went to the amazing acrobat arena for a show. Wow! I marveled at the acrobat who balanced on five layers of boards, each layer sitting atop a roller, all the while placing saucers and cups on one foot, only to toss them in the air and catch them on the top of his head. Higher and higher the stack grew. Kathy screamed so loudly when an acrobat on a very high ferris wheel with spinning circular wheels lost his balance at the highest point, that hundreds of people diverted their attention from the acrobat to her, missing the acrobat’s recovery. The theater was built specifically for these world famous acrobats, and the acts were accompanied with laser and light shows and live Chinese instrumentation with a wonderful vocalist. The concluding act with eight lighted motorcycles driving at breakneck speed inside a sphere in synchronized patterns was indeed a showstopper. We were exhausted but fulfilled as the day came to a close. WEG

The Peruvian Highlands

The sight was glorious! Everywhere we looked, we saw snow covered mountain peaks. We were at 12,000 feet up in the Andes,  but the snow covered peaks were 18-20,000 feet in height. Yes, it was a glorious sight! We were in the high meadows of the Incas most of the day. Corn, potatoes, wheat, barley and various beans are grown at these heights which are remote from the world. We traveled on narrow one lane unpaved roads that switchbacked even in the more level areas. There were times that our small tour bus (large buses are not allowed as the roads cannot accommodate them) was on the very edge of the lane with up to 1,000 feet drops into chasms cut into the mountain. Kathy spent a lot of time praying, while I feigned that the tire was part way over the edge.

The Salt Mines of Peru

The Salt Mines of Peru

The Salt Mines of Peru

We stopped at the salt mine in the Andes. It is unique in that it is not an underground mine, but a glorious invention of the pre-Inca natives in the area. There is a salty spring that flows near the mine, and the natives dug shallow pools and lined them with hardened clay and allowed the spring to fill the pools and then let the sun evaporate the water and the dry salt remained. Today, the same techniques are utilized that were in play 3,000 years ago, but on a larger scale. Over 150 tons of salt are exported each year from this mine.

Ollantaytambo Incan Ruins, Peru

We next stopped at another pre-Inca/Inca settlement that is an important archeological site. Not as well known as Manchu Picchu, Ollantaytambo is the oldest continually inhabited pre-Inca/Inca community in existence. Ollantaytambo was at the crossroads where two valleys intersected, and thus, it was a trading center as well as a strategic military site. The ancient stones still remain and the site is an adventure that requires some serious climbing.

Our big destination for the day was a remote mountain village where we were greeted by people of the village in native dress. They played and sang for us and then led us into the village where we had a traditional meal in a private home. It was four courses–appetizer of beans and corn with a spicy pepper sauce; potato corn soup; meat balls with a native sauce, and a dried potato dessert. We then were led into the farm lands where we witnessed the spiritual connection of the Incas with the land and observed a demonstration of mountain farming. There are no mechanical tractors or tools here (cattle with wooden plows) and no pesticides of any kind. At the end of our time in the village, the native people grabbed us by the hand and led us in a native dance. It was a heart-warming experience!

Back at our mountain lodge, the staff brought us out onto the green where they prepared our Pachamanca meal before us, a traditional Peruvian way of cooking with hot stones using the land as an oven. In a large hole, they began to place hot stones  that had been washed with salt and heated for five hours.  On the first layer of stones, the hotel guests placed both white and sweet potatoes, then more stones were placed on top and beef, pork, lamb, and chicken were laced with hot stones. On top of this was placed a soaked reed mat, and on top of that mountain grass, followed by a wet sheet, and on top of that dirt. One hour later we were served an elegant meal on the terrace with a wood burning fireplace and a person in native dress playing native music on a harp. What a treat!

Now it is off to bed because tomorrow, God willing, we go to one of the seven wonders of the modern world–Machu Picchu. WEG