Yichang

It was hot and humid in Yichang, and the tour group had not really got to know each other yet, and the last thing we wanted was to stop and see a temple ...

We went for a bit of a walk along this pathway cut into the river cliff - we saw pathways like this all along the river in the next few days.

Then we were all glad of a chance to wash our faces and hands in some fresh spring water that we drew from a little well with a metal bucket, and then we rested and watched a bit of a shadow puppet play.

Dam it all

We went to see the dam - still being built, not due to be finished until 2009. We were expecting to be very impressed. We had even been told we would see a lot of military personnel there (and even a missile) protecting it.

But what with the murk, and the crowds (it was May holiday Tuesday), it was a bit of a damp squib. Even our guide was quite overwhelmed by the crowds and didn't attempt to show us much or explain anything - we didn't even try to go in the museum place - she just gave us a few minutes free time and then we wandered through the maze of buses in the parking lot until we found ours.

I don't have any idea what was the significance of these tall fellows. They were blowing around crazily in the wind. There was also a big blow-up chap a bit like "Bob, the Builder" who was walking around mingling with the crowd but we didn't get near him.

Lock up

To get from one side of the dam to the other the ships (and there are hundreds of them) go through a "two-way five-step lock". We boarded the ship on the lower side, and so we had the pleasure of this three-hour process.

Here we are just entering the first of the five locks. You can see the water level on the outside (left) and then how high the water will be once it rises on the other side of the gates.

Entering the first lock was the slowest part. Eight boats/ships crammed in together.

And then the huge gates slowing closed.

The ships each tied up to the bollocks in slots in the sides of the lock. As soon as the water started to rise (quite quickly) the place was filled with an eerie screeching sound of these bollocks sliding up in the slots.

Three hours and four more locks later, and more than a hundred metres higher, the ships come pouring out of the lock.

Yep, imagine what the fumes were like inside the locks!