Day 9 - Off the Ship and on to a Train!

Today we will be visiting the Dam site and the museum that chronicles the history of the largest development project in China. After breakfast, we got off the ship into two buses which will take us to the dam site. The ride to the site took about 30 minutes. While we were not allowed to visit the actual dam, we were in a very large and beautiful park and museum that commemorates the history of this project. We could also get beautiful views of the actual dam as well as the ship locks from this vantage location. The museum was quite extensive in its documentation and depiction of the sacrifices Chinese people made to complete this mammoth project. Nearly 1.2 million people living on the upstream side of the dam, were relocated to higher grounds as the reservoir behind the dam is slowly filling up and will reach its final height of 178 meters in 2009. The dam itself is a tribute to Chinese engineers and its design is one of the most advanced in dam construction. They are now proud that the once mighty Yangtze River, the source of countless destruction over many centuries, has finally been tamed and put to use for the economic benefit of the people. It is a show case that they never fail to impress upon western tourists. For them, the construction of this dam elevates them to a technologically superior position, a far cry from the notion that China is poor and underdeveloped. Throughout my travel in China, I was making mental comparison between China and India in terms of their engineering capabilities. Looking at the technology they have employed in rebuilding many of the suspension bridges over Yangtze, that needed to be raised from their former locations, the super highways that connect the countries' major business centers, the only maglev (magnetic levitation) train in the world that can travel over 300 mph between Shanghai airport and the city center, the orderly urban development and above all the fanatic obsession with cleanliness - all left me with a feeling that they have used the oppressive communist methods to transform the whole country in a very short period of time.

After the visit to the dam site, our bus took us back to the ship for the final run to Yichang which was about an hour away from the dam site. Just as we disembarked the ship,  we were greeted by very colorfully clad local dancing teams to bid us good bye. For us it iwas an experience of life time. We were met at the exit by our next Chinese tour guide in Yichang. We had decided to take a train between Yichang and Xian which is our next destination. We wanted to experience travel in China as the Chinese do and taking a train seemed to be a very good idea. It was lunch time now and our first order of business was to get lunch.  Our train does not leave until 4:30 pm. Our guide as usual , wanted to take us for some local sight seeing and shopping. Once again we preferred to stay at a nice cool comfortable place rather than run around in the hot sun. Our guide then took us to a coffee bar in the middle of town. We sat there in air-conditioned comfort and as a bonus I was told that I get free unlimited internet access. So I decided to catch up with all my e-mail in the last ten days while my wife was chatting with the guide. We were supposed to be at the train station 30 minutes before departure. Yichang station had a special waiting room for foreign tourists. Our guide dropped us off there at 4:00 pm and informed to attendant to make sure we get on the correct train.

Like in India, trains are the most common means of transportation in China. There are only 4 classes - Hard Seat, Soft Seat, Hard Sleeper and Soft Sleeper. All trains are fully air-conditioned and therefore we did not have to pay extra for that comfort. We had requested soft sleeper in a compartment that sleeps four, hoping that we will get to travel with some interesting Chinese folks. We could have gotten a compartment for only two at a little extra cost, which most foreigners do. Our journey from Yichang to Xian will take 17 hours and cover a distance of 1000 miles. We were warned by our guide that the food on board may not suit us and therefore we decided to get some snacks in a supermarket on our way to the station.

The train promptly pulled into the station, and our attendant helped us to find our compartment and board our train. The soft sleeper was quite comparable to the Indian Railways first class sleeper. We were hoping that our travel mates would be a Chinese couple who can speak English. However, two very young employees of the Railways walked into our compartment. They spoke absolutely no English and the only means of communication between us was by sign language. They told us that they were going home for short holiday on free passes the employees get. Smoking is widely prevalent in China and is perhaps allowed in trains. We did not want to take any chances and told these young fellows that they have to go out , if they want to smoke. They accepted our mandate very politely! Since we could not engage in any conversation with these guys, Chandra and I decided to spend the time watching the scenery go by. When it got dark, we decided to eat our snacks and tuck into our beds. They gave us spotlessly white duvets, blankets and pillows. Each bed had its own reading lamp. So we decided to climb into our beds and read for a while until we were coddled into sleep by the rhythmic clanking of the rails.

Again, the train journey in China reinforced my very positive impressions on the progress they have achieved for their people. The four class system and the fact that every seat is reserved, assured no over crowding on trains. There is a cleaning crew which constantly sweeps the hallways even during the night. There is a lot of privacy as the compartments have doors and you can close them if you want to be left alone.

The train reached our destination of Xian on time. The station was very crowded and chaotic. We managed to find our way to the exit and there we were met by our local Chinese guide for Xian, the home of the famous terracotta warriors and one of the greatest archeological finds of this century. More on that in my next episode.