After leaving Shanghai, we went on a four-day cruise up the Yangtze River on the Yangzi Explorer.  We sailed through three gorges:  the Xiling, Wu and Qutang.   Like many other passengers, we spent a lot of time on the observation deck, enjoying the beautiful scenery and taking pictures.

The Three Gorges Dam was built on the Yangtze River to prevent flooding, generate power and improve navigation.  Because of the dam, a series of five locks were constructed.  We visited a park to see the dam, but it was so hazy, it was hard to see.  I have posted the picture I took as well as one the Yangzi photographer took on another day (probably a day after it had rained).

After returning to our ship from the park, we went through the locks.  First, six large ships maneuvered into the lock area.  We were side-by-side another passenger ship.  Freight ships entered the lock behind us.  The gates to the lock were shut and the water level raised.  It took only eight minutes for the water to reach the required height.  Then the gates opened and we were ready to enter the next lock.

One of our excursions  was riding on a sampan poled by Tujia boatmen in the Shennong Stream.  This allowed us to enter a Yangtze tributary to see “lesser” gorges.  Before the dam was constructed, the boatmen needed to pull boats through the shallow parts of the river.  This is no longer necessary, but was re-enacted by our boatmen during the excursion.