Locks of the Dam
Sorry for the fuzziness of these two shots, but they’re the best I could get. The ill-lit nighttime one shows is taken from our boat, showing all the other boats being shoe- horned into the second (of five) locks of the Three Gorges Dam, at around midnight on the last night of our cruise. Many of us stayed on deck the whole time to watch the process. It’s amazing. It’s now three weeks later, and I didn’t take notes, but if I recall, each lock raises or lowers ships about 22 meters or so, and they’re one after another. Right now, the first lock is not yet functional since the water level has not risen above the level of the second lock yet. Anyway — it was intensely cool, though in an industrial sort of way, not in the beautiful nature of the gorges sort of way. The really fuzzy shot is from the bus after we’d toured the Dam and learned more about it. It shows the step-like progression of the five locks, from outside and downstream.
One has mixed emotions about the dam: having lived through power outages all summer in Nanning, I know China’s need for more power. I also know Americans (and many others) are in no position to criticize China very effectively since we dammed many of our greatest and most beautiful rivers and natural areas (Glen Canyon, anyone) thirty and more years ago. (Quite aside from how greedily Americans consume energy of all origins.) And indeed, the Gorges are still quite awe-inspiring and beautiful as they are — even in the mist — as you’ve seen. Yet how much more awe-inspiring would they be, if they were another 120 meters or so taller than they are now?
The dam itself falls roughly 1/3 of the way into the third gorge, heading downstream. This means the water through the last part of the third gorge is lower, and the height of the cliffs is a bit more dramatic. But, whether due to the dam construction or the relative proximity to a major city (Yichang, where we ended), there are generally more towns and houses through this part than through the other two gorges we went through. Also, perhaps, by that point we knew the trip was nearly over and were ready for our next destination?
Ghost Town or Tourist Trap?
On the first day of our cruise, Steve and I were reminded that tourist traps are neither a purely modern invention, nor restricted to the Ozarks. 🙂 One of these shots is just our boat, taken from high up on the hill where most of the “Ghost Town” is located. Since we had a great time on it, I wanted to commemorate it.
The other shot shows a freaky set of buildings in the shape of a head and sort of arm-like things. It is WAY freaky in reality, and basically it’s one big tacky contraption to get the cruise ships to stop here, and stop they do! For a few hundred years, or perhaps more, locals have been saying there are ghosts and spirits and stuff here. There are a few Republican-era (1911-1949) buildings and temples of moderate (extremely moderate, by comparison with the sites Steve had already seen here in Beijing and that I can see any time I want) interest and taste, and then quite a lot of really tacky and weird stuff. We enjoyed our visit, though. Oh, and I’ll never forget trying to take my nap as our boat purred its way downriver, when Steve said “Ohmigod, Paul, you have GOT to see this.” It was for the scary/tacky white thing on the hill.
Construction & Gates @ Ghost Town
The town that’s attached to this particular tourist trap has been moved uphill twice now — once when the first dam went in during the 70s (?), and again now. Steve thought, as we sat at the bottom of the hill waiting for our group to catch up (I’d pulled us off on our own to view things without the flag-bearing guide because I wanted to see things at my own pace), that I should get a shot of the construction still underway to rebuilt the city in its new location. There’s also construction ongoing for other, new tourist delights to keep folks coming to this area even after the water level has reached its final height. Just think what you’re missing!
Steve & Paul at the Three Gorges Dam
Naturally we had to take shots of ourselves at the dam. It’s quite a massive project. I find, from a dramatic standpoint, the Hoover Dam a bit more breathtaking because it’s so tall and architecturally visible. But this dam is a great deal bigger, and of course holding back a whole lot more water.
Beijing Miscellany :-)
I forgot to post these photos with the group of shots that appear later, from the hikes Steve and I took in the mountains to the north of Beijing. They’re sort of “miscellany” from his last weekend here, when we spent a lovely day at the Summer Palace. My hope is that Steve remembers some of the beauty of the grounds and buildings there, as much as or more than he remembers the dreadful pollution of the day! Those who’ve been watching my blog know how much I love the details and and paintings on roofs and ceilings of many traditional Chinese buildings — hope you enjoy the ceiling-painting shot as much as I do.
Ancient Buddhist Art in Dazu County
Our cruise of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River departed from Chongqing, on Wednesday morning though we were welcome to board Tuesday evening. (Which we did — why pay for a hotel room when you can sleep on a cool ship with a different view of the city?!) Since we arrived in Chongqing Monday morning and had the afternoon to the see the city (a few shots below), we had the full day Tuesday to see what else the region had to offer. I determined by far the most interesting thing for Steve would be the ancient Buddhist caves in Dazu County, an area about 2 or 3 hours outside Chongqing city by bus. So off we set with a Chinese-language tour group I’d arranged through our hotel desk.
These and the shots that follow show you some of the highlights of what we saw. It’s truly remarkable. Though I’ve not yet been to the most-renowned caves at Datong and Dunhuang, one guide said these are almost at that level of historical and artistic importance. I guess I’ll see when I finally make it to them, but Steve and I were both quite inspired and awestruck by the beauty and grace of the art here. Since the giant reclining Buddha is one of the highlights — of many highlights, really — of the area we looked at, I’m leading off with some shots of him. Steve: by the way, I read in another history book over the weekend that the two destroyed at Bamiyan were something like 55 and 30-something meters high. So perhaps you could check your source that said they were well over 100 meters high? If indeed they were 55 and 30-something, then I think this guy, as well as the Boddhisatvas, must be getting into that range, don’t you? In any case, I hope you all enjoy these views!
Images of Dazu
Though Dazu County has numerous sites of ancient Buddhist grottoes and scultpures, we went to the most famous one, basically. It’s situated along a horseshoe-shaped canyon. Here you see a view across the canyon, from one side that’s full of art, to another side. The big Buddha you’ve just seen is near the top of the canyon, on the side we are looking at from in the shot above. The big Boddhisatvas you’ll see in the next set are at the top of the horshoe (or is that the bottom?).
Images of Dazu
These three Boddhisatvas are one of the (many) highlights at Dazu. These are just a bunch more images to give you a sense of the place.
Steve & Paul Do Dazu
Okay, so most of the Dazu photos are about the remarkable art history lessons, and the simply stunning sculptures and other creations. But I know at least some of you want to see some shots of me and Steve (yeah, Mom, I mean you!) So here are a few — and note the one with us standing in front of the head of the giant reclining Buddha — gives you an idea how big the thing is, huh?
Wheel of Life and Others
The round thing is the wheel showing the various fates of life. It’s held by a big demon guy, who looks pretty threatening. The other shots are both — I think, it’s been more than two weeks — from the “levels of creation” panel that you’ll see in a more complete shot shortly. One shows the Buddha, at the highest level of creation; the other shows a wise king who presumably rules over the levels of creation. I hope Professor Dobbins, who taught me Chinese Religion & Philosophy back at Oberlin, will agree when I say that I found this “wise king” concept to be rather un-Buddhist, but rather a quintessentially Chinese syncretism of Confucianism into Buddhism.
Levels of Creation & Sinners at Dazu
One thing that struck me at Dazu is how different the conception of Buddhism shown there is from that which many of us PC-type Americans are often attracted to. Here at Dazu, you see instead visions of sinners suffering in lower levels of creation, and indeed a whole canyon face devoted to the different levels of creation. In these three photos, you see the faces of some unhappy sinners who’ve lived the wrong kind of life, and the canyon side given over to the levels of creation diorama. I was very struck by the quality of the sculpture – note the realism in the face of the woman who’s suffering from her sinful ways.
The Scale of Things
These two shots were intended to give you a sense of scale. These are some truly big sculptures, paintings, and engravings!
(so much world, so little time....) 