Tartan Teachers Take a Journey on the Yangtze

We saw towns that weren’t there. We saw towns that were there. We saw towns filled with ghosts. And we saw towns filled with tremendous history and living souls. We did this all in a four-day excursion down the incredible Yangtze River in central China. From Oct. 5-8, three fumbling American teachers and one hesitant seventh-grader sailed through the scenic Three Gorges from Chongqing to Yichang.

The October break week allowed four of us—a 12-year-old, Anna, her mother, Sheryl, a technology teacher, her art teacher, Patty, and her father, Daniel, an English teacher, to be spoiled and mesmerized aboard the Victoria Selina. Teaching at BISS in Beijing has been a rewarding experience. The students and the colleagues are fantastic, but after 10 weeks of acclimation to a new school and new culture, we needed a break. After listening to advice from our kids, our coworkers and our travel agent, we determined that the best use of our resources was to stay in China but escape the haze of Beijing. We are fascinated by the culture and the foods of Beijing, and we love the people we interact with daily at BISS, but it was time to run away for a bit.

After Anna resolved herself to the fact that she would be stuck on board a boat with only her parents and her teacher for company (after all what kid wouldn’t love to go on holiday from school with her teacher) she discovered there were a number of things available to entertain even the most cynical preteen.

We set sail (so to speak) the evening of the 5th for Fengdu. The next morning we toured the famous ghost town. We were all pleased when we passed the various tests and returned from “hell." The day was replete with explanations of Chinese historical colors and symbolism. Did you know that blue represents hell and red represents heaven? Did you know that the ghosts of all Chinese must pass through the gates in the Ghost City to receive their eternal reward? Did you know that the sculpted scenes of Chinese hell make Dante’s Inferno look like a Disneyland ride?

The third day on the ship brought the chance to take excursions in progressively smaller boats up to see the hanging coffins and the whitewater rapids. Fifty years ago this section of water was only manageable with the aid of heavily muscled, naked boat trackers who pulled the boats upstream. The Yangtze River Dam project eliminated the need for these men. Now many of them, or their sons and grandsons worked as river guides for the tour boats. Unfortunately, according to Patty and Sheryl, it also removed the need to be naked. Oh, the price of progress.

The fourth day brought us to the locks and dam. Words and pictures cannot do justice to the massive size of the project. The work has taken nearly 20 years to complete. It is not yet finished, but it is providing 3 percent of China’s current power needs. It is easy to scoff at 3 percent until it is put in perspective. That’s 3 percent of the needs of a billion people in a radically expanding economy. The five-stage locks which raise and lower ships past the dam are themselves an awesome sight. The dam itself is so big that on a slightly hazy day such as the day we were there, you could not see to the other side. This particular portion of our journey could be appreciated by those impressed by the power of nature and the ingenuity of people in harnessing that power.

In between the shore trips, we ate. Wow, did we eat! Buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners featuring the best of both the East and the West. We were served everything from lasagna to Asian noodle dishes to omelets to steaks to tremendous stir-fries. That was probably Daniel’s favorite part of the holiday. During the day, when we weren’t ashore, they offered to educate us: the history of the river, Chinese medicine, Chinese language, ecology of the surrounding areas. At night they entertained us: cabarets, talent shows, historical singing and dancing.

When we boarded the plane in Yichang, we congratulated ourselves for finding a holiday that completely satisfied both of our needs: we explored an historic and amazing part of central China and we relaxed in comfort without completely retreating to some ex-pat compound. Eventually, we will succumb to the need to return to an area that is entirely familiar to us, but not yet. There is too much to do and see in this world.