Trip to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, which I have admired for a long time, finally got an opportunity to travel. On the 14th of this month, I joined a villager tour group in Wuyang Town, Nanchang County, and started a three-day trip. The prosperous farmers are no longer the farmers of the old era who faced the loess and turned their backs to the sky. They are already seeking new noble lifestyles. In addition to square dancing, tourism is also one of them. Several retired village cadres and primary school students are also traveling together. Retired teacher Zhou is participating in a pure play group that does not go into shopping stores.

We boarded the bus from Nanchang County at 6 am. The 35-seater bus lasted 10 hours and arrived at the destination of Yichang City at 4 pm. The vast highway and the dazzling scenery along the way always make people excited. .

During the whole ride, Teacher Zhou was the pistachio in the car. He was not tall and very talkative. He kept making jokes on the road, which enlivened the dull atmosphere of the long ride and became the central figure in the car. Mr. Yang, who was sitting next to me in the last row, was very confused by the large expanses of grassland on the highway in Xianning City, Hubei Province. How much food would these fields produce?

"There must be some treacherous officials who abandoned the land, concealed the truth, and failed to report it." Mr. Yang said.

"You know nothing! This is wetland protection and a need to restore the ecology. Not all land can be used to grow food." Teacher Zhou retorted.

"Maybe this large grassland is the flood discharge area and nothing can be planted." I said.

Farmers who have been farming for generations have a very deep affection for the land. Mr. Yang is heartbroken about the losses caused by these tens of thousands of acres of wasteland. After all, food is the most important thing for the people. Although he is eating peasant food, he still cares about the provincial governor. As the saying goes, everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world.

Before the trip, we had planned to visit the Three Kingdoms Ancient City and Museum in Jingzhou. However, when passing by Jingzhou, the bus showed no intention of stopping and kept driving forward. It was not until we passed Jingzhou that I asked what was going on. Then it was said that the itinerary had changed. The scenic spots in Jingzhou were under renovation and the scenic spots had been changed, which was a bit surprising.

Entering Yichang City, a short young man in his thirties wearing a bright light green jacket came up. The team leader introduced that this was the tour guide for this trip. The tour guide introduced himself with a grand local accent: "My surname is Xiang. You can call me guide or Xiao Xiang. I will provide tour guide services for you in the next three days. Welcome everyone to visit the Three Gorges." "The guide spoke word by word, in a low volume and slowly. I sat in the last row. If I hadn't listened carefully, I would have no idea what he said. Compared with the tour guide in my impression, a tour guide should be a young and beautiful girl who is articulate, fluent in Mandarin, lively, young and beautiful. However, the current tour guide has subverted the three senses and feels less like a tour guide and more like a leading cadre.

"Now everyone, look to the left. This is the Yangtze River. We will come here to take a boat at this cruise terminal the day after tomorrow. Yichang City is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province. It has jurisdiction over 13 districts and counties and covers an area of ??21,000 square kilometers. , with a population of 4 million and a total regional output value of more than 420 billion." Before the guide could finish speaking slowly, there was already a lot of noise in the car. Some said they saw the bridge, some said they saw the big ship, and some were in the aisle. Delivering snacks to your neighbor feels like a farmer's market.

"Please be quiet and respect me, okay?!" the guide was anxious. Loud passengers seemed ignored. "Our little voices are speechless." Someone among the passengers responded. The guide stood there speechless and motionless. The passengers in front reminded loudly: "Just be quiet and listen to the guide!" Then it became a little quieter. Seeing that the silence was not as expected, the tour guide looked displeased and simply sat down in the tour guide's seat and said nothing more.

The bus arrived at Gezhouba Park and found a place to park. The guide said that everyone should take a look at the riverside scenery along the river. The day after tomorrow, he will take everyone to experience the rising water and the boat will go over the dam. We will meet again in half an hour. The tour guide finished. Then disappeared.

Along the river, on the other side is a small island with an area of ??several square kilometers. There are many high-rise buildings, the most prominent of which is the Gezhouba Municipal Building. This river is a branch of the Yangtze River and is home to the Gezhouba Project.

Construction of the dam started in May 1971 and was completed in December 1988. The dam is 47 meters high, has a storage capacity of 1.58 billion cubic meters, and generates an average of 14 billion kWh of electricity annually.

It may be because of the cloudy weather. It was only around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and it felt like it was getting dark. Some village girls and beauties took the time to take pictures on Douyin, while others quickly moved forward to look for them. Went to the toilet. They were so open-minded in a strange place, and they didn't even feel like they were in a strange place. They seemed to be people who had seen the world. There are many local residents walking, playing chess, and badminton along the river bank. There is also a group of people singing songs to welcome the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The river bank is very lively.

This is a free attraction. Take the time to take photos and get on the bus. Half an hour later you will arrive at the small tourist hotel where you will have dinner. The cost of this trip is 600 yuan, which provides two breakfasts, two dinners, and two nights of accommodation in a standard room. Other meals are at your own expense. The dinner arrangement was basically quite sumptuous, not as bad as expected.

As soon as I put down my backpack at the travel agency, Meizi’s (wife)’s friend called me and asked me to go downstairs for a walk. At this time, the sunset also came out, and the beautiful clouds in the sky were so colorful that I couldn’t miss it. Meizi and I hurriedly took our folding umbrellas and went downstairs. We were a little confused as to how to take the route to see the city scenery. I turned on my phone and quickly checked Baidu Maps. I already knew in my heart that this is my strength. There is no need to use overkill to activate the outdoor assistant. Along the Huangbai River, Dingjiaba Bridge, and Jijin Bridge, we took photos and enjoyed the scenery. Teacher Zhou and I also climbed a hill on the riverside, called Shanshui Yunjian - Yongshu Pavilion. It took nearly 5 hours in a circle. After several kilometers, we didn’t return to the hotel until around 8 o’clock in the evening. My feet were tired from walking.

Breakfast started at 7 a.m. the next day. There was no restaurant in the hotel, so we bought it from outside. One serving per person, 2 vegetable buns, an egg, and a cup of soy milk. After breakfast, we set off. It started to rain lightly and the wind was chilly, but everyone’s enthusiasm was heightened by the cool breeze. There are 5 scenic spots in today’s itinerary, the first one is Leizu Temple. After arriving at the scenic spot, the guide handed us over to the tour guide in the temple (hereinafter referred to as the temple guide). It was already raining heavily, and many people rushed to buy plastic shoe covers worth 10 yuan a pair. Meizi also bought a pair.

According to legend, Leizu was born in Xiling Kingdom 5,000 years ago, which is now Yiling in Yichang. She was a beautiful, smart, and kind-hearted girl. One day she discovered a kind of mulberry fruit, and the girl saw silk. It was tough and light, so he woven clothes for his parents, and gradually mastered the skills of raising silkworms and weaving. The news spread, and the Yellow Emperor also came to Xiling Kingdom. The two fell in love at first sight. After Leizu married the Yellow Emperor, he assisted the Yellow Emperor in his achievements. Founded the country and became a great historical giant that inherited the ancient civilization from the ancient times.

Even though it was raining heavily, there were so many tourists that the bus was full in front of the temple, so people had to enter in batches. The temple guide said loudly: "When you enter the temple, don't take pictures, don't make loud noises, and don't step on the threshold with your feet. You have to lift your feet to pass. It's just a door, but it's just a hurdle." The temple guide started to speak eloquently. Recommend Leizu.

After crossing the threshold, a huge statue of Leizu Buddha appeared in front of us. She was sitting firmly on the Buddhist altar, with a kind face, a calm demeanor, and her concentration, as if she wanted to use magic to save all living beings and save the people from fire and water. The temple guide said that many people died when the Gezhou Dam was built. Since the Leizu Temple was built, no one died during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Leizu was very effective. Those who are sincere can go to the second floor to ask for Leizu’s blessings. As long as 20 yuan, you can make a divination to eliminate risks.

At this time, I gently pulled Meizi’s clothes to signal her not to fall into the trap. Meizi ignored it and believed it. A dozen people followed the temple guide to the second floor and then closed the door. , there was a female "master" who was over 50 years old. She asked Meizi's zodiac sign, looked at her face, and said that Meizi had a prosperous husband, and that she was the one who had the final say in the family, and that her husband was noble, but her eyebrows Looking at the time, it seems that there are still a lot of worries. If I can predict the price of 2999 yuan or 1999 yuan, my son's postgraduate entrance examination will go more smoothly, and possible problems at home can be resolved.

Mei Zi shook her head quickly and said, "My husband is still outside the door. I want to discuss it with him." The master said, "Don't you have the final say at home? Then go and discuss it before you come to me. ." Mei Zi pulled away and left.

When I saw her coming out, I asked with displeasure on my face: "You idiot, have they succeeded in brainwashing? How much did they fool you?" Meizi replied: "Don't talk nonsense, you will offend the gods. It only cost 20 yuan on the second floor, and I donated 10 yuan to burn incense on the first floor. "Haha, I confirmed that I basically didn't get caught. Some of her fellow travelers who came out later were persuaded to donate 899 yuan, 699 yuan, and 299 yuan, but no one paid her any attention. Oops, it’s really difficult to make a fortune from my ancestors.

After leaving Leizu Temple, the next stop is Quyuan Temple. Along the way, the guide told everyone interesting stories about the Three Gorges area. It is said that there was a big leader whose calligraphy skills were not very good, but he liked to write inscriptions. When he inscribed the Yiling Yangtze River Bridge and Xiling Yangtze River Bridge, he actually wrote "Yiling Yangtze River Hot Pot" and "Xiling Yangtze River Hot Pot". Yichang Sanshan Airport It was written as "Yichang Three Gorges Machine Soup", which aroused ridicule from the local people and had to be corrected later. I also laughed after hearing this story.

When you arrive at Qu Yuan’s hometown scenic spot, you must have your temperature taken and wear a mask before entering, and then take a battery car to your destination in less than ten minutes. Qu Yuan's hometown scenic spot is located in Zigui New County, covering an area of ??500 acres. The straight-line distance from the Three Gorges Dam is only 600 meters. The scenic spot uses the theme of promoting Qu Yuan's patriotism and traditional Chinese culture to create a series of connotative tourism products. This is an open land close to the Yangtze River. The mountains on the opposite side are rolling and steep, and the trees are lush and green. White clouds and mist hover motionless halfway up the mountain. The back (downstream) of the majestic Three Gorges appears in front of you, like a fairyland on earth.

The door plate of the ancestral hall located at the foot of the mountain is carved with dragons and phoenixes. The inscriptions "Lonely Loyal and Fragrant" and "Light Conquers the Sun and the Moon" are particularly eye-catching. The ancillary buildings are like white clouds surrounding the ancestral hall. If there is a large scenic spot, there is only one tour group of ours. The guide slowly introduced Qu Yuan Temple to everyone in his unique voice: "This majestic Qu Yuan Temple complex was copied from Qu Yuan's hometown. Due to the construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir, the original one has been submerged. Qu Yuan was a great man. In the famous lyric poem "Li Sao", there is a famous line, "The road is long and long, I will search up and down." Before the guide could finish the word "suo", there was a burst of sound in the crowd. There was a commotion, the tourists were talking much louder than the tour guide, people were taking photos, talking and laughing according to their own preferences, appearing free and casual and completely ignoring the tour guide.

"Do you listen or not? You like taking pictures, don't you? Just take them, I won't talk anymore!" The guide was furious, turned around and walked away. A large group of people did not enter Qu Yuan Temple and walked in the opposite direction. On the riverside, we went to take pictures of landscape paintings. Only a few people, including Teacher Zhou and I, continued to climb the steps and enter the ancestral hall to visit. Without the tour guide's introduction, I had to take a lot of photos, especially pictures with text information, so that I could bring them back and enjoy them myself.

Looking at the time, it was almost eleven o'clock. We hurried down the mountain, walked out of the ancestral hall and came to the square. We saw the tour guide sitting alone and impatiently on the steps of the square with his head lowered. "How old are you, young man?" I asked. "36 years old," the guide said. "Haha, I can't tell. I thought you were only about 28 years old. The feng shui of the Three Gorges is good." The guide smiled. This was the first time I saw him smile. I continued: "From now on, when you talk about your story, don't be disturbed by them. Some people are willing to listen, and some are not willing to listen. This is normal, because some are interested and some are not, right? You can't Ask everyone to walk together." The guide nodded slightly and agreed with great reluctance. Looking at the tourists having fun playing Douyin by the river in the distance, I added: "Their interest is Douyin. If they don't get on the bus, they will keep doing it like this. Time is running out. Let's go quickly." So I I called and waved to the distance, indicating that I should go quickly. It was almost half past eleven, and the sun had already shot down from the clouds to the earth. I felt a little bit hot, and I was also a little hungry.

The battery car continued to drive to the next stop, Qu Yuan’s hometown, and arrived in a few minutes.

The guide said that it is said that Zigui County was named after Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan had an older sister. Before Qu Yuan was exiled, she rushed back to comfort her younger brother. Her feelings and scenes were deeply touching. In order to show respect for this virtuous sister, later generations changed the name of the county to "Sister Gui", which later evolved into the current "Zigui".

Qu Yuan was born in Leping, a city with beautiful mountains and rivers. He was a visionary and outstanding politician, the first great poet in the history of Chinese literature, and the "first-rate talent" in the Three Gorges area. He was worried about the country and the people, and finally threw himself into the Miluo River to die for his country. In order to prevent his body from being eaten by fish, people rushed to throw rice dumplings into the river. This is the origin of eating rice dumplings and rowing dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival.

"Then Wang Zhaojun's tombstone is also here. Are they husband and wife?" someone asked.

The guide said: "No, they are from different dynasties, more than two hundred years apart. Wang Zhaojun is the daughter of a county official in Xingshan County. Her family is in Wangjiawan, Baoping Village, in Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Yuan, he was elected to the palace at the age of 16. The emperor's favored maids at that time had a stipulation that the painter's portrait should be handed over to the emperor for review. The emperor liked it and then summoned it in person. Since Wang Zhaojun's family did not bribe the painter, the painter deliberately An unlucky mole was painted on his face, which caused the emperor to ignore him. In 33 BC, the leader of the Huns came to Beijing to discuss peace, and the emperor gave Wang Zhaojun to him. When he saw Wang Zhaojun's beautiful face, the emperor regretted it, and found out the reason. After Zhaojun left the border, Teacher Zhou and a few others were listening intently and saw that the battery car was already full of people. , and kept urging us to leave quickly. The guide looked at the people in the car with disdain. This time the guide was not disturbed by the surrounding environment and spoke seriously and carefully. I felt that he was a well-informed person. This made me I regained some goodwill towards him.

After walking out of the scenic spot, we stopped for a while to take photos at a newly built internet celebrity spot, and then went to have Chinese food.

After lunch, the highlight of the trip will be in the afternoon, visiting the Three Gorges Dam. Tourists from all over the world gathered here and formed a long, endless queue. It was roughly estimated that there were tens of thousands of people, mostly middle-aged people, especially the elderly. I also paid special attention to see if there were any people in the crowd. Foreigners, in the end, not a single one was seen. The security check is particularly strict, and ID cards, anti-epidemic code scans, and masks are all indispensable. Almost all checkpoints are guarded by soldiers with guns. The location of the most important weapon of the country makes people feel that it is not trivial.

I don’t know how many times I changed buses and took several mountaineering elevators, and finally arrived at the Three Gorges Dam Observation Deck. Standing on the top of the mountain, you can see the majestic Three Gorges Dam in all directions. From a high position, you can see the clouds and rain in Wushan being cut off from a distance, and the turbulent Yangtze River water that has been running for many years is finally at the mercy of the Chinese people. This is not only a great project of the Chinese people, but also a display of the great power of mankind. The high gorges and flat lakes have benefited the descendants of the Yan and Huang Dynasties, and the wishes of many generations of Chinese leaders have been realized. At this moment, how much excitement and heroism are beyond words.

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River starts from Baidi City, Fengjie County, Chongqing City in the west, and ends at Nanjinguan, Yichang City, Hubei Province in the east, with a total length of 193 kilometers. Along the way, there are steep peaks and cliffs on both sides of the river. From west to east, there are the Qutang Gorge, which is connected end to end. , Wu Gorge, Xiling Gorge. Construction started in December 1994 and was connected to the grid for power generation in August 2003. The power generation in 2020 was 111.8 billion kilowatt-hours, which is 10 billion kilowatt-hours more than the power generation of the Itaipu Hydropower Station in South America, which is the second largest in the world. The guide said that the Three Gorges Power Station's daily income is 100 million yuan.

Not wanting to miss any part of the scenery, everyone rushed to take photos with the foundation stone of the dam site, posing in various classic poses with the dam as the background, as if to tell the world that the Chinese who own the Three Gorges Dam, The waist is hard.

Go down the asphalt road at the top of the mountain, and after a short drive, you will arrive at the River Closure Memorial Park. There are cone-shaped boulders used for water closure, construction machinery with wheels nearly 2 people tall, and high-voltage ceramic insulation more than 5 meters high. There are pillars, a miniature version of the Three Gorges Dam, etc., all just to leave behind that magnificent history.

The end of the walk is to see the Three Gorges Dam up close, with high mountains and deep valleys, calm waves and calm winds, a drop of 175 meters, huge energy, and several iron towers with high-voltage lines leading from the generator room. The guide said that people in the Three Gorges cannot use Three Gorges electricity because the 500,000 volt high voltage cannot be converted into low voltage for civilian use locally. There is no applicable transformer, and power can only be supplied to Shanghai, East China and other places. The local people use it from Dujiangyan Power Station. The call came.

The last day's itinerary is to start from Yichang Port and sail upstream along the Yangtze River, ending at the Dam Pier. The voyage is about 45 kilometers and takes 4 hours. The green and rapid Yangtze River flows down the canyon, nourishing the land of China. The scenery on both sides of the strait is wonderful and diverse, just like walking in a charming landscape gallery. The fresh and moist air nourishes the people on both sides.

This is a four-story luxury cruise ship that can carry more than 1,000 people. Entering the ship feels like entering a five-star hotel. It is magnificent and magnificent. The lobby can accommodate hundreds of people. There are VIP seats upstairs. The cheaper ones are 268 yuan per table in the lobby, and 688 yuan or more in private rooms. The top view is the best, but it costs 40 yuan per person. The tour guide kindly reminded us not to go to the top floor. There is no point in wasting money. The third and fourth floors have the same effect. Same. In order to enjoy the scenery, I have been going back and forth on the front and rear decks on the second and third floors to take pictures of the scenery on both sides of the river. It seems that there are endless smoke and clouds in Wushan and endless rivers.

When passing Gezhouba, I saw the ship lock slowly opening, and the cruise ship sailed into the channel from the low water level. Then the huge gate slowly closed, and the water level rose rapidly until it was level with the upper reaches. The cruise ship set off. Exit the channel and complete the gate crossing. I asked the tour guide of another group how big the water level difference was. He said it was 22 meters. Tourists continued to express their admiration. Some said this way of crossing the boat was clever, and some said it was eye-opening.

Near noon, the cruise ship was about to reach its destination. The gentle voice of the female announcer came: "Three Gorges people have lived on the mountainside for generations and have no fields. How do they make a living? There are three sources. Plant some on the mountain. , pick some from the trees, fish some from the water, this is how our ancestors have come here. There are agricultural products brought by the governor and the mayor. Now there is a limited time discount of 15 minutes, 100 yuan for three pieces, including roast duck and Tujia roast. The prices of pork and tea will return to their original prices in 15 minutes. Please go to the service counters on the first, second and third floors to purchase. "Many people actually bought it. This is a good deed for the people of Three Gorges. The cruise ship finally docked at 12:03 minutes, successfully ending the trip to the Three Gorges.