Cruising the Yangtze and Exploring the Ghost City

  Fengdu, China
Tuesday, August 24, 2010

March 25, 2008
Day 3

I had another awesome day today! This morning I was awakened by music being piped into my room. It was beautiful traditional Chinese music called "Butterfly Lovers Concerto". This morning the ship had a Taiji class which was really interesting. I'm sure we all did it completely wrong, but it was still fun and very soothing. I think I am going to sign up for a class when I get home. After Taiji I went to breakfast. It was buffet style and had a large selection of Western and Chinese breakfast foods. I ate too much, but it didn't matter because I definitely worked it off later in the day. After breakfast, we had a safety, orientation, and river briefing. Immediately afterward there was a Traditional Chinese Medicine demonstration by the ship's doctor. He talked about the differences between Chinese and Western medicines. He also talked about the concept of Chinese traditional medicines, and taught us about acupuncture and massage therapy. I was really impressed with his professionalism, and presentation. Apparently the doctor has been this ship's doctor for over ten years. He showed us different points on the body which can help different kinds of headaches. It really seemed to work. When the doctor and his assistant showed us where they were, and then walked around helping us make sure we had the right points. I often suffer from eye strain headaches, and when the doctor rubbed on the point to fight eyestrain headaches, I felt my headache disappear. He then demonstrated acupuncture on the Welsh man I had met the night before. He stuck a needle in the man's leg, and the guy said he felt no pain at all. I often suffer from tendonitis in my elbow, so after the demonstration when the doctor opened the floor to questions, I asked about it. He felt my arm and immediately found the problem. I figured I would make an appointment and see what acupuncture was really like. After that, a woman came out to talk about Chinese Herbal Facial Demonstration. It was really interesting. I then went outside only to find that the ship had set sail. I hadn't even felt it. I was really surprised. We were under way, and I had no idea. Sea sickness would never be a problem onboard one of these ships. After taking a few photos, I went down to lunch. It was another buffet lunch and again, it was really good. I was surprised at the variety, and quality of it. After, I went back to my cabin for a bit of a rest. In the afternoon, we went to Fengdu Ghost City. We disembarked, and our guide led us up a lot of stairs. I mean a lot. There were chairs available for people to ride up. The chairs were mounted on two long bamboo poles and with a man in front, and a man in back, the rider was quickly brought up the steps. I walked. At the top of the hill, we took an electric car up to the base of the large temple system that is the Ghost City. The Ghost City is a series of temples, dedicated to reminding people to be good so they won't go to hell. Each beautiful temple visited while climbing the mountain, had many tests to judge whether a person was good, or evil. The guide explained it well, and it was quite interesting to learn about this temple complex. At the top of the hill was the temple dedicated to the king of the underworld. He is not a bad buy like in the west, but a judge of whether a person is worthy to go to heaven. Of course if deemed not worthy, he will be tortured for all eternity. My appointment to see the doctor was scheduled after, so I went to his office and received acupuncture, and massage therapy. The many needles stuck into my arm did not hurt at all actually. The doctor stuck them into my arm almost two inches, and I didn't feel it. I had to look down to see if he had actually stuck them into me. After he removed them, I received a massage. The whole process took over an hour, and I definitely felt better after. The doctor showed me where to massage my arm, and said to do it twice a day. I had dinner after my visit to the doctor, and it was again delicious. In the evening, the ships had a show called the "Sheena Follies". It consisted of songs, and dances performed by the ship's crew members. The show started with six girls dressed in beautiful traditional qipao. They were beautiful. They danced very gracefully. When they finished dancing, one of them played a Chinese musical instrument called a Guzheng. It sounded so beautiful, and the graceful movements of the girl playing just added to the beauty. Then three girls danced a minority dance with traditional hats. After them, a group of chefs came out and danced a really funny dance portraying what they do in the kitchen. After, Candy, the girl bartender I met last night, sang a song during the show. She sang very beautifully! Then a Xinjiang Province dance was done to traditional music. After the performance, I went to the bar, where Candy was already working behind the bar. She says she just sings for a hobby. She could probably do it professionally. There are four people who work in the bar, and yesterday I met them and talked to them a bit, and today, they all have remembered my name, and make a point of greeting me every time they see me. I am really impressed by the crew on this ship. They really go out of their way to be friendly and helpful. After, I headed back to my room I took a shower and sat down to write this.