Friday, June 1, 2012

Day Twelve – The Ghost City


The violent and torturous eternity of hell was facing us around every corner as we made our way up the 400 steps leading to the devil himself. Careful now, men step with the left foot first, women with the right, is it superstition or caution making us follow these procedures?

For the last day of our cruise along the Yangtze we awoke at 7 for breakfast and then made our way to the dock for a short walk to the Ghost City. First though, we had to cross the inevitable tourist gauntlet of souvenir salesmen and food hawkers.

 
Fengdu, or the "Ghost City," is a group of temples depicting hell on earth. It is said that all people are going there after death. Much of the Ghost City was submerged by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and what we visited is mainly a reconstructed depiction of the original Tang Dynasty village.


 
This half-ball weighs 200 kg and it is said that only honorable men can roll it three times around the circle and then lift it to a balance point on the spindle. One of our group tried but was not able to get it even off the ground an inch, I guess I'll steer clear of him! The man pictured does this trick for a living.


 
This picture shows Lucie rubbing a calligraphy sculpture for good luck! Women use your right hand, men your left!
 
This cute little girl was looking for her own luck.
 
This shot of a dragon wrapped around a pole was very cool.
 
Near the top we had to make our way through a walkway guarded by statues depicting the 12 sins of man (and women). These are a couple of them, can you guess their sins?

 
These are two judges that everyone must pass before meeting the devil himself. The devils chamber was relocated in its entirety before the dam allowing us to visit this 1,500 year old structure.

 
Finally, if the devil decides to recruit you, your destiny awaits in gruesome torture and dismemberment.

 
From the very top, the view was breathtaking.
 
Our return to the ship was significantly easier going downhill. Back on board, Lucie offered to treat for me to a Chinese massage which they were providing by appointment through the SPA on board. I happily accepted and made an appointment for 2 o'clock that afternoon. A Chinese massage is very physical in that the masseuse, a young lady of about 90 pounds, puts every ounce of her strength into her fists and elbows, seeking and finding every knot in every muscle in your body. For 60 full minutes her hands never left my body and while there was a great deal of pain throughout, the relief I felt in my muscles was dramatic. I felt great afterwards, highly recommended.

Tonight we dressed for the Captains dinner, a table service rather than the usual buffet. It was delicious and very spicy. After a short entertainment show featuring song performances by some of the passengers we retired to our cabin for one last night on board. Tomorrow we debark at Chongqing where will be treated to a visit to the Giant Panda Zoo.

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