Picture Of Activities on Quay of Yangtze Riverside Town.
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Our Yangtze River cruise lasted just over a day and a half, with an overnight stop at a small riverside town to pick up provisions. The first picture of Yangtze river people below was taken from the cruise boat. There was also an opportunity to walk up steep paths to the dimly lit streets of the riverside town, although not many people were seen there. Night entertainment for the Chinese people at the time, Discos, Night Clubs, Cinemas, Casinos, in such locations, were just not available, and after a hard working day from dawn to dusk, sleep was far more important. The Chinese coolies and porters who serviced the incoming boats on the Yangtze River worked to a different schedule.
Clicking on the Yangtze River pictures below will take you to larger copies which will open in new windows. You can use your back button to return here. Enjoy your cruise !
Everyone of us would, I think, be prepared
to admit that if we had news of an unusual event happening on our doorstep, we would make every effort to be present for the occasion. Perhaps news of the arrival of a brand new Yangtze cruise boat had gone ahead of us, as there were a number of local people enjoying the "White Emperor" and no doubt a glimpse of the strange foreign people on board. In these days of "mass tourism" it is likely that only the new boats would attract their attention.
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There was a gang of Chinese coolies and porters, with their shoulder poles, loading all the provisions onto the cruise boat. Where would China be without its coolies ? The famous writer, Han Suyin, wrote in one of her books that the Chinese coolies should stand up and be proud of their contribution to the wealth and prosperity of the Nation. Unfortunately I cannot remember her exact words. There was an occasion on one visit to Guilin where I saw a young Chinese coolie breaking up some concrete around the base of a statue. I asked my Chinese friends to enquire why he was doing it, and the coolie replied, "Because I have been told to do so." |
I have tried to fathom out what was going on in the mind of this young Chinese porter, as he watched the foreign tourists on their luxury Yangtze cruise boat. His expression continues to haunt me. Each one of us would have paid more for our, "Grand Tour Of China", than he would probably earn in a lifetime.
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A picture of Yangtze river boat provisions of fresh chickens and chicken livers ready to be loaded when the quality had been checked and approved. |
If you are interested in the links below, just click them !
A Selection from Robert's Wild Cards
| The start of these personal webpages and the Vietnam pictures, followed a chance meeting with a young man named Hoang in 1979. Hoang was one of the "Boat People" from Vietnam who arrived in the UK. In due course I was given the responsibility of teaching him some English. A few weeks later I met his family and friends, and subsequently their families and friends, and friends and families, of friends and families.... and so it was that the ideas for the personal webpages began. |
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| Browse through the many China pics on the personal webpages and enjoy again a meal of Peking Duck with pancakes at the Qian Men Restaurant in Beijing. See what happens to the floor of a Ming Dynasty Hall after Buddhist Monks have stamped their feet for hundreds of years, as shown in the China pics from the Shaolin temple on the personal webpages of Robert. |
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