China in the New Year (9): still more Yichang
Now that New Year’s Day in China has come and gone, we were able to be tourists again. So today we visited the nearby Xiling Gorge Scenic Area at the eastern end of the Three Gorges which proved to be a very enjoyable location where we spent around three hours but could have taken all day. Out of season, there were very few other visitors (and not one other foreigner) so it was particularly atmospheric.
It is an extensive area and we concentrated on two parts: the White Horse Cave and the Three Visitors Cave.
At the White Horse Cave, we started with a boat ride underground and then toured the extensive system of tunnels with stalactites and stalagmites illuminated with different-coloured lights. I have been to some similar locations around the world but this is one of the most impressive. Opposite the cave was the chance to do a bungee jump which I declined – not that it was too high, you understand, but too cold.
At the Three Visitors Cave – named after three famous Chinese poets of old days – we viewed not one cave but a collection of them which displayed inscriptions from famous Chinese sages down the ages. There was the chance to shoot arrows at straw figures moored in the river – an allusion to the famous Battle of Red Cliffs (look it up) – and I took one of Joshua’s ten arrows and hit a straw man’s head with my only shot!
Meals with the family in various apartment blocks continue to be an amazing culinary experience and this evening 12 of us sat down at the usual circular table with the usual food carousel for a meal with a new record of 19 dishes. A fundamental part of the Chinese New Year tradition is that people call on relatives to wish them well and are presented with a multi-course meal. For a young couple at this evening’s dinner, this was their fourth meal of the day and their fifth in two days.