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In order to make sure that we had good seats, or any seats at all, we left early for the airport to book in as soon as we could.
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Wood Carvings
Wuhan
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Booked into our hotel and then had a short walk around the Flower Market and Bird Market. Wasn't impressed by the caged birds but the bonsi were attractive and were most taken with some of the stone and rocks on display for use in garden landscapes. Some wood carvings that made great use of the timbers natural shape were attractive, would have liked to know the price, but couldn't make ourselves understood.
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Ended the evening at a restaurant where many students were celebrating the end of the school year. In China there are no age restrictions on drinking alcohol, most students were enjoying themselves, but a few seem very tired!
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Full days sightseeing in Wuhan before joining boat for Yangtze cruise.
A fantastic visit to see the relics of the Zeng Hou Yi Tomb with incredible exhibits from the bronze age including a set of 65 bells that took 5 people to play. Spent more time here than planned, but it was worth it.
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Bronze Artifacts
Wuhan
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Then on to Mao's villa for a quick tour. The Chinese seem to be putting Mao into a context that they can accept and move forward from. They say that Mao was a great leader but a poor politician, as a great man he made great decisions but also great mistakes such as 'The Great Leap Forward' and 'The Cultural Revolution'. It was said that in later life Madam Mao filtered much of the information that he received and so he wasn't aware of many of the effects of the Cultural Revolution.
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After a full lunch it was on to a Buddhist Temple where the Chinese form of Buddhism was explained, together with a history of the Temple and a look at the 500 Buddhas on display. Finished off with a walk in Wuhan's main pedestrian shopping street which apart from the Chinese writing and the more oriental features of the people it could have been anywhere in the west,
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Shopping street
Wuhan
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Another meal (we were going to have to eat smaller portions) before boarding our boat 'The Princess Jeannie' at 19.00. The boat was originally built in Germany for use in Russia for cruises on the Volga, but with the demise of communisim and the Russina economy, ended up on the Yangtza instead. The cabins were comfortable with all mod cons and well planned to make the bast use of the limited space available.
Rounded off the day with a safety talk and an outline of the history and geography of the Yangtze river.
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