The Three Gorges

After the the Three Gorges Dam (nearly 200 meters tall) was built, the water behind the dam has risen to 150 to 175 meters higher that before, depending on the time of year. Officially 1.2 million people have been displaced as a result, either moving to higher ground, to nearby cities, or entirely out of the region. The river is buzzing with activity, with multiple ships of all sizes and types (including 10,000 ton ocean-going vessels) carrying cargo and people anywhere between Shanghai and Chongqing, 1440 km (900 miles) in distance.

Although some people claim that the scenery has been negatively impacted by the dam, we were all treated to 4 days of spectacular beauty and pleasant weather.

Three Gorges Dam

During our trip with Mark's brother Mike and nephew Jonah, we spent four days on a Yangtze River cruise from Yichang, just west of Wuhan, upriver to Chongqing. The highlight of day 1 was the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project. Our boat spent 4 hours going through 5 locks, moving up 150 meters. Here pictures of the dam, the locks, and Coleman on deck while we were rising inside one of the locks.

The Rock Star

In late September Mark's brother Mike and nephew Jonah came to visit and travel for two and half weeks. In addition to the week off for National Day (October 1-8), Mark took vacation time, so the whole family could travel. Our trip included a river cruise on the Yangtze River, 4 days in Guiling/Yangshuo, and a day in Beijing on the way home.

On the river cruise, Mike told us of a story how Jonah had become known as the "rock star". During our travels, we quickly came to understand why. Everywhere we went Jonah had a knack of engaging others in conversation. For instance, on the boat, he exerted independence during the evening entertainment, sitting among complete strangers. Afterwards or the following day, those who sat next to Jonah would approach us. They all commented what a delight Jonah was, and what wonderful conversation they had. Jonah's smile and sense of humor were contagious bringing smiles to those all around.

Jonah thoroughly enjoyed the food, particularly the meat and spicy dishes, such as "Hot Pot" in Chongqing (see picture above), which is famous for the numbing spicy pepper flavor.

More than once, Mike commented that he brought the right child to China. Despite all the differences compared to home, Jonah fit right in. He was such a joy! We are so glad both Mike and Jonah were able to come.

South Korea

In mid-October I (Mark) joined a trip sponsored by my employer to South Korea. Along with several colleagues, we spent 2 days on Jeju Island, about an hour by airplane south of Seoul, and 2 days back in Seoul. Jeju's latitude is similar to Shanghai and Houston, Texas. Due to the warmer climate, beautiful beaches, and quiet atmosphere, Jeju is one of Korea's most famous tourist destinations.

Orange harvest was in full swing during my visit, with street vendors marketing them everywhere. My hopes of transporting a couple boxes of these very sweet Mandarin Orange type tangerines back to Dalian were dashed when our tour guide reminded me that China will not allow them through customs. So, I had to settle for orange chocolate instead.

In Seoul our group included many shopping enthusiasts, eager to purchase name-brand anything for friends and family back in China. I was reminded just how much I loathe shopping, especially for conspicuous consumption. Several of my colleagues told me that in Korea such items are much cheaper than in China, mainly due to a difference in import taxes. So there was reason to their madness, but seemed a bit amusing to me--similar to the wonderment of chartered airplanes filled with shoppers flying into Minneapolis just to go shopping at the Mall of America OR New Yorkers flying to Paris to go shopping for the weekend.

Since I was the only American among a mostly Chinese group (2 Japanese colleagues were also part of the group), I think I was the only one to appreciate the Korean War Museum. The picture you see is a statute of 2 Korean brothers who fought in the war, one fought for the North and one fought for the South. As you can imagine this civil war had and still has huge impact on Koreans. Moving through the museum, I got a clear sense of the camaraderie between the Korean and the American soldiers who fought together. Also having a keen sense how each side has its own perspective, I mentally noted how different this museum depicts the war than the memorials we visited in Dandong, China, which borders North Korea.

Korea's history is heavily influenced by China, including architecture, former ways of feudalistic governing, Confucius philosophy, etc. However, the past 60 years have seen a huge influx of Western, especially American, influences such as democracy, Christianity, and a market economy.

I returned home (in Dalian) feeling a deep connection between South Korea and America that I don't feel in any other Asian country that I have visited.