Today we took a shore excursion to the city of Fuling. We toured the two floors of the local market – Harris Teeter was never like this! Our local guide told us that the vegetables are genetically modified (they are huge!), plentiful and cheap. One woman proudly displayed a live duck in her shopping bag (the poor duck seemed oblivious to its impending destiny as the main course). We also saw two women carrying their babies in baskets on their back.
Fuling Skyline
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Fuling City Market
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
We then visited the White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum, which protects a natural stone ridge with hydrological inscriptions recording the history of the low water levels of the Yangtze River.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
White Crane Ridge Underwater Museum
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
After returning to the ship for lunch I attended lectures on traditional Chinese medicine and the Three Gorges Dam as well as a silk embroidery demonstration. I then joined my fellow travelers in the upper deck’s Explorer Bar for Happy Hour and the Captain’s Welcome Reception which was followed by a buffet dinner. I finished my day with shopping at the ship’s art gallery.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yangtze Explorer and Views from Stateroom Balcony
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
See more photos: