Sustainable tourism in China

My sister who was on a Viking cruise to China sent these photos of a primary school in Jingzhou sponsored by Viking. It is a poor town.  It is a trend for companies to contribute something to the local economy (sustainable tourism). That certainly benefits both parties.  The tourists enjoyed the visit to the school and participated in certain activities.

Misspelled

Three Gorges Dam in China

By the way, Michael's Scribble Picnic is set for Wed Sep 19th, so please join us there!  The theme is 'Exploration', inspired by his and Alexandra's recent move to Kentucky.

My sister sent me these photos of the Three Gorges Dam that they visited during their Viking Cruise to China. I remembered there were a lot of issues surrounding the construction of this grand engineering feat and found a link here describing the issues. Travelling is educational even for the vicarious traveller!

It seems large areas of the scenic Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorges were submerged upstream by this dam. The government argued that the dam would control flooding problems(debatable) on the Yangtze river and provide power to the region. 1.3 to 1.9 million people were displaced and the reservoir was polluted by human and industrial waste. The dam was inaugurated in 1994 and completed in 2006. All generators were operational by 2012. A large ship lift was operational by late 2015. Ocean sized ships can now sail inland.

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges

I asked my sister who is on a Viking cruise to China to send me some photos of the scenery and she did not disappoint. They travelled 193 miles through the Three Gorges, the most scenic section of the Yangtze river.

A gorge is 'a narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky walls and a stream running through it.' Three Gorges consists of Qutang gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge. They took my sister on a little trip up a Yangtze tributary by Sampan boat as pictured below.

The sea level has raised 180m (590 ft) since the Three Gorges dam was built. I will talk about the dam tomorrow.

stunning scenery

travelling by  Sampan boat

Xiling Gorge

Words for Wednesday Writing Prompt

fall arrangement

Coffee with Peppy introduced me to Muted Mumblings' Words for Wednesday writing prompt. The challenge appealed to me and I decided to give it a try today.  I chose Delores' prompt words left, bachelor, dripping, movies, doorway, mansion.  My fictional story is called 'Joel and Brad'.

Joel and Brad

Joel lived in San Francisco, California.  He was a handsome man, tall with the brightest blue eyes.  He actually looked more attractive in person than in his photos.  He came from a smart and wealthy family, his mother was a lawyer and his father was a businessman who sold his first company for 50 million dollars.  Joel  was a good student and graduated university with a computer science degree. He was offered a high paying job with a technology company right out of school.  He was a proud, gay man, a bachelor comfortable with who he was.

Joel was 26 when he met  Brad while on vacation in Thailand.  He was emerging from the warm, blue ocean dripping wet when he laid eyes on Brad mingling on the beach with a group of friends.  It might have been love at first sight for both of them.  Brad was a published writer, 5 years older than Joel. They were so different from each other, yet they complemented each other.  Equally good looking, Brad had a more outgoing personality while Joel was more introverted.  Joel would sooner go to the movies than to a party.  Brad told Joel he was initially attracted to his good looks and then fascinated by his intelligence.

 Brad left his hometown of Chicago to be with Joel, as he could write from anywhere.  After two years of dating, they were married in a lavish ceremony at Joel’s parents’ mansion.   Brad remembered how stunning Joel looked when he first appeared through a doorway leading to the outdoor patio where the ceremony took place.

The couple had always wanted to have children of their own.  It wasn’t long before they hired a surrogate to carry their children.   When the surrogate miscarried, it was the most painful time for Joel and Brad.  They decided to try again and this time they were able to have twins, a boy and a girl.  Joel revealed to his parents that the boy with the bright blue eyes was his biological son while the daughter was Brad’s biological daughter.

Life is now so happy for Joel and Brad, every day they feel such gratitude for having been blessed with their perfect family.

Paint Party Friday - Just a Sunflower

Welcome to Paint Party Friday! This piece is called 'Just a Sunflower' based on a photo I took. It is done on canvas in acrylic (24" x 18"), a lot larger than I usually do.

Non stick coasters

wooden coaster

I had been noticing that all the drink coasters I have routinely stick to the glasses when you lift the drinks up. Have you noticed that? I tried ceramic, metal, paper and all kinds of materials (mainly because I was sort of collecting them). Finally, I tried these wooden ones and they work! I also heard vinyl ones and silicone ones work well, maybe plain cork ones would too.

And that is my trivial topic for today!

China Continued

My sister sent me some more photos of her Viking cruise to China. They wandered The Great Tang all day Mall at night, it was very close to their fabulous 5 star hotel. She was most impressed with this mall. It leads to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a landmark of Xi'an. The Tang mall was more than a mile of lights, performers, and music. There were a couple of Starbucks there and no bicycles were allowed.  The photos below speak for themselves.

Yangtze River

The great tang all day mall at night