Day 4, YangTze ( 7th March )

Day 4
Breakfast would be served at 0630hrs. We woke up at 0530hrs at a estimate 4 degrees. It was super cold.
For breakfast, porridge, peanuts, Chinese salad, Man Tou(Chinese buns) & Nian Gao(those we eat during Chinese new year) & boiled eggs. It was a light breakfast, which was healthy and filling. Not like those in Singapore which are so heavy and oily.
I went to the back roof to get some fresh air. As there was a good amount of sunlight, I was greeted with the majestic view of the Yangtze River. The sight was simply picturesque.
The air was fresh and the wind was cooling. Words are not able to describe the amount peacefulness and comfort just being there to enjoy the scenery.
We changed our ship to a smaller one so that it can make access to Shen Long Jiang. When we were at the back of the ship, we cooked up a conversation with a local. He was selling antiques on the ship. He was telling us about the bad memories they have of the Japanese. That he would rather sell a particular item to an American for 200 RMB than to a Japanese for 250 RMB. He was also making enquires about Singapore as he have an impression of the high cost of living here. It was rather a fruitful talk with him as we get to know more about the people here in China.
We then made our way to Shen Long Jiang. Where it is famous for men, naked, paddling and pulling the boats.
The main reason for the men to be naked is because that, these men are poor. With clothing on, through wear and tear doing all these hard work would damage their clothing which means they have to purchase their new set of clothes which cost money. As so, they decided that being naked would save them the necessary trouble and money. And furthermore, they only earn 25 RMB a day.
However, as the government decided the flood the YangTze river, the River became a popular place for tourist to come. Therefore, the men are forced to be dressed when doing their routine work.
We then went back to our cruise where they will bring us to Bai Di Cheng, a famous Romance of the Three Kingdom place which Liu Bei, the leader of the Liu Army died.
The trip will take roughly 2 hours. Along the way, it was mountains and more mountains. But, being smart tour guides, using imaginations, they carved our images of lions, dragons & eagle. I.e A dragon climbing up the mountain can be seen in certain angle.
My friends and I felt tired at that point as it was boring on the ship, just sceneries & beds. So we decide to bring a few chairs to the roof to play poker. I bet it will be the envy of many to be able to play poker in such a beautiful scenery and weather.
Before we knew it, we reached Bai Di Cheng. We walked up 300 stairs to Bai Di Miao ( Bai Di Temple). There, we saw the scene of a dying Liu Bei surrounded by his many subordinates. The scene was shown in statues with the tour guide explaining what was happening at that point.
The worship statues of Liu Bei and some other famous characters in San Guo Yan Yi i.e Zhu Ge Liang have a history of 400 years which heads were chopped off during a war in China. The heads we then placed back some 80 years ago. Also, in the temple, there were skeletons of the earliest people on earth. There was one body, which uses the trunk of the tree. The inside of the trunk was dug out and the body was placed inside. The trunk acted as the coffin. That particular body was certified the first of its kind to die and be buried. These people we called the Tu zhu. The earliest tribe in China.
The most famous thing there is huang yang mu shu. Every where you go, there are combs and more combs. However, there are real and fake ones. The real ones can cost up to 50 RMB for one while the fake ones can cost 8 for 10 RMB.
We went back to the ship where we turn in for an early night as all of us were exhausted.