The River, the Wall and Visitors from Home

Chongqing and the Flying Tigers

 A look at the largest city in China, Chongqing (34 million people – second largest city in the world and most Americans have never heard of it). It is huge. We stood high on a hill at a bend in the Yangtze River as it wound through the city at the General Stillwell Museum. There were skyscrapers up and down the river as far as the eye could see in all directions to the horizon.  Noticeable difference from other Chinese cities – scooters are banned in the city.

Chongqing from the General Stillwell Museum

Best Cotton Candy in the World

This was a population and manufacturing center even pre-WWII. It was a prime target for the Japanese. They invaded China in 1937. The city still has the remains of bomb shelters cut into the mountain sides. The Allies were supplying the resistance forces here from India and Burma as they flew the “hump” over the Himalayas into China. British and Australian troops did the heavy lifting with American air support. The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States, recruited under presidential authority and commanded by Gen. Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters staff were also recruited from the U.S. military, along with some civilians.

 

P-40 Tomahawk "Flying Tiger"

The group consisted of three fighter squadrons each with about 20 P-40 Tomahawks. They trained in Burma before the American entry into World War II to help defend China against Japanese forces.  The members of this privatized group of airmen had lucrative contracts with salaries roughly three times what they had been making in the U.S. forces, plus the pilots were paid a bonus for dog fight kills.


The Burma Road used to get supplies into
China from India

"I'm an American - Help Me"

 

The group first saw combat on 20 December 1941, only 12 days after Pearl Harbor. They achieved notable success during the lowest period of the war for U.S. and Allied Forces, giving hope to America that it would eventually succeed against Japan. They scored over 300 enemy aircraft destroyed with a loss of only eight pilots. The photo shows a message that the pilots had sewn into the inside of their flight jackets. In Chinese, it said that these are the good guys; give them medical treatment, give them food and hide them from the Japanese. It is said that over 250,000 Chinese (often entire villages) died in sheltering, hiding and caring for downed American pilots.

 

The Flying Tiger Museum was a total bust! I expected to see airplanes and memorabilia from the war, but it was one room with a few canteens and helmets. There was a great collection of photos though. The museum is mostly an art gallery and shop to raise funds to build a real museum. Across the street from the Flying Tiger Museum is the General Stillwell museum He was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality earned him the nickname "Vinegar Joe. " He was Gen. Chennault’s boss.

Vinegar Joe's Jeep

 

Vinegar Joe

Yangtze River and Three Gorges Dam

This was a must see area for us. The dam has been controversial since before it was built. I teach a debate class and even now the wisdom of this project is questioned by the students. There are benefits, but there are always two sides of a story. The landscape was breathtaking. Time will tell if the environmental and human cost was too high. We cruised down the Yangtze for three days from Chongqing to the Three Gorges Dam.

Along the way we visited Fengdu, an ancient sacred Taoist site claimed to be the entry into the underworld  and the afterlife. The path leads the living to the gate of the spirit world. Here you can assist your ancestors in their struggles in the spirit world. There are numerous deamons and depictions of things instore for those who are not nice to their neighboors, who lie, cheat or commit a host of sins. This temple site was attacked during the Cultural Revolution but was saved by the monks. It stands as the only black temple in China. 

Gate to the Underworld

 

The Black Temple




 



Scene of Judgment Day

 

Abandon Village cut off by high water

Local boats are hand powered

The Three Gorges Dam is 610 feet high and runs 1.3 miles across the Yangtze River. The reservoir extends 360 miles upstream. The dam produces the electricity of 15 nuclear plants. Its cost was over $37 billion. It will help control flooding along the river which is one of its major benefits. The floods of 1998 cost $24 billion, 4000 dead and left 14 million homeless. Thirteen cities, 140 towns and 1300 villages were submerged by the rising waters (which rose 400 to 600 feet) with 1.3 million people being displaced.  Over 1360 known archeological sites were lost. It is estimated that 265 billion gallons of raw sewage are presently dumped into the upper Yangtze each year. Now that the dam is completed, this all ends up in the reservoir. In addition, 1600 factories and abandoned mines have been submerged. Do you think that there may be a few pollutants leaching into the water? Care to go fishing? Over 360 million (more than the population of the USA) live downstream of the dam. This is an earthquake area, so I hope it is stabilized. The recent earthquake near Chengdu was not far from this area.


A test boring to check the
bedrock - granite

 

 

 

Just like a skater can slow down a spin by extending her arms, it is claimed that the redistrubution of water in the reservoir will slow the spin of the earth. No wonder, I've been getting up later!

The reservoir when full is 175 m above sea level. We were there in April. In anticipation of spring snow melts in the Himalayas and spring rains, the water level was lowered to 162 m. The band of rock visible in every picture is 13 meters (~40 feet). Notice that there is no vegitation below the high water mark. It is difficult to determine distances in such vast landscapes. The scenery was beyond the ability to photograph it. I’m sure that it was just as magnificent when the Yangtze was still running free-it was just harder to access. Time will tell if the Three Gorges Dam is a blessing or a curse to the people of China.


System of 5 locks to allow ships to go past the dam
Each lock can raise a ship over 100 ft.
Notice the staircases zigzaging along the face.



Three Gorge Dam - 1.3 miles across

Visitors from America

When you are far away, a few things ease the longings for home: your favorite companion (Richard & Suzanne), your pillow and your favorite foods (Snickers & Dr. Pepper). But a familiar face and voice lifts the spirits like nothing else. We had a visit from Bryan Dunford in December who visited Xi’an as part of his MBA. We had a great evening and showed him our favorite spot in Xi’an – the Muslim Quarter. He was a master at bargaining with the vendors. Perhaps he and Suzanne are related.

Jones & Mullins at the Grey Wall of China



 

Bryan Dunford our first familiar face

 

Our traveling buddies, Andy and Karen Jones, visited China in March and spent three days with us in Xi’an. We then took the bullet train with them (and Andy’s sister, Alice) to Beijing to hike the wall and buy stuff! In Xi’an they experienced life in our ghetto, saw the Terracotta Warriors up close & personal (better than the traditional museum view), rode Chinese busses and visited our beloved Muslim Quarter. We showed them many of the special offerings of Xi’an, as mentioned in the last blog. We ate as much American food as we could find, after all, they had been eating Chinese for a week! (Just try it for a year!)  Our only regret was that we didn’t drag them around to see more of our city and introduce them to our students. But time flies when you’re having fun.

The bullet train hits just over 300 km/hr (just under 200 mph). Xi’an to Beijing in 5 hours. I wish we had one of these in the USA. You don’t have to go through security or arrive 2 hours early. Just get on and gooooo! You even have your choice of a western toilet or a squatty potty.

Very Fast and Very Comfortable

Andy and I opted to hire a private guide and car to visit a few sections on the Great Wall. In the west we look on the wall as a great archeological treasure. In China it has an additional title: The Great Wall of Death. Emperor Qin (remember him from the last blog?) conscripted workers to construct the wall. This was not volunteer work. Men were assigned to work on the wall for several years. If they escaped the work detail and were caught, they were returned to the wall and chained to it for the remainder of their lives. Estimates are that over one million men died in its construction as it was back breaking labor. Today there are chains draping the wall with locks in most of the links. Modern tradition is for a couple to bring a lock to the wall and hook it to the chain symbolizing their love. The original chain and locks serve as a reminder of a darker day in the Wall’s history.

The Wall was generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire from nomadic tribes such as the Mongols. In total it is about 5,500 miles long. Several walls were built as early as the 7th century BC; these were later joined together and made stronger. This was one of Emperor Qin’s contributions. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the collection of taxes on goods transported along the Silk Road and the control of immigration and emigration. The defenses of the Great Wall were enhanced by watch towers, troop barracks, and garrison stations, signaling capabilities through smoke or fire.

It was great to see the wall with snow falling; but the many patches of ice complicated our climb. There is no building code in modern China, so I guess there was none in Emperor Qin’s time either. There is no consistency to either the tread width or the riser height on the steps of the Great Wall. You have to watch every step or over you go! But, I guess that would slow down any invading army.

Suzanne, Karen and Alice also visited the Great Wall and the Sacred Way, the path walked by emperors of old to admire and remember their predecessors. And, of course, we went shopping in the jade and cloisonné factories! We left our visitors in Beijing and we returned to Xi’an rejuvenated for our last few months. That touch of home was just what we needed!