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Feng Du is located on the north bank of the Yangtze, 97 miles downstream from Chongqing. The city received a reputation as the “Ghost City” in ancient times. There is a temple here dedicated to the God of Hades. Pilgrims to the temple used to be able to purchase, for the sum of one dollar, a “Passport to Heaven”, stamped by the local magistrate and the abbot.
Much of the city was been inundated by the rising waters, and the city has been relocated to the opposite river bank. However, the Ghost temple will remain on the top of the hill and the water will just reach halfway up the hill in the future.
The new town of Feng Du is carefully designed and is now one of the most successful of the relocations along the river. Not far away from the new town is the confluence with the Dragon River, one of the major tributaries in this area. After a beautiful drive further upstream along the river valley, one will reach the Snow-Jade Cave, an intricate and unique limestone formation cave only recently discovered. It has great artistic and scientific value.
The Snow-Jade Cave was formed 56,000 years ago but found only two years ago by local farmers. Immediately it became a popular spot for tourists. Today, colorful lights have been installed in the cave, making it a fairyland. The cave has only one entrance and it extends for a total length of a little less than one mile.
That's all well and good. On this morning, Mieko was pretty much worn out and I was sick and dared not venture off the boat far from a toilet. This was not the most pleasant way to spend a day in a foreign land. The appearance of 250 steps to get from the boat to the new town certainly did not appear appealing to either of us. You might notice that there were “human taxies” to carry those unable to climb these stairs.
The opportunity was taken to do some photographing around the boat and of what could be seen from our anchorage. The Century Sun is a nice boat.
