42 days in China..42 days of learning journey: Day 11...3D2N cruise along Yangtze pt2

Had breakfast at the café. Breakfast was quite good. The porridge and buns could be refilled free-of-charge. So we ate a lot till we were full. Met up around an hour later and we boarded a smaller tour boat. The tour boat brought us through the Shen Nong river stream. The scenery was very nice. It looked just like Chinese paintings of mountains and rivers. During the trip, I saw a few wild monkeys along the river bank.

Went to a small village where the people of the Tu tribe lived. Over there, we boarded small row boats and the locals rowed us along the Shen Nong river stream. Learnt that these locals used to pulled boats across rapids, naked. But as time goes passed, the culture today forbids them from doing so. However, they did ‘performed’ for us by pulling our boats across the rapids. The process seemed so tough that I can imagine how they used to pull the boats across in the old days. During the journey, we passed by several mountains and caves. The scenery was just so spectacular. Learnt that a type of bird lived in those caves. But these birds are supposed to be oceanic birds and thus it remained a mystery why they could be found in the caves along the river banks of the Shen Nong river stream.

After about an hour, we returned back to the tour boat. Reached the cruise after around 2 hours. Had lunch. After that, went up to the viewing gallery and looked at the surrounding scenery. Very beautiful scenery. Learnt that the picture behind the ten-dollar Yuan note was taken from one of the many hills along the river bank.
Around the evening, we alighted from the cruise at BaiDiCheng. Went to the Bai Di Temple. The tour guide explained to us the history of the temple. The thing that left me the most impression was the coffin that was excavated from one of the mountains along the river bank. Was told that the coffin was around 200 years old. Was really shocked as the coffin on display looked so well-preserved. Was really impressed with how the ancient people chose the type of wood material used to make the coffin. After that, bought a few souvenirs meant as gifts for my relatives.
After that, returned back to the cruise. On the way back, I looked up at the sky and saw lots of stars. It was the first time that I saw that many stars and the scene would be etched in my mind forever. Had dinner quite late at around 9:30P.M. After that, went to my friend’s room and played poker cards again.

Breakfast