Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 06:52:53 -0800 (PST)
From: “Benjamin Sandler” <ibenibeni@yahoo.com>
Subject: Yangtze Diary
To: Everyone

Hello, hello, hello,

Sorry that I haven’t been forthcoming with an update on the latest news from China. I’ve gotten back on track with the project. In retrospect, the fear and paranoia almost seems over the top... at the time, though, it felt very real. I think I may have just had two strokes of bad luck in a row. For the last two weeks, I’ve had no run-ins with the law, and I’ve felt quite free to roam around wherever I please.

I think I’m having a smoother experience now, since the lower part of the Three Gorges is more used to seeing tourists. All in all, though, it may have been for the best, that I had a little scare so early on; it drove home the reality of what I’m attempting to do here. Me, making a statement against the will of the central government, though risky, is far less dangerous than a Chinese person doing the same. Reflecting on this helped me realize how complex the issues are. Though fear plays a role in controlling what people think and say, the fact that most people say the dam is a good thing is hardly the result of brainwashing. There is a general lack of real information, but for the people who are being uprooted, most choose to look to the new cities where new opportunity and choices await.

Yesterday I returned from the town of Dachang, situated on the upper reaches of the Daning River, just past the Little Three Gorges. Magnificent beauty and a rich history are intertwined. Just up from the old docks, there is one of the largest clusters of Ming and Qing dynasty houses still standing, anywhere. Families have lived here for many generations, a few with great wealth, passed down from when the opium trade flourished. However, most are very poor, making their living from either agriculture or from some aspect of the massive tourist frenzy loading up onto small boats for tours of the Little Three Gorges. When the waters rise next June, there will be little farmland left, and large cruise ships will be able to go up the small gorges without unloading passengers.

Though there is a new city being built just 3 miles from Dachang, its residents don’t seem so optimistic like in most of the rest of the cities that I’ve visited. About 10,000 people have been relocated to Guangdong province, on the southeast coast of China. Families and friends have been separated, with no choice in the matter. People spoke openly of local government corruption, saying that their resettlement funds have been embezzled. Many people don’t want to move, and the farmers don’t want to work in factories. Though some of the ancient houses are going to be moved to the new city, their residents will only be able to see their old homes in a museum.

This will conclude my email journal of this trip to the Yangtze. The experience has been trying at times, but I’ve gained new insight into the many layers of meaning that the Yangtze has for Chinese people, and foreigners alike.

I visited the dam site today, an anticlimax in all respects, and will head toward Shanghai tomorrow, to make my way home.

Thank you for reading and sharing with me...

Take care,
Ben