Three Gorges Cruise: Day Two (Ghost City)

Sunrise in Fuling (this was about the only time I saw the sun. It was extremely foggy the whole trip):

"Princess Elaine":

Today was the first day the cruise officially started.  We got up around 7 am and ate breakfast in one of the dining halls.  We were considered to be foreigners on the cruise, so we were able to eat in a separate area from all the Mainlanders.  There were only two other foreigners on the ship: a couple ladies from France.  So we set sail along the Yangtze, and boy what a sight it was.  We were always surrounded on both sides by gorgeous mountains, beautiful landscapes, and interesting villages.  Today we our shore excursion was Fengdu, or otherwise known as the Ghost City.  The Chinese people believe that when people die, their spirits go to this city to be judged by the King of the Underworld, where they will either go to Heaven or Hell.  We stayed here for about three hours, climbing Mingshan mountain and visiting the different temples on the mountain.  There were numerous stories and legends about different parts of the temple and below are some pictures as well as descriptions.

Bridge to the Underworld:

This was the first test for spirits entering the underworld. Only good spirits can get across; the bad ones fall into the river of fire below. We had to take an odd number of steps across the middle bridge. Men start with their left foot, women with their right.

33 Steps to Heaven:

The Chinese believe there are 33 levels of heaven, and each of these steps represent one of the heavens; the best heaven is the top step and represents immortality. In order to obtain this, we had to walk all the way to the top while holding our breath. Again men start with their left foot, women with their right.

"Only Kindness Brings Peace":

There are four Chinese characters written here that say: "Only Kindness Brings Peace"

King of the Underworld:

Scary guy. Nuff said.