Shibaozhai Pagoda

The first stop of our Yangtze Cruise was at Shiboazhei Pagoda, down river from another busy town of Changshou and near Longmen Bridge. We were still acclimatising to the over 30 degree humid atmosphere so climbing the 12 floors of this pagoda set on an islet in the river which was reach by a swinging suspension bridge was a major challenge and we were all pleased to reach the air-conditioned safety of our cabins for a shower and a change of clothes. The bottom 9 layers were built in the fourteenth century in the Ming Dynasty but the top 3 storeys were added as recently as 1956. The whole building is built without nails and held together b.y mortise and tenon joints. There were interesting figures and statues to see on the way up but the overwhelming feeling was one of relief when you reached the top. The temple originally used to be sited on a peninsula attached to the river bank but the Three Gorges Dam has raised the water level so much that it is now an islet. Because of a crash further up the river we did not cruise very far that day and most of a progress was made during the night.