Touring in Jingzhou

Typical store in Jingzhou

Despite our best efforts to sleep in, we awoke at 3 am today. We did a little reading then went up to the 5th deck for a cup of tea. It wasn’t long until we heard the Viking Emerald docking at Jingzhou which the Chinese refer to as a “small city” because the population is just under 6 million. There were a number of people swimming in the Yangtze around the port as well as many people fishing with long poles of fiberglass or graphite.

Crazy drivers in Jingzhou

Mary and Cindy went to Tai Chi class at 6:45 then we met up for breakfast at 7:20. We had an excellent breakfast with Scott and Monica and Daljit and Katherine, two Indian brothers and their wives. They are all very pleasant company and good conversation. We noticed that the weather was markedly cooler, and there was a strong breeze. We suspect that the change in weather may be related to Typhoon Mangkhut that made landfall in Hong Kong over the weekend causing significant damage.

To leave the ship we needed to pick up shore leave passes. However, we forgot to get ours but fortunately it wasn’t a problem this morning. We boarded the buses for the visit to the primary school in Jingzhou. The bus trip was quite an experience. We rode in the front seat of the bus which is positioned in a glass bubble above the driver. The drive through Jingzhou was a terrifying experience. The driver swerved across lanes of busy traffic missing pedestrians, scooters and other vehicles by millimeters. He even passed a police car on the double line and into oncoming traffic. I could not imagine driving in this or any other Chinese city.

Students in Viking School in Jingzhou

The school we visited is a private school that receives some funding support from Viking River Cruises. There are groups from Viking touring the school about every ten days. When we arrived the children did a performance of singing and dancing. They were pretty cute. After the performance the students had a brief recess. They were just like children of that age from any culture. They were running, squealing and rough-housing just like any groups of elementary school students in the US. 

Students in Viking School in Jingzhou

Many of the students wanted to greet us in English, shake our hand or give us a high five. They were fascinated with Mary’s height. A number of students wanted Mary to sign their autograph books. I made a little buddy as well. A little boy, about 6 years old wanted to give me a high five then he distracted me and plucked some hair from my forearm! About 10 minutes later he came back to try to pull more hair but I had his number this time and was able to hold my arms up. Mark suspected that Chinese adults that he sees do not have the arm hair that Europeans have.

Students in Viking School in Jingzhou

We continued to a second grade classroom where the students sang for us and we sang “She’ll be coming ‘round the mountain” for them. Using our guide, Patrick, as a translator, the children told us about their students and their daily routine at school. We gathered outside the school for our return drive back to the Viking Emerald. This time we chose to sit further back on the bus for a less exciting ride.

Jingzhou City Wall

We had a nice lunch on the ship then prepared for the afternoon trip back into Jingzhou to the ancient city walls. Like many Chinese cities, Jingzhou was surrounded by a high stone wall and a moat. This provided a formidable barrier to potential invaders. At each of the main gates into the city there was a double wall so if a threat were to breach the first gate they would be trapped in a courtyard by the second gate. Archers or soldiers with hot oil could then turn the invaders away before escape. This system is somewhat like the “man trap” deterrents that are becoming used in many buildings today. 

Park in Jingzhou

While we were standing and listening to a speaker on the walled city I heard giggling behind us.  It turns out that local Chinese women were lined up behind Mary to take a back-to-back photo.  Of course, the ladies barely came to her waist.  They were fascinated because they had never seen a woman that tall.

We got back to the ship around 5 having to pass through security every time we enter and exit the vessel. Mary and Cindy played cribbage while Mark and I sat on the sun deck. The ship cast off around 5:30 to continue up the Yangtze River toward Three Gorges.

Students in Viking School in Jingzhou

We decided to sit at a table with a group of Brits. There was a couple originally from England now living in Australia and a retired Scottish navy officer named Hamish and his wife at our table. We enjoyed their company and great accents. Hamish is the stereotypical Scot with a ruddy complexion and white hair that was once bright red. He said that in his youth he resembled the actor who portrayed William Wallace’s lifelong friend, Hamish, in the movie, Braveheart.  Mark had an excellent beef tenderloin but most of us had the cashew chicken. My duck breast appetizer was quite good as well.

We skipped the evening program on traditional Chinese costumes of the various ethnic groups in China in favor of turning in early. Live music and dancing were available in the bar later but we were long since asleep by then.