The five locks and other scenes

We passed through one lock the first night.  Tonight we pass through five more at the main dam.  While the boat was docked near the Water Village we went on a bus tour of the lock area.

This is a model of the complex.  The five locks are on the right.  The middle channel is for a boat "elevator".  It is similar to the Peterborough lift locks, but a magnitude larger - it can handle boats up to 3,000 tons!

You can get an idea of the size of the locks by the size of the cars on the barge.

There are dual locks - one on each side.

A viewing platform where the previous picture was taken.

The upstream end of the boat elevator.

At night, it looks like this, heading into the first lock.  It's worth noting that we are standing on the sixth deck - there's a lot of boat beneath us.

You get an idea of how their lives were changed when you see paths and roads that used to go to the villages at the bottom of the gorges and now end abruptly at the river.

In this last picture you can also see coal bins on the hill above, which I assume supplied the heating for the locals.

Other than the occasional oxen, goats were the only domesticated animals that we saw.

We also saw a few coffins and crypts along the way.  The coffins were in alcoves that seemed impossible to access.

And now for some scenes along our journey.

Tomorrow we have a local boat excursion on the Goddess Stream.