Board the cruise ship on which we will make one of the world's great river journeys. Once on board, we settle into the quarters where we stay for the next three or four nights. Our voyage will be an adventure in contrasts, as China old and new emerges in landscapes of ethereal beauty, industrial ports, battle sites, and thousand-year-old cities being rebuilt on higher ground. We'll also cruise past a tranquil countryside of orange groves and small villages, where life goes on as it has for centuries. The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric river dam that spans the Yangtze River in China. It is the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. This will be a great view and outstanding experience. The Dazu Rock Carvings in Dazu county, are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century A.D., depicting and influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. Listed as a UNESCO World cultural Heritage Site, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. Hot pot is Chongqing's local culinary specialty. Tables in hotpot restaurants usually have a central vat (or pot) where food ordered by the customers is boiled in a very spicy broth. As well as beef, pork, lotus and other vegetables, items such as pig's kidney, brain, duck's bowels, and cow's stomach are often consumed. Old Town Ciqikou is an ancient 1000-year-old town in the Shapingba District of Chongqing. It is otherwise known as Small Chongqing. The town, located at the lower reaches of the Jialing River, was at one time an important source of chinawares and used to be a busy commercial dock during the Ming and Qing Dynasty.