Wuhan and the Yangtze

Visited the muslim area first this morning, we finished last night with a quick city lights tour and it was good to see the drum tower and the bell tower in the daytime. The muslim area is accessed through the bell tower and of course surrounded by markets. The mosque is constructed as a series of small pavilions and buildings, with courtyards between them. It was a lovely peaceful place full of trees and sculptured plants. There are areas of the mosque that are cordoned off from non-Islamic visitors however it was an oasis of calm in the midst of the bustling markets and we enjoyed the stroll through the courtyards.

Then off to the airport where we flew to Wuhan and then we took a long trip (four hours) by bus to our cruise boat on the Yangtze. I really enjoyed the bus trip and wish we could have stopped and taken photos. The countryside was fabulous, so fertile. There were plenty of crops and fish ponds, I had never seen them before and I actually saw a farmer plowing his field with an old wooden plough pulled by a water buffalo.

After dinner at Moaping(?) we boarded our home for the next 4 nights, the Sunshine China.