The Yangtze
River is the world's third longest river and through much of its history it has
been China
From its source on the high Tibetan plateau it runs
through 18 provinces and major cities on its way to the East
China Sea and over recent years it has become a major attraction
for millions of Chinese tourists.
The country's domestic tourism industry, which has
grown alongside its rising middle class wealth, now keeps dozens of boats
afloat on the Yangtze's waters.
The Eastern Star was one of them.
An online advert offers a 13-day voyage from the
eastern city of Nanjing , west against the
current, to the inland megacity
of Chongqing
It
is not yet confirmed whether that is the same itinerary that was being followed
this time, but if it was, then those on board would have been on their way to
the Three Gorges Dam, just a little further upstream from where the boat has
now gone down.
Many of the passengers, according to Chinese state
media, are over 50 years old and would have paid around $300 (£200) for a shared, economy class,
cabin.
That's still a lot of money for many - not far off China 's average monthly wage - but nowadays
quite within reach of the comparatively wealthy senior citizens with their
pension funds and stock-market portfolios in the big eastern-seaboard cities of
Shanghai and Nanjing
No doubt for some of those on the Eastern Star it
would have been the trip of a lifetime.
And
the Three Gorges Dam, a place of pilgrimage in its own right and a powerful
symbol of China
The dam's engineers have been ordered to reduce the
water volume flowing through the giant turbines.
The sinking of the Eastern Star will resonate widely.
A boatful of everyday Chinese tourists - from
grandmothers and grandfathers down to the youngest listed passenger at just
three-years-old - has been lost in the waters of the country's best loved
river.
Tens of millions of comments are being posted online,
with the emoticon of two hands clasped together in prayer featuring prominently.
Structure of the Lead：
who-people went to a trip to the Yangtze River
when-2 June 2015
what-not given
where- the Yangtze River
how-not given
Keywords:
alongside-靠
dam-水壩
volume-卷
boatful-一船的
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-32970759
I am sad to hear the news. A happy trip became a disaster. Hope the families of the victims could be out sadness.
回覆刪除We don't what destiny will be.
回覆刪除When we will die or what we may encounter.
So I am sorry to hear that.
And wish no more accident would happen.