The Long River

S. and I are now comfortably ensconced in the Jade Suite of the MV Yangzi Explorer with the intention of cruising the four hundred miles or so between Yichang (population circa four million) and Chongqing (population seven million).  Yichang I’m sure you’ve never heard of, but Chongqing you may know as Chunking which it used to be before the Chicoms started tinkering with the names of their towns.  I also remember Chunking as the only Chinese food ever to cross our family table.  It was the name brand of the boxed chow mein that my mom got at the local grocery. Let’s deal with the name thing first.  When the first missionaries arrived in the area about five...