Yangtze River travel on a tortuous course

Recently, I've been following the tragedy of the cruise ship Eastern Star intently, not just for the enormity of the human loss, but also for the memories of my own travel on the Yangtze River.

While river cruises have become popular in the new millennium, spending several days and nights on a passenger ship once or twice every year had been a highlight of my childhood decades ago as I visited my two sets of grandparents who lived in different cities on the river.

Imagine a child's thrill of seeing different cities and people every day along the way. Passengers went ashore and explored as far as they could because the ships usually docked for about an hour at a port of call. And seagulls following in the wake of the ship were always a joy to watch.