On May 28th at noon, Mr. Qian and his wife excitedly arrived at Nanjing Wumadu Wharf from Hangzhou and boarded the "Eastern Star" cruise ship, which would accompany them on their approximately 10-day journey. Almost simultaneously, Mr. Sheng and his wife also arrived at the same wharf from Shanghai by bus and boarded the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" cruise ship, which was docked there. The two cruise ships had almost identical itineraries and departed Nanjing Wumadu Wharf around the same time. In the following days, the two cruise ships met and traveled side-by-side three times during their journeys, but on the evening of June 1st, amidst thunder and lightning in the Jianli section of the Yangtze River in Hubei, they met with completely different fates.
Sightseeing by day, traveling by night:
Approximately 400 passengers boarded the "Eastern Star" at the Wumadu Wharf in Nanjing, mostly from Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang provinces. The "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" also carried nearly 400 tourists. Following the travel agency's itinerary, the two cruise ships frequently met at various scenic spots along the way. Most passengers were elderly, and those from the same region would chat briefly.
After boarding in Nanjing, the passengers were still immersed in their curiosity about the cruise ship's facilities while battling seasickness. Being a senior citizen group, there weren't many special activities in the evening; they simply relaxed on the deck before returning to their cabins to rest. According to the itinerary, after departing from Nanjing, the "Eastern Star" and "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" would pass through Anqing, Jiujiang, Wuhan, Chibi, Jingzhou, and other places before finally arriving in Chongqing. The cruise ships would generally stop at various scenic spots during the day for passengers to disembark and arrange meeting times, then continue sailing on the Yangtze River at night to the next destination.
On the morning of May 29th, the "Eastern Star" and the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" arrived at their first stop, Anqing. "The ship is almost at Anqing," Ji Fumin from Shanghai received a message from his wife, Cai Yadi, on the "Eastern Star" at 8:53 a.m. that day. That day, Cai Yadi and two other elderly women traveling with her disembarked in Anqing for sightseeing. That evening, she called Ji Fumin to tell him that the cruise ship would continue to Jiujiang and Wuhan, and to reassure him. Because texting is inconvenient for the elderly, Ji Fumin calls his wife every evening at 7 p.m. to ask where she has been that day and which city she will be visiting next. Mr. Qian, also on the "Eastern Star," sends photos of the journey to his daughter almost every night to let his family know he is safe and to share the joy of the trip.
On
May 30th, the "Eastern Star" and the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" met for the first time on their journey at Shizhong Mountain Scenic Area, located at the confluence of Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River. "Both ships were docked at the same pier. I heard some people from Shanghai on their ships, and I chatted with them," Mr. Sheng recalled. He explained that his first encounter with the passengers of the "Eastern Star" was at Shizhong Mountain Scenic Area in Hukou County, where they all visited the area together. The passengers from both cruise ships also exchanged information about their travel expenses and concluded that the prices were similar. Afterwards, the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6," carrying Mr. Sheng, departed first, while the "Eastern Star" set off later. "Their ships are faster than ours, so even though we left earlier, they could usually catch up with us." The two cruise ships followed the same route, but the "Eastern Star" often arrived first despite departing later, thus allowing its passengers slightly more time for shore excursions than the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6."
On the fourth day of their journey, the two cruise ships met again in Wuhan, docking together at the "Hankou No. 23" pier. Since the "Eastern Star" had docked first, the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" simply moored alongside it, requiring passengers to pass over the deck of the "Eastern Star" before disembarking. Having met before, many passengers on both ships were already familiar with each other. Mr. Sheng told the Morning Post that the two ships carried approximately 800 people, and they were also visiting famous Wuhan attractions such as the Yellow Crane Tower. "Most of the stops were for one or two hours, but we spent a relatively long time in Wuhan, stopping for seven or eight hours." As before, passengers on the slower "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" boarded first and departed at 4 pm that afternoon. An hour and a half later, the "Eastern Star" also departed from the Hankou pier.
After bidding farewell to Chibi, they were unable to overtake each other again.
At 7:00 AM on June 1st, the "Eastern Star" and the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" arrived at the Chibi cruise terminal almost simultaneously, and tourists disembarked to visit the "Ancient Battlefield of Chibi." At 9:30 AM, the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" departed Chibi for its next stop, the ancient city of Jingzhou. The "Eastern Star," however, didn't set sail until 11:00 AM, also heading to Jingzhou. But this time, the "Eastern Star" was unable to overtake the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6."
The daytime voyage was smooth sailing; this section of the river meandered, with many natural bends and numerous lakes of varying sizes visible. Cai Yadi, aboard the "Eastern Star," had excitedly called her husband, Ji Fumin, that morning, saying she had just visited Chibi, the famous place from the Three Kingdoms period. Until 8 PM, the situation on the river was relatively stable, with boats coming and going along the banks and the city lights on both sides shining brightly. Mr. Sheng, who was enjoying the cool air on the deck of the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6," had no idea what was about to happen and was excitedly filming the scenery on both sides with his camera. "Around 8:30, there was a sudden thunder and lightning. You could see streaks of lightning connecting the tall buildings on the shore. The wind on the river was extremely strong, and the rain was heavy." Sensing something was wrong, Mr. Sheng quickly returned to his room to avoid the storm. By around 9 PM, the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" was rocking noticeably, and some river water was being washed into the hull by the waves. Many crew members began using tools to bail water out. When the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6" reached the Jianli section, it chose to dock. Although the passengers knew the weather was bad, they did not hear any explanation from the crew or staff for why the ship had docked. Many passengers who were already asleep were completely unaware that the ship had stopped in Jianli.
Just over ten kilometers behind the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6," the "Eastern Star" cruise ship, which always arrived first despite starting later, suddenly capsized around 9:30 a.m. and never caught up with the "Yangtze River Sightseeing No. 6." "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off." From yesterday morning until noon, Ji Fumin dialed his wife's number more than 30 times, but all he heard was the cold, disconnected tone of a switched-off phone.
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