After passing this reservoir, walk up for more than 80 kilometers and you will arrive at Oskemen, the capital of East Kazakhstan Oblast, Kazakhstan.
The old name of Oskemen was Ust-Kamenogorsk. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, this city, like many cities in the former Soviet Union, changed its name.
This city rose in the Soviet era due to the construction of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydroelectric Power Station. It was originally an important hub station on the Almaty-Barnaul railway. The construction of the hydroelectric power station led to the vigorous development of the metallurgical industry and became the most important lead-zinc smelting center in the former Soviet Union.
This city is similar to Pavlodar that we passed before. It is a heavy smelting center built in the 1950s and 1960s. It can be seen everywhere in the eastern part of the city. The thick smoke from the numerous chimneys is so thick that it covers the sky and makes the city turbid.
To be honest, Yang Jing was in no mood to stay in a city with such serious pollution, so before it got dark, Old Ivan continued to drive the yacht upstream.
Less than fifteen kilometers upstream from the center of Oskemen is the Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydroelectric Power Station. The former Soviet government built a 426-meter-long dam here to restrain the surging waters of the Irtysh River, and with the help of the mountains on both sides of the river, formed a reservoir with an average width of about 500 meters and a length of 70 kilometers.
This reservoir is separated from the Bukhtamar Reservoir upstream by the Bukhtamar Reservoir Dam.
The Irtysh River officially enters the mountainous area after passing through the single-stage ship lock of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Reservoir Dam.
Before the sun completely set, the Siberian Endeavour finally successfully passed the single-stage ship lock of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Hydropower Station and entered the reservoir area with a slow water flow.
The voyage of more than 400 kilometers from this reservoir to the upper estuary of Lake Zaisan is all in the reservoir!
Due to the intercepting effect of the dam, the river water in the reservoir is almost imperceptible to flow. The entire reservoir is like a long and narrow mirror, echoing with the afterglow of the setting sun in the western sky, making it difficult to distinguish where the sky is and where the water is.
While there was still some light in the sky, the Siberian Endeavour, which had just passed the lock, sailed forward a few hundred meters and then stopped on the right bank of the reservoir.
This place looks like a small village developed based on the reservoir and the hydropower station, similar to the luxury villa areas on the left bank of the reservoir. There are several docks near the edge of the reservoir, with several yachts docked at the docks.
Although these yachts are not as luxurious as the Siberian Endeavour, they are all large yachts of about 60 feet. It can be seen that the wealthy people nearby still like to go boating on the river.
Old Ivan docked the yacht steadily at the largest pier. When Yang Jing and his friends got off the boat, a middle-aged man with a big belly was already waiting at the pier.
When the man saw Yang Jing and the others walking out of the cabin, he was stunned for a moment. Then he saw Old Ivan who followed them out of the boat, and he greeted them warmly.
The two men hugged each other warmly. It was obvious that old Ivan was very familiar with the fat man.
"Come, Nikolai, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Yang from China, and these are his bodyguards. Mr. Yang is a distinguished guest invited by Mr. Alekperov, so you must entertain him well. Mr. Yang, this is Nikolai Berglovsky, the manager of the Ust-Kamenogorsk Reservoir Resort. He has been running this resort for more than 20 years. His resort is considered the best resort in the Ust-Kamenogorsk Reservoir and the Buktamar Reservoir."
Yang Jing shook hands with the fat manager, exchanged a few words, and then entered the resort under the guidance of the fat manager.
Just now, when I looked at it from the water, I thought this was a holiday villa area built by some rich people, but I didn't expect that all the buildings here belonged to the fat man in front of me. This area of buildings are all resort facilities.
"Mr. Yang, Nikolay is also from Baku. He used to be a chef who was good at cooking fish. He once opened a restaurant in Baku, which was quite famous in the local area. But later his wife died of cancer. He was so sad that he brought his family to his wife's hometown, Ust-Kamenogorsk, and opened a resort here. His wife was buried on the hillside behind the resort."
After hearing this, Yang Jing couldn't help but look at the fat man who was smiling and entertaining the guests. He didn't expect that this fat man was actually a romantic man.
"Nikola knew Mr. Alekperov when he was in Baku. At that time, Mr. Alekperov would often dine at his restaurant. This guy is very good at cooking fish. Although he used to cook saltwater fish, he is still very good at cooking freshwater fish after coming here. It is precisely because of his skills that his resort is becoming more and more prosperous. Many people from the upper and lower reaches of the Irtysh River come here to eat fish. Whenever Mr. Alekperov passes by here by boat, he will definitely enjoy the fish cooked by Nikola himself. The taste is very delicious."
Yang Jing smiled and said, "Let Nicholas show off his skills in a moment. Bring out all his specialties and we'll enjoy them to our heart's content."
The dinner was indeed sumptuous. Nikolai knew that the young Chinese man who came here with old Ivan in the evening was a guest that Mr. Alekperov valued very much, so he, who usually didn't cook, also did it himself. Naturally, the dinner was extremely sumptuous.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
