Yangtze River Cruise Tours

Yangtze River, literally called Changjiang, is the third longest river in the world. The river originates from the mountains of Tibet and is understood almost 6,400 kilometers east of the East China Sea near Shanghai. A boat cruise through the three gorges—the Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling —of the Yangtze River provides one of the most exciting river trips in the world.

The trip of Yangtze River Cruise through the three gorges usually starts from Chongqing and go downstream to Yichang which will last 4 days. But it is also possible to board a cruise at Yichang or Wuhan, in Hubei Province, and go upstream; this trip will take longer but provides a better chance to view the magnificent gorges. We'll describe the downstream trip, however, since that is the one most tourists take.

All Yangtze River tours can be customized according to requirements of your family.

FAQ about Yangtze Cruise

•    When is the best time to take Yangtze River Cruise?

The ideal months are April to October with plenty of cruise options, and the climate is more comfortable to appreciate the scenery. From late November to early March, there is only one cruise available once a week.

•    What cruise can you travel on?

All cruises will take you to almost the same shore excursions. There are differences between the facilities and services on board. The best are Victoria, Century, Yangtze Gold and President Cruises.

Introduction of Yangtze River and Three Gorges

The Yangtze River (Changjiang) is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world, next only to the Nile and Amazon rivers. Both (the Changjiang and Huanghe(Yellow) rivers are referred to as cradles of the Chinese nation, giving rise to the culture of the two river valleys and the time-honored brilliant Chinese civilization. The Yangtze River has its source in the Geladaindong Snow Mountain, the main peak of the Tanggula Range, which stands 6.000 meters above sea level on the southwestern border of Qinghai Province. The river flows 6.300 kilometer in eight provinces, one autonomous region, and two municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the central government. It features a unique landcape before emptying into the East China Sea.

As the Yangtze River snakes along the eastern fringe of Sichuan Basin, the WUSHAN Mountains straddle from south to north lo block the way. The mighty Yangtze River cult through mountains with an irresistible force and forms a magnificent landscape, the landscape of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges are composed of Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorge. The section of the Yangtze in the Three Gorges area extends 193 kilometres, forming the largest gorge area in the world.

The river valleys in the Three Gorges present a magnificent view when the river courses broaden and narrows alternatively. In the broad valley, the river has a wide channel and features an enchanting landscape. When it comes to the narrow valley, the river flows swiftly in a narrow channel flanked by steep cliffs on both sides and presents a dangerous scene. Qutang Gorge is known for its magnificence and precipitousness. Wu Gorge, for its serenity and beauty, and Xiling Gorge, for its swift currents and rapids.

Qutang Gorge

Also called Kuxia Gorge, the eight-kilometer-long Qutang Gorge starts from Banlicheng in Ketigjie County in the west and terminates in Daxi Town of Wushan County in the east. It is the shortest, the narrowest, and the most magnificent of the Three Gorges. It is referred to as a gorge that “guards all the water in Sichuan Province and holds a strategic point between Sichuan and Huhei provinces.' China Mountain rise 1300 meters above sea level and Baiyan Mountains closes in from both sides at the entrance to Qutang Gorge. Chijia Mountain on the northern hank is reddish brown, and the sheer Baiyun Mountain on the southern bank is white gray and resembles a huge door leaf called Kuimen Gale and known as the "majestic Kuimen under heaven." Viewed from a distance, Chijia Mountain looks like a peach in mid-air and Baiyun Mountain, a huge heap of salt, a wonderful sight on Qutang Gorge. There the river channel narrows, with the narrowest spot being less than 100 meters, and water rushes downstream through Kuimen turbulently. It stems that the two mountains are sky high like two screens and boats sails under the sky Dial are as narrow as a bolt of white silk. The better-known scenic spots on Qutang Gorge are Baidicheng, Mengliangti and Fengxiang Gorge.

Wu Gorge

Out of the eastern exit of Qutang Gorge, the river flows past a 25-kilometer-long broad valley on the Daning River before it reaches Wu Gorge. The secluded, picturesque Wu Gorge stretches for 40 kilometers between the mouth of the River in Wushan County, Chongqing Municipality and Guandukou in Badong County, Hubei Province. Strange-shaped peaks that rise abruptly over the water, jagged rocks of grotesque shapes, and a dense array of sheer cliffs form a landscape as beautiful as a painting corridor. There are 12 peaks in the Wushan Mountains that overlook the Yangtze River from both banks at Wu Gorge. These mountain peaks have attracted numerous tourists, Chinese and foreign, since ancient times. "Verdant are the 12 peaks of the Wushan Mountains, and they look as graceful as young girls.' This is a line in a verse composed by Liu Yuxi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in praise of the beauty of the mountains peaks. There is a peak on die northern hank of the Yangtze River. It has a solitary stone pillar that stands straight on top. The peak is called Goddess Peak because the stone pillar looks like a graceful girl. The peak is higher than other peaks, and it is the first to greet the morning glow and the last to see off the evening glow as the sun sinks into the west every day. So it is also called the Sun-Glow-Watching Peak. People in ancient China lavished many folk tales on the peak, adding much to its fascinating charm. The Xiangxi Broad Valley that extends 50 kilometers below the eastern exit of Wu Gorge features the tomb of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet during the Warring Stales Period (475-221 B.C.); Quyuantuo with the Temple of Qu Yuan; and the Xiangxi Stream where Wang Zhaojun, a concubine of Emperor Yuandi of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B. C.-A. D 24), once washed clothes.

Xiling Gorge

Xiling Gorge runs 120 kilometers between the estuary of the Xiangxi River in Zigui County in the west and Nanjingguan in Yicliang City in the east, including the 31-kilometer-long Miaonan Broad Valley Hut divides Xilong Gorge into the eastern and western sections. The western section is composed of Bingshubaojian, Niuganmafei, and Kongling gorges form east to west, while the eastern section consists of Dengying and Huangmao gorges. "Shoals are as closely spaced as bamboo joints, and each of the shoals is so dangerous that even the devil frowns." In the past, Xiling Gorge was strewn with perilous rapids and shoals. These dangerous rapids and shoals were cleared when the channel of the Yangtze River was dredged.

Yangtze Cruise Shore Excursions

Fengdu

Fengdu is called Ghost City, glowered over by the mountain of Pingdu, once thought erroneously to be the hideaway of some kind of Chinese Satan, and with scores of temples and shrines built to that effect, all with names like 'Palace of the King of Hell' and 'Between the Living and the Dead' and crammed full of sculptures of demons.

Shibaozhai

Shibaozhai (Stone Treasure Stronghold), a lumbering rock buttress on the north bank with thirty metres high, it's topped with an 18C temple, pagoda-shape, encasing a spiral staircase for reaching the temple's main sanctuary. A legend says there was once a tiny hole in the temple, through which poured enough rice to feed the monks. Greedily, they tried to enlarge it, and the frugal supply stopped forever — a Chinese version of the Western goose with golden eggs story.

White Emperor City

Liu Bei, 3C ruler of Shu, is said to have died of despair at White Emperor City (Baidicheng) after failing to avenge the death of his sworn brother Guan Yu in the war against Wu. Both of them, and also Zhu Geliang and Zhang Fei, the remaining two of the 'four musketeers' of that war, are commemorated by statues and tablets in the Baidi Temple. It also has eight sandalwood chairs, supposedly used by the leaders of the Heavenly Kingdom during the Taiping Rebellion. Opposite, you'll see Meng Liang's Staircase, chiseled into the cliff as far as a platform around half way up, where, the story goes, the Song general Yang was killed by traitors. When his bodyguard climbed up to recover the body, he was confronted by a monk, whom he promptly up-ended and hung by his feet from the cliff face; try, if you can, to recognise the unfortunate monk, petrified, they say, in the shape of a huge hanging rock.

Lesser Three Gorges

The 150-kilometer-long Lesser Three Gorges on the Daning River consist of Longmen, Bawu, and Dicui gorges and are known for the rolling hills, clear and shallow water, rapids, and shoals. Visitors can make a boat tour oi the lesser Three Gorges to enjoy the unsophisticated landscape, ancient coffins placed between cliffs or in caves high up the cliffs, and ruins of ancient plank roads built by chiseling into the rock face as well as monkeys, wild ducks, mandarin ducks, while storks, and other wild animals and birds. The Lesser Three Gorges arc known for their lofty hills, beautiful peaks, dangerous shoals, clear water, secluded places, and rapids- 'The mountains and waters on the Three Gorges are the finest under heaven, but the landscape along the Daning River is more beautiful." The Lesser Three Gorges are the best places for people to engage in water drifting.

Three Gorges Dam

The world-renowned dam of the Three Gorges Water Conservation Pivotal Project is being constructed on Zongbao Islet at Sandouping in the Maonan Broad Valley. New landscapes will appear along the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River with the construction of the Three Gorges Water Conservation Pivotal Project.

The project is composed of a concrete gravity dam, a dam toe power station, a permanent ship lock, and a vertical ship lift. The dam will be 2.309 meters long and 185 meters high and will have a normal impounded level of IK5 meters at winter. 100 meters higher than that before the dam is built. When completed, the Three Gorges Reservoir will lie 600 kilometers long and 1.000 square kilometers in area, with a water surface as wide as 2,000 meters at the widest point and have a storage capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters and installed electricity -generating capacity of 19.2 million kw. It can generate 84.68 billion kwh yearly. According to schedule, lite whole project will be completed in 2009. Before 2003, the majority of the scenic attractions along the Three Gorges will not be affected. After 2003, the government will adopt measures to provide appropriate protection to the scenic spots. Most of them will he moved to a higher location. The landscape along the Three Gorges will virtually remain lite same. When the project is completed in 2009, a new scenic resort with a gorge landscape as the main body, mountains and waters as the keynote, and the Ba and Yu cultures as a principal feature will appear. The dam will become the No.1 dam of water conservation projects in the world and a new hotspot attracting tourists from various parts of the world. The Three Gorges will become a comprehensive tourist resort and a golden tourist route, combining tourism, history exploration, scientific and technological projects, cultural research, and folk customs.

The new Three Gorges on the Yangtze River are unveiling their mysterious appearance.