The longest river in China and the world’s third longest river, spanning a total of 6380km and stretching from Chongqing to Shanghai, the Yangtze itself is a major tourist drawcard.

But what sets this river apart from others is the Three Gorges, each with its own unique characteristics. Qutang Gorge is eight kilometres long and is widely regarded as the most magnificent of the three, while Wu Gorge is 45 km long and is thought of as the most scenically attractive. The 76 km Xiling Gorge is known as the most dangerous of the three, although when sailing through it on a luxury cruise vessel you certainly don’t feel ill at ease.

Passengers with good eyesight may also spot hanging coffins nestled high up in the cliffs, placed there by locals long ago. How they managed to insert the Hanging Coffins in such an awkward spot remains a mystery, however.

There are many tributaries running off the Yangtze and many cruises will include a side trip on a smaller motorised vessel down one of these tributaries, such as Daning River, where the Lesser Gorges are situated. Passengers may also have the chance to see the Mini Gorges during a trip down the Shennong Stream in a traditional boat.

SHORE EXCURSIONS

While passengers remain on the river cruise ship while it passes through the Three Gorges (there’s usually an observation area on a higher deck, for sweeping views of the gorges), it doesn’t mean that guests are confined to the vessel for the entire duration of the trip.

There will be several shore excursions to interesting towns during the voyage, and these generally last a few hours. Among the places often visited are Fengdu, known as the Ghost City with its collection of Buddhist and Taoist Temples set atop Ming Mountain. Another popular stop off is Baidi Cheng (White Emperor City), a long-time refuge and inspiration for would-be kings and poets.

Also on the list of shore excursion spots is the enormous Three Gorges Dam Project, the largest water conservation project ever undertaken. All told, the dam measures 2335 metres in length and is 185 metres high.

Shore excursions are generally included in the price of the cruise but there may be the odd one that attracts an additional cost. A bus often collects passengers from the port and takes them to the attraction they are visiting and there can be quite a bit of walking once there, though the pace is fairly moderate.

LARGER VESSELS

One of the benefits of the Three Gorges Dam Project is that the Yangtze is now more easily navigable for vessels passing through its waters, (the other two main purposes of the dam being flood control and hydroelectric power production).

Because the Yangtze is wider than Europe’s waterways, the river cruise vessels that sail on it are a lot larger, often with a more spacious interior and facilities their European counterparts may not have, although they can feel less personal.

Passenger capacity is generally larger for Yangtze river cruise ships too. The river has become wider and deeper since the construction of the Three Gorges Dam Project, which completely changed the topography of the region. There are many villages and towns lining the river and the hugely varied scenery is, of course, the highlight of the cruise.

The luxury cruise liner resembles a five-star resort floating on the Yangtze River with helistop, golf course, outdoor swimming pool, cigar lounge bar and other luxury facilities.

The ship holds 350 passengers. It is 136 meters in length, 19.6 meters in width and reaches speeds of up to 26 km per hour.

Picture taken on May 22, 2011, shows the outdoor swimming pool on the cruise liner “Yangtze River Gold 1.”

The bar stores imported wines in the cruise liner “Yangtze River Gold 1.”

The luxury lobby accessed to each story of the cruise liner.

Century Cruises has the most modern fleet of luxury river cruise ships on Yangtze River.

Century’s cruises are featured in the programs of some of the leading tour operators to China. Its 5-star fleet includes: Century Star, Century Sky, Century Sun, Century Diamond, and Century Emerald.

Century Cruises is the only Yangtze River cruise line to receive China’s prestigious “Ships of Credibility and Security” award. It features European hospitality experts – the international standard of hospitality. A 5-star cruise line, it also offers the largest standard deluxe cabins of any ship on the Yangtze River, with panoramic sliding glass doors and private balconies opening to some of the world’s most spectacular natural scenery. Its fleet is the only one with a Roman-styled, grand atrium lobby in every cruiser, with passengers enjoying western-style dining and Chinese banquets, live entertainment, and the most popular movie channels that include CNN, HBO and a diverse selection of international programming.

A newly built luxury cruise ship, which is touted as China’s largest on inland rivers, set sail on its maiden voyage Friday morning from Chongqing port on the Yangtze River. The 135.2-meter vessel, named President Prime, is expected to head downstream for Yichang, the location of the Three Gorges Dam. It has 6 stories and 187 rooms that can accommodate a total of 374 passengers. The ship reportedly cost RMB180m.

The total length of the line is about 377.46 kilometers, which was constructed for 5 years, with a total investment of 22.57 billion Yuan.

The Yiwan Railway links Yichang City, central China’s Hubei Province with Wanzhou District, southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, in Enshi City, central China’s Hubei Province.

As the most difficult project in China’s railways because of the mountains along the way, the Yiwan Railway is expected to open for traffic at the end of November. To link the line, workers had to build 253 bridges and dig 159 tunnels, which account for 74 percent of the total railway length, winning the railway the title of the “tunnel and bridge museum.”

Chongqing was a pleasant surprise. With its towering mountains and roaring rivers comprising over 3000 years of civilization but now transformed into a modern metropolis was a revelation. Once the wartime capital of China, it is now the largest industrial and commercial city of the region with a GDP growth rate of nearly 18%.

If the city was a surprise, the visit to a milch agricultural and dairy center and a model village was equally astonishing. Modern state-of-the-art methods for acquiring dairy products and a contemporary village, which could outsmart any modern city, with amenities like clean houses, paved streets, electricity, gas, and internet connections was a real marvel.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), it was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s provisional capital and was heavily bombed by the Japanese Air Force. Due to its mountainous environment, many people were saved from the bombing. Many factories and universities were moved from eastern China to Chongqing during WWII, transforming this city from inland port to a heavily industrialized city.

The focal point of the unique Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is a tourist attraction as well as a commercial city. The Metropolis attracts visitors from home and abroad for its cultural heritage and other tourist attractions. The city is the starting point for the Yangtze River Cruise, which explores the stunning scenery of the Three Gorges. Other attractions include the Dazu Rock Carvings, valuable works of art carved during the Ninth Century, Gold Buddhist Mountain, a rich repository of diverse animals and plants; and Fishing Town, one of three ancient battlefields in China. Ancient Ci Qi Kou village lures tourists to linger in its streets to buy handicraft souvenirs. General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum, Three Gorges Museum, Peoples’ Assembly Hall and Wulong Karst are also worth a visit. Chongqing is famous for its hot Sichuan cuisine and world-famous hotpot dishes, which our hosts provided us the opportunity to partake. Street vendors as well as restaurants feature exciting spicy delicacies for the adventurers.

It is also the location of a wonder of the modern world, and one guaranteed to bring out the inner engineering nerd in us all – the Three Gorges Dam. The largest hydro-electric power station in the world, the dam wall itself is 1.9km long and 185m high and took 12 years to construct; a workforce of 30,000 laboring around the clock in three eight-hour shifts. Its 26 turbines produce 80 TWh a year, accounting for three percent of China’s energy consumption (it was expected to be 10 percent when construction began, such has been the growth in demand for electricity from this booming nation). It is, quite simply, a building project on scale seen nowhere else in the world and, at a cost of US$28 billion, the third most expensive individual object in the world, ever. It is safe to say that no other nation but China would have been capable of pulling it off, a fact to which the 1.3 million people relocated stand testament.

Hydroelectric energy isn’t the only way that the Yangtze assists in powering the nation. Known as the ‘Main Street’ of China, the river remains a major artery through the heart of the country, and one passes countless large barges of coal, as well as those carrying sulfur, fruit, tarpaulin covered trucks and numerous other goods. More sights on the shore: shipyards – men miniscule as they hammer away at huge, hulking shells of would-be river behemoths; ancient temples that cling precariously to the craggy cliff faces; solitary, houses, tucked away in improbably inaccessible folds of the green slopes, the lives lived within little different from centuries ago, despite the wave of change rolling up this mighty waterway.

Daily excursions are available. As well as admiring the dam itself, you are offered the opportunity to take a look at the lives of those who have been relocated; to visit Fengdu, the town of ghosts, where Li Bai reflected “one day we all shall live”; and to transfer onto smaller boats in order to explore the narrow tributaries with their aqueous caves, rainbow fountains and rare wildlife like macaques and mandarin ducks.

As for the boat itself, the Yangzi Explorer allows the traveler to take in stunning scenery in complete comfort and with all mod cons. Cabins are large with satellite TV, power showers and a fridge full of chilled chardonnay to sip on your private balcony. Four-course meals are prepared by a top chef, talks and interactive workshops laid on in addition to the excursions, entertainment organized for children and the crew unfailingly friendly, without ever being intrusive. A library, bar, gym, theater, the Internet… heck, it even has a Dragonfly spa on board. It is, in effect, a 124-passenger boutique hotel on water.

Let us transcend these earthly delights though. It is the gorges themselves that eclipse all: the great un-giving slabs of granite and steep green slopes that roll on, one after the next; the vertiginous yellow rockfaces, whose seemingly unreachable crevices contain the coffins of ancient cliff burials; and the myth-drenched peaks, disappearing upwards into shrouds of mist. Words cannot convey the scale of the scenery. Dwarfed by its presence, and transfixed by its beauty, it is impossible not to become meditative. The inspiration for great poets, Daoism and Buddhism took hold in this region for good reason – no need for the intervention of a higher power with the world itself so physically overwhelming, awe-inspiring.

Victoria Anna is one of the largest and most luxurious ships cruising Yangtzes River.

Victoria Anna has 132 standard cabins with private balcony.Each standard cabin is 21 square meters with twin beds 0.9m*2m , and private bathroom with shower, bathtube and toilet.

Read More About Victoria Cruises or Victoria Anna:
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Hiyangtze recommend the five days/four nights upstream cruise (Yichang to Chongqing) which gives you more time to enjoy the stunning scenery, take photos and learn about Chinese culture, history and customs through the greater number of shows and longer commentaries.

Yangtze Cruises specialists Hiyangtze are offering a great package over the summer and through to the September 15 – RMB8,580 includes return airfares with tax, four nights onboard in a main cabin, all meals, land transfers and shore excursions. A perfect trip for all the family, children (under 12) who share a cabin with parent join the cruise FREE.

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Yangzi Explorer Cruise Ship Itineraries
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