Yangtze Cruises

The Three Gorges of Yangtze River (Changjiang San Xia, 长江三峡) is an area stretching from Fengjie County in Chongqing Municipality to Yichang in Hubei Province, length of 205 kilometers. It has three world famous gorges – Qutang, Wu and Xiling (in Chinese 瞿塘峡, 巫峡 and 西陵峡 respectively).

High mountains and towering peaks are stood along the banks of Yangtze River. The peaks are generally height 1,000 to 1,500 meters above sea level. The narrowest section of water is less than 100 meters width. Historically, the upward motions of the earth crest and the water’s downward pressure had been so high, thus, the Three Gorges formed.

Today the water resources are very rich. The waterway in the area is quite narrow, long and winding, so that boats sailing here have to be very careful, especially during nighttime. The water is often turbulent too. The old Chinese saying, “see the rocks seem there is wayless, clouds up there means another sky” can properly describe the Three Gorges of Yangtze River, which is also one of the ten best sightseeing spots and the top of the 40 great tourist attractions in China. Chinese people call Qutang, Wu and Xiling collectively the Big Three Gorges, while call the ones in Daning River (大宁河) and Madu River (马渡河) the Small Three Gorges and Very Small Three Gorges respectively.

There are many attractions along the Three Gorges, of which the most famous are Fengdu the great ghost city in China, Shibaozhai in Zhong County, Zhangfei Temple in Yunyang, the must-see Three Gorges, the Small Three Gorges and the giant project of Three Gorges Dam. Generally, there are three routes to tour the area, first one is the itinerary starting from Chongqing Municipality, going downstream by boat to view the majestic scenery in a relatively hurried way. Second, start in Shanghai, Nanjing or Wuhan, and then go upstream slowly to see the attractions along the Yangtze River. Third, begin the tour in Yichang, discover the mystery of the beauty in the Three Gorges area, as well as appreciate the grandiose Qutang Gorge, the elegant Wu Gorge and the dangerous Xiling Gorge. Additionally, enriching the tour by going to Shennong Stream, Small Three Gorges and Xiangxi Stream, they are precious natural heritage.