Upstream Yangtze River Cruise Tour from Wuhan

Today, you will arrive at the Wuhan airport and start your Yangtze River cruise tour. Your tour guide and driver will pick you up and escort you to the hotel. Wuhan is a central city in Central China. It is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. There are many rivers and ports in this city. And its water area accounts for one quarter of the total area of the city. Ships can arrive in cities on five continents around the world directly through water routes.

After breakfast, we will visit Yellow Crane Tower. Located at the top of Wuhan Snake Mountain and close to the Yangtze River, it is a landmark building in Wuhan. It was built in 223 and repaired many times in the following years. The existing buildings were rebuilt in 1985 with the building style of Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). It is said that once upon a time, a man named Xin opened a tavern. One day, a ragged guest asked for a drink from Xin. Xin gave him a drink. Later, Xin had asked this man for drinks for many times. One day, the guest told Xin, “I owe you a lot of money. I can’t pay you back.” Then he drew a crane on the wall with the orange peel and left. Because the orange peel was yellow, the painted crane was also yellow. As long as the people clap their hands and sing, the yellow crane on the wall will dance. Later, this tavern attracted lots of guests for such a wonderful thing. After more than ten years, Xin earned a lot of money. One day, the ragged guest came again. Xin thanked him and wanted to repay him. The guest replied that he didn’t come for anything. Then he took out his flute and played several songs. Before long, white clouds floated down and the yellow crane in the painting flew away with the white clouds. Soon, the ragged guest also flew away after the yellow crane. Then the people realized that the ‘ragged guest’ was an immortal. To thank and commemorate this ‘guest’, Xin built the Yellow Crane Tower with the money he earned in ten years.

Then you will be escorted to take the estimated train D2213 13:28/15:31 to Yichang. The guide will pick you up and transfer you to the Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal. You will take the shuttle bus here to the dock and embark for the Yangtze River cruise.

 Yellow Crane Tower

 Yellow Crane Tower

This morning, you can get up earlier to play Tai Chi with others if the weather is fine. Tai Chi is a soft and flexible traditional Chinese boxing that can strengthen your body. You can learn a few movements and teach them to your relatives and friends when you get home.

We will have an additional shore excursion to the Tribe of The Three Gorges. You can pay for a reservation on the cruise. Here, you can see the traditional stilted buildings interspersed between the mountains and rivers. You may see sailboats and boats covered with dark awnings quietly parked in front of houses; girls are washing their clothes by the river; and fishermen are casting nets on the river to catch fish. Besides, you will see Shilingpai. It is a huge natural stone stele. It is 32 meters high, 12 meters wide at the top, 13 meters wide at the bottom and about 4 meters thick. This stone weighs more than 4,300 tons. It is really magnificent.

Then you can enjoy the buffet lunch on the cruise. Later, we will visit the Three Gorges Dam, which is the largest hydropower project in the world. The Three Gorges Dam was first built in 1994, with a total length of about 2,308 meters and a height of 185 meters. It can supply power to 10 provinces, such as Jiangsu and Guangdong. Besides, it also plays a role in flood control, shipping, aquaculture, irrigation and so on. After visiting the Three Gorges Dam, we will return to the cruise.

Optional experience:

If you are interested, you can experience the ship lift at your own expense here. The ship reception chamber of the ship lift can carry a 3,000-ton ship, with a maximum climbing tonnage of 15,500 tons and a maximum climbing height of 113m. The total length of its whole line is about 5,000 meters. The ship lift can help you better enjoy the charm of the Three Gorges Dam while enjoying the beautiful scenery along the Yangtze River.

Captain’s Welcome Reception will be held on the cruise in the evening. All the tourists on board will come to attend. And a buffet dinner will be offered. You can enjoy champagne, beer, juice and dessert here. At first, the captain, on behalf of the crew, will welcome all of you and ask you to join him in a toast to the following meaningful Yangtze River Cruise. Then, you can enjoy the crew’s artistic performances while enjoying delicious food.

The Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam

This morning, we will transfer to a small boat to go to the Shennong Stream, which is a stream on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It originates from the south slope of Shennongjia, the “first peak in central China”, runs through deep mountain valleys from south to north, and joins the Yangtze River. Shennong Stream is comparable to the beautiful landscape of Guilin. You can find cliffs and grotesque rocks on the Rabbit’s Ear Ridge, as well as towering and winding mountains on both sides of the stream.

Later, we will sail by Wu Gorge, also known as Daxia (Big Gorge). As one of the famous Three Gorges, Wu Gorge is 46 kilometers long. It starts from Daning River to Guandu Pass. Wu Gorge is deep and narrow, so it’s hard to enjoy enough sunshine. The moisture in the gorge is not easy to evaporate so some ethereal fogs are often seen. These fogs will present various shapes, like flying horses, walking dragons, hanging cliffs and spectacular waterfalls. In addition to the beautiful fog scenery, the Wu Gorge is also famous for the twelve peaks on the north and south banks. Among these twelve peaks, the Goddess Peak is the steepest and the most attractive.

Later, our ship will pass by Qutang Gorge. It is only eight kilometers long, the shortest of the Three Gorges, but it is the steepest. It is famous for its fabulous mountains and surfy river. One of the most famous attractions is the Kui Gate. There are cliffs on both sides of Kui Gate, hundreds of feet high and less than a hundred meters wide. They are shaped like a natural gateway, hence the name.  The surging water of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River enters the gorge through this gate. This is the west gate of the Three Gorges. The water in the gorge is deep and flows fast. The narrowest part of the river is no more than 50 meters. If you have a 10-yuan banknote, you will find the image of Kui Gate on its back. In addition to the Kui Gate, there is a pink wall with inscriptions all over the wall on the south bank. Besides, on the south bank, there is a grotesque peak protruding from the river, like rhinoceros watching the moon. When the ship passes Qutang Gorge, you cannot miss these attractions.

Qutang Gorge

Xiling Gorge

After waking up, you can eat buffet breakfast and then learn a few new Tai Chi movements, or you can rest for a while to recharge for today’s tour. Later, you can walk around on the cruise ship and then have a cup of coffee in the cabin. You can also stand on the deck to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

This afternoon, if the weather is fine, we will have a shore excursion to Jade Emperor Scenic Area, which is an attraction rebuilt on the basis of the original sites of Wannian Temple, Magu Cave and Magu Temple in Wuyu Mountain. It is famous for the super-huge head statue of Jade Emperor, considered to be the ruler of heaven and the very first of the Chinese emperors, on the top of the mountain. There are many cultural and historical sites in this area. Here you can see the Jade Emperor Hall, the Main Shrine Hall, the God of Wealth Hall, and other buildings. In addition to these buildings, there are many legends about the Jade Emperor in China. It is said that Taibai Jinxing, a fictional character in the Chinese classical novel, wanted to find a person with the ability and morality to govern Heaven and Earth. So he disguised himself as a beggar, looked around and finally found Zhang Youren. Zhang Youren is a leader of a town, where tens of thousands of people lived. Under his management, everyone was humble and polite. Furthermore, they got along with their neighbors. Taibai Jinxing asked him what the secret was for his management. Zhang Youren smiled and said that it was nothing more than forbearance. Taibai Jinxing thought that Zhang Youren was the very man for managing heaven and asked him to go to Heaven. Later, after various tests, all immortals recognized Zhang Youren and he became the Jade Emperor finally.

Optional visit:

If you are interested, you can have a shore excursion to Fengdu “Ghost City”. You can pay for an appointment on board in advance. With a history of nearly 2,000 years, it is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River in Fengdu County. It is a popular attraction for visitors of the Yangtze River Cruise. Here you can see various-shaped buildings of the nether world imagined by the Chinese people, such as the Naihe Bridge(a bridge every soul has to cross before being reincarnated), Gate of Hell(the only way to hell) and Tianzi Palace(the palace for the King of Hell). If you take photos with these buildings and statues in Fengdu “Ghost City” and post them on your Facebook, which will surely earn many likes for you.

Jade Emperor Scenic Area

Jade Emperor Scenic Area

Today, your Yangtze River cruise tour will come to an end. You will still have breakfast on the ship. When you disembark at Chongqing wharf, the guide and driver will pick you up and then escort you to the airport. We sincerely wish you a good journey.

Author: Xuelei Zhang

Proofreader: Yan Liu