Downstream Yangtze River Cruise Tour from Zhangjiajie

Welcome to Zhangjiajie! After arriving at the airport, you can walk to the arrival hall and find your guide there. The guide will take you to the hotel and help you check in. Along the way to the hotel, the guide will tell you some basic information about this tour, and you can feel free to ask any questions if you don’t understand.

In the morning, we will drive northeastward for about 1 hour and 20 minutes to the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, about 60 kilometers away from downtown Zhangjiajie. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon is not only famous for its world-record-holding glass bridge but the beautiful combination of plunging waterfalls, verdant and lush plants, magnificent karst landform, mysterious mists, and limpid stream. Please remember to wear a pair of cozy sneakers and bring some food because you need to appreciate the scenery on foot. The first attraction you will visit is the Hanging Plank Road. It is a very steep and narrow road, and it looks like a ladder that leads you to the sky. The road was built with more than 1600 stone steps. Although it looks very dangerous and precipitous, it actually is very safe. You can walk up to the top, and this process can provide you an illusion of going to the sky.

Then, you will walk to the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, the highest and longest glass bridge in the world with a total length of 430 meters, a width of 6 meters, and a height of 300 meters. It is made up of transparent glass and is an architectural wonder designed by Haim Dotan. The glass bridge hangs over a valley, providing you an excellent panorama of the entire grand canyon. When you standing on it, it is like floating in the air. And your heart may beat faster and your adrenalin becomes higher, which can give you a mixed sense of tension and pleasantness. In addition, you can overlook the river valley from it, and you will be astonished by the gurgling stream and verdant plants. If you are not afraid of heights, I highly recommend you to give it a try to walk on the glass skywalk. Besides, there is a bungee jump platform at the center of the bridge, where you can try the world’s highest bungee jumping.    

After enjoying lunch, you will pay a visit to Huanglong Cave (Huanglong means yellow dragon in Chinese), the core scenic spot of Zhangjiajie City. It is one of the largest caverns in China and is known as “A Wonder of Cave on Earth”. The cave is a typical Karst cave where you can see naturally formed cave sediments, such as stalactites, stalagmites, stone flowers, stone pillars, etc. The formation of all these sediments took millions of years. Besides, there are underground streams, pools, and waterfalls. Huanglong Cave consists of 6 scenic areas with over 100 scenic spots, including the Fairy Waterfall, the Rattling River, the Sky Colum Street, and Dragon Dance Palace. There is a legend about its name, the Yellow Dragon Cave. It is said that an old and a young yellow dragon lived in the cave. One day, the old dragon tried to spew fire to destroy the city. The good-natured young dragon found that, and then it rallied the residences to extinguish the fire by pour water. Finally, the old dragon was drowned and the fire was put out. However, the young dragon was worn out and died in this fight. Then, people named the cave Yellow Dragon Cave in memory of the young dragon.     

Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge

Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon

This morning, the guide will escort you to the train station to take the K1474 10:00/14:45 to Yichang. When you arrived at the station of Yi Chang, the local guide will pick you up and transport you to the Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal. Then, you will take a shuttle bus to the wharf to board the ship. Boarding in the evening allows you time to recover from the tiring tours and shift gears into a more relaxed mode. You can get ready for tomorrow’s adventures.

In the morning, you can lie in on the cozy bed. If you are an early bird, you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea. Walking to the deck, you may see many people do Taichi exercise. Taichi is a kind of more peaceful Chinese martial art that can date back as far as 2,500 years. This kind of sport involves a series of slow, rhythmic, and meditative body movements. It can be used to defend yourself and to promote inner peace and calm. Besides, Taichi can delay aging, prolong life, strengthen muscles and enhance flexibility. If you are interested, you are welcomed to join in. In addition, you can enjoy a buffet breakfast on the ship.

After breakfast, you can have a visit to the Tribe of the Three Gorges which is an optional excursion at extra cost. The Tribe of the Three Gorges is the only large scenic spot that has not been influenced by the Three Gorges Dam project in Yichang City. Here, you can witness various natural sceneries, including the Village on the Water, the Mountain-top Tribe, Shadow-play Stone, and the Stone Tablet. The natural Stone Tablet has a very smooth surface and is like a delicate artifact. It was acclaimed as a geological wonder. The tablet has a total height of 32 meters and a weight of about 4,300 tons, with its top 12 meters wide and bottom 13 meters wide. There is a folktale about this tablet. It is said that the Stone Tablet is the holy tablet of the Jade Emperor who is the Supreme Deity of Daoism and has the responsibility to protect and bless people. The local people say that praying this tablet does work and they regard it as a holy place to worship for good fortune, wealth, etc.

Then, you will go back to the ship and have a buffet lunch. In the afternoon, you will have a shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam. It is the main work of the Three Gorges Project (the world’s largest hydropower project). The project was built from 1994 to 2012, and the scenic area of the Three Gorges Dam covers an area of 15.28 square meters. There are three open spots to appreciate the main attraction, Three Gorges Dam, namely Tanziling Ridge, 185 Platform, and the Commemorating Park of the Interception. Standing on each of them, you can enjoy the Three Gorges Dam from three different perspectives, from overlooking to looking straight ahead to looking up. In addition, you can experience the Ship Lift which is an optional activity at extra cost. The Ship Lift is the largest and most sophisticated ship lift in the world. In addition, it is the latest completed construction item of the Three Gorges project. It is a vertical-hosting elevator with a height of about 169 meters which can lift a 3,000-ton cruise up and down about 113 meters to pass the Three Gorges Dam. It takes about four hours to pass the dam via the Five-stage Ship Lock, but it only takes about 40 minutes to pass it by the ship lift. If you want to pass the dam in a shorter time and experience this advanced and sophisticated lift, the Ship Lift is the best choice for you.

At the dinner, there is a Captain’s Welcome Reception on which the Captain and crews will extend an enthusiastic welcome to you. The crew member will perform dances, play instruments and sing songs for you. In addition, there will be lots of cocktails and delicious foods. It is a good chance to know more people and make friends. You can even sing and dance with them together. If you are a party animal, you will love it. At the end of the party, the Captain will toast all guests, and you can take photos with him. This kind of photo can gain many likes on social media.

The Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam

After enjoying a buffet breakfast, you will change to a smaller boat to have a shore excursion to Shennong Stream, a 60-kilometer tributary of the Yangtze River. And 20 kilometers of it is a rafting section. Shennong Stream was acclaimed as the “Jade Waterway” of the Three Gorges. The water here is clear and clean, and the peaks on both sides are exotic and lofty. Sitting on the boat, you will pass through three beautiful gorges, namely Mianzhu Gorge, Parrot Gorge, and Longchangdong Gorge. Parrot Gorge is home to the most beautiful landscape among these three gorges. On the banks of it, there are verdant plants, spectacular waterfalls, grotesque rocks, etc. Besides, there are blooming flowers all the year round at a part of Parrot Gorge, so it was reputed as the “Cove with Year-Round Blooming Flowers”.    

After viewing, you will go back to the cruise and then you can have a buffet lunch. This afternoon, the cruise will pass through the Wu Gorge. It has a total length of 46 kilometers and is also called Daxia which means Large Gorge in Chinese. Wu Gorge is made up of Golden Helmet and Silver Armor Gorge and Iron Coffin Gorge, and it is famous for strange peaks, grotesque rocks, and mysterious fog around the peaks. Along the gorge, there are 12 peaks on each bank, such as the Goddess Peak, Climbing Dragon Peak, and Congregated Immortals Peak. Besides, under the Congregated Immortals Peak, there is a historic relic -- Kongming Tablet. It is a flat and smooth white concave stone wall, resembling a giant tablet. It is said that the characters on the tablet were inscribed by Zhu Geliang (Kongming and Zhu Geliang refer to the same person who is a celebrity of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280)), hence the name.  

Then, the cruise will pass through the Qutang Gorge. It is the shortest but the most majestic of the Three Gorges, with a total length of 8 kilometers. The width of the river here is only hundreds of meters, but the flow of it can reach up to over 50,000 cubic meters per second. On the southwest of the gorge, there is the Kui Gate which is composed of lofty Mt. Baiyan in the north and Mt. Chijia in the south. The color of Mt. Baiyan is like white salt, so it got its name which means White Salt Mountain in Chinese. And Mt. Chijia is red because there is much liquid containing iron oxide red on the surface of it. Hence the name Mt. Chijia (Chi means red in Chinese).

Three Gorges

Qutang Gorge

In the morning, you can get up late, or you can get up early to practice Taichi with people on the deck. Then, you can go to the restaurant to have a buffet breakfast. This morning, we don’t arrange any activities for you, and you can enjoy the landscape or relax in our entertainment zones on the ship, such as KTV, movie theatre, fitness center, and café. In the afternoon, we will have a shore excursion to the Fengdu “Jade Emperor”. This scenic spot covers over 40,000 square meters. There are 30 different styles of traditional architecture and 208 deity sculptures. It is worth mentioning that it is home to the world’s largest sculpture of the Jade Emperor who has the biggest power and is the king of the Chinese gods. There are many halls, including the Jade Emperor Hall, the Hall of the God of Wealth, and the Prayer Hall. Besides, there is a Paradise Slide with a total length of 980 meters. It is made of natural granite, and it twists and turns along the mountain. Sliding from the top to the bottom, you can have a broader and more interesting view of the landscape.

Then, you can pay a visit to the Fengdu Ghost City, which is an optional activity at extra cost. It has nearly 2,000 years’ history, and it greatly combines Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism with mysterious ghosts. Chinese people believe that the dead must go through three tests before entering the netherworld. These three tests are carried out on the Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge, Ghost Torturing Pass, and the Palace the Son of Heaven respectively. The Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and it connects the nether world and the real world. There are three stone arches on the bridge and several square-shaped pools of water under the bridge. It is said that the middle arch of the bridge can test the nature of people, good or evil. Virtuous people will safely pass over it while villainous people will fall into the pools. And the left two arches are called the silver and golden bridges which will bring you good fortune if you pass through them. The cruise routes

Fengdu Jade Emperor

Fengdu Ghost City

In the morning, the cruise will arrive and Chongqing, and you will disembark. Please make sure that you have all your belongings with you. Then, you will head to the Ciqikou Ancient Town, located at the center of Chongqing. Its name Ciqikou means Porcelain Port because this place produces porcelain during the Ming and Qing (1636-1912) dynasties. It is one of the oldest shopping streets in Chongqing, with a history of more than 1,000 years. So, this place can show you what old Chongqing looked like centuries ago. There are 12 streets in Ciqikou Ancient Town, and most of the buildings along the street are Ming and Qing style. Here, you can find a large number of delicate specialty stores, snack stores, and teahouses. Besides, you can enjoy various folk performances, such as Sichuan Opera, Storytelling, and Sichuan Qingyin (singing with pipa).

In the afternoon, you will visit the Chongqing Zoo, 6 kilometers away from downtown Chongqing. The zoo was first built in 1953 and opened to the public in 1955. It covers a total area of 0.45 square kilometers. It serves not only as a zoo but also as an important base for the protection and research of wild animals. There are more than 230 species of animals and the total number of animals is up to about 4,000. The highlight of the zoo is the Panda House, which is designed based on the natural environment of giant pandas. They are very shy, especially in the public. You may see them sleeping, walking around in the room, nibbling bamboos, or playing with each other. You can take photos with them, and these cute animals can gain lots of likes and comments on your Twitter. Then, the guide will take you back to the hotel and have a rest.

Chongqing Zoo

Ciqikou Ancient Town

Today, the guide will help you check out and escort you to the airport according to your schedule. Hope you enjoy this tour! Please join us again! We will try our best to provide you a nice and enjoyable trip!

Author: Zhang Yibo