Downstream Yangtze Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang

What wake you up this morning will not be an alarm clock, but the burbling of the Yangtze River and the singing of birds. You can start your day with a refreshing Chinese traditional shadowboxing session on the deck led by a professional instructor.

After breakfast, let’s go ashore to explore either Fengdu Ghost City or Xiaoguanshan Folk Cultural Park, depending on your preference. Some cruises may also offer excursions to Fengdu Shuangguishan Mountain, Mingshan Mountain, or the Baiheliang Underwater Museum.

For those who are intrigued by Chinese underworld and afterlife folklore, Fengdu Ghost City will surely satisfy your curiosity. Since ancient times, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River were plagued by frequent shipwrecks, leaving countless souls submerged beneath the waters. In memory of the deceased, Fengdu was gradually regarded as a place to “receiving lost souls,” where people showed their reverence for death. Within the scenic area, you can retrace the footsteps of the departed crossing the Bridge of Forgetfulness that connects the living with the death, pass through Gate of Hell where souls face judgement, and finally entering the Eighteen Hells where guilty souls are punished.

After sightseeing, return to the cruise ship for lunch, and the reminder of the afternoon is free for your own arrangement. You can relax on the deck admiring stunning Yangtze sceneries or engage in onboard activities such as kite-flying or learning to tie a silk scarf from the crew.

In the evening, step ashore again for a spectacular live-action performance – “War Fire of the Three Kingdoms”, to immerse yourself in theatrical feast of epic battles. 
► Notes:
1. If the show is canceled due to weather or scheduling, the cruise company will offer a visit to the White Emperor City on the morning of the third day instead.
2. Standard cruise packages do not include the evening performance. If you're interested, you can buy the tickets on the spot.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
New Century Cruises: Century Glory, Century Oasis, or Century Victory (5 stars)

As the ship enters the Three Gorges, your Yangtze River cruise will reach its climax. Qutang Gorge, the first section, will greet you with its sheer cliffs on the both sides, which resembles a colossal gateway. Cruising along the water and looking up, you’ll find the sky narrowed to slit by the precipitous cliffs. You may wonder how these vertical towering walls were formed. Legend has it that in ancient times, when flood ravaged the land, a tribal leader led his people to carve a passage through the mountain to release the waters. Being heated with fire and doused with cold water, the rock cracked and fell off, and eventually forming a waterway. Modern geologists, on the other hand, attribute it to a millennia of river erosion and crustal uplift.

Floating onward, we’ll enter Wu Gorge, the most scenic stretch of the Three Gorges. An ancient Chinese poet once praised, “Having seen the clouds of Wu Mountain, no other clouds are worth seeing.” You may find a mountain shaped like a goddess stands quietly by the riverbank, with mist and clouds shrouding around like her silver silk ribbon. Here, we’ll transfer to a smaller sampan and sail into the Goddess Stream, a tributary of the Yangtze. As the channel narrows, the scenery gradually becomes delicate. You can see trees sprouting from rock crevices, hear apes calling from deep forests, and catch the melodious songs of the local boatmen.
► FYI: Some cruises may offer alternative excursions to Shennong Stream or the Little Three Gorges instead. 

After returning to the cruise and proceeding ahead, it is high time to admire the stunning sunset over the Xiling Gorge. The water will be dyed into golden orange, while the distant mountain will be silhouetted against the afterglow, playing a finale to today’s Three Gorges symphony. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
New Century Cruises: Century Glory, Century Oasis, or Century Victory (5 stars)

This morning, the cruise ship will dock at Yichang Maoping Pier. After checking out, the cruise company will help you transfer your luggage to the Tourist Center, so that you can finish your onward journey with ease. First, head to the Three Gorges Dam. Built nearly six decades later than Hoover Dam in the United States, it is five times larger in scale with the support of more advanced technologies. The total volume of concrete used in the construction would be enough to build 10 pyramids of Giza, and the rebar could circle the equator 30 times. Standing on the viewing platform, you can see the dam stretching over 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) across the Yangtze River like a giant silver chain locking the waterway. 

Then, step into the Three Gorge Project Museum to gain a detailed understanding of the entire construction process of the dam through viewing its engineering blueprints and learning about how the dam works. Leaving the museum, let’s continue to the Three Gorges Dam Closure Memorial Park. Here, you’ll be drawn to a giant relief wall depicting the working scene of building the dam and see surveying instruments, construction logs and safety helmets which witnessed the rising of this leviathan. 

After today’s sightseeing, the cruise company will offer you a smooth transfer to the Tourist Center, from which you need to head to the Yichang East Railway Station or airport on your own. If you want a worry-free transfer between the station and the Tourist Center, just let us know and we will be very gland to serve you.

► Transport Reference:
1. To Yichang East Railway Station: 
The bus takes about 50 minutes and costs USD 0.3. Walk 10 minutes from the Tourist Center to No. 10 Middle School station and take Bus No. B1 to the final stop at Yichang East Railway Station. Then, a 5-minute walk will finally lead you to the waiting hall. Taxi is more convenient for those who with large luggage, which takes only 25 minutes and costs USD 6.
2. To Yichang Sanxia International Airport (YIH):
The airport shuttle bus from the Tourist Center to Yichang Sanxia International Airport is a budget-friendly choice at about USD 3, though it takes nearly 2 hours. A taxi, on the other hand, costs USD 14 and gets you there in just 35 minutes. 

► FYI:
1. For tourists booking a standard cruise, the sightseeing in Yichang includes only the Three Gorges Dam, and will not cover the Project Museum and Closure Memorial Park.
2. The dam also famous for its world’s largest and most advanced ship lift. You can experience it at your own expense (USD 25) if you are interested. Please note that it will extend your tour by about 1 hour.
3. For a smooth connection for your onward journey, we recommend booking flights or high-speed trains that depart in the late afternoon or evening.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast