Yangtze river is a vital lifeline courses 3915 miles from the glaciers of Tibet to the East China Sea at Shanghai - a vast artery teeming with the barges, ferries, ships and sampans of 200 million people who live along its shores.

Villages nestled at the riverbanks and people still use age-old methods to do their farm work with hard-working water buffaloes.

The Three Gorges on the middle reaches of the river is one of the world's great natural wonders. A boat trip, through the verdant hills and mountains rising from the banks in an ever-changing configuration of graceful slopes, water falls and peaks, is an unforgettable experience.

Many cruises exist in Yangtze. They travels up and down between Chongqing and Wuhan each year. And they vary from simple Chinese cruise to luxury all-included 5 star western cruise. ChinaExploration Tour provides the service of Yangtze cruise for all class of tourist according to their time and budget. In our travel, from 4 people shared second class cabin to deluxe double rooms of 5 star cruise will be used according to the tours.

Three gorges, one of the world largest gorges, lasted 200km with high cliffs and turbulent shoals. A lot of ancient poets penned poems on them.

Today, the ancient Gorges is becoming a lake and navigable water. Although some places are flooded, most historic scenic spots are still there. The views of the gorges are not changed and the blueprint of three Gorges Touring Zone are staging.  

Fengdu , also called Ghost Town, was named Mingdu in ancient time. It is such a place that: the Departed Come to Fengdu. The Devils go to Hell” according to the superstitious legend. Lots of temples called “ Ghost Places “ have been built since the Tang Dynasty with a strong air of mysterious.

Shibaozhai, also called Stone Village, located at the north bank of the Yangtze River, is a 56 meter high pagoda isolated steep hill. During the Ming Dynasty( 500 years ago), a 12-story wooden pagoda was built on the hillside facing the river. Its craftsmanship is so wonderful and unique that it is named “ Pear on the Yangtze River “ by tourist.

Qutang Gorge, only 8 kms long, extends eastward from Baidi town to Daxi town. It has a momentum of controlling the waters from Chongqing on the east and dominating the mountains of Hubei on the east. The river is flanked with steep cliffs and towering peaks.

The widest spot of the river is about 100-200 meters and the narrowest spot is only 10 meters. At Kuimen, the entrance of the gorge, the steep cliffs on either side look like two gigantic door leaves closing in on the roaring river and holding the strategic pass between Chongqing and Hubei perilous in every way. Kuimen has been marveled at as the most dangerous pass of the world. When you travel through the opening up and the thundering river rolling by vigorously, just the thousands of horses galloping ahead irascibly.

Wu Gorge is characterized by beautiful peaks and steep cliffs on both sides. The deep gorge is so kaleidoscopic that your eyes on the beautiful scenes everywhere all along. The twelve peaks of Mt Wushan make up a most spectacular scene. The peaks are varied in shape and posture. Some look like green screens, some are surrounded in the cloud and others covered with ancient pine trees. Among them Shennv Peak ( Fairy Peak) is most enchanting.

The landscapes of the Daning River, Xiangxi River and Shennong River provide a unique flavor of primitiveness with the green mountains and the blue water. In addition, located in the region of Wu Gorge are such famous walled cities as Wushan, Badong and Zigui, where there are a number of noted historical sites and where the folkways are so unique and colorful that one can enjoy him heartily.

Xiling Gorge starts at Xiangxi in Zigui and Zigzags for 76 kilometers down the Nanjingguan pass. It is the most dangerous Gorge with shoals in Gorges. “ Shoals connect with each other which makes ghost retreat” There are In Shoal, Ix shoal and Congealing shoal these dangerous shoals with many whirlpools. Because of the narrow navigable course with reef under water only empty boats could sail until we built the Wanzhou dam with higher water level so that boats can sail day and night. The Xiling gorge starts from west to East with “ Military books and precious Sword gorge’. “Oliver and horse lung Gorge”, “ Lantern Shadow Gorge”, “ Yellow Ox Gorge”, so on.

Lesser Three Gorges is in Daling River, which is a main tributary of the Yangtze River. It rises in the south of Dabashan Mountain and empties into the Yangtze River in the west Wu gorge. The lesser three Gorges in the general name of Longmen gorge., Bawu Stream. It is 50 km long from Longmen gorge in south to Tujiaba in the north. In China with magnificent mountains, clear water, secluded and fine scenery and pretty stones in the area. You should never miss the Lesser Three Gorges if you visit the Three Gorges.

The Three Gorges Dam is located at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei Province as the largest water control project in the world. The great dam is built in accordance with the scheme of “development in one cascade, construction at one stroke, impoundment at stages and resettlement in succession”. It is beneficial in ten aspects, including flood control, power generation, navigation, aquaculture, tourism, ecological protection, development-oriented resettlement, transferring water supply and irrigation, which makes it a unique super power station worldwide.

The concert gravity dam is 3,035m long on the top, with the crest at EL 185 meters. The designed normal pool level of the reservoir is EL 175 meters, and the total storage capacity 39.3 billion m3. The designed two powerhouses to be located on both sides of the spillway have 26 units of generators of 700,000Kw each, with a total capacity of 18.2 million Kw and an annual output of nearly 84.7 billion Kwh.

The designed One-way shipping capacity of the navigation facilities is 50 million tons a year. The twin 5-flight ship lock can adequately handle tows up to 10,000 tons. The main works of the Project take 15 years. Owing to the construction of the Project, 1.13 million people were resettled.

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