Yangtze River Cruise - Post-tour to Chinese Adventure

Transfer from Shanghai to the airport for your flight to Chongqing, a particularly interesting city as it was the capital of China during World War II for the Nationalist Chinese, and many Americans, the most famous of which, "The Flying Tigers," were stationed there. After lunch on the plane, you will arrive in mid-afternoon in this spectacularly located city overlooking the meeting place of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers.  Surrounded by wooded hillsides with the river mist rising up over traditional wooden houses, these sections of Chongqing will give you a marvelous view of "Old China."

Enjoy a tour of the old city of Chongqing, one of the best-preserved historic towns in China.  Chongquing is also an active bustling town set on a hill with views of the Jialing River. Visit a local teahouse for a drink of tea and listen to some classical Chinese music played by local musicians. The hotel sometimes offers evening entertainment, such as Sichuan folk operas or traditional dance programs, which you may wish to investigate, on your own.  In the afternoon visit Eling Park, to see large paintings of the Yangtze River and a large model of the Yangtze River dam project depicting rising water levels and its affects (time permitting).

After dinner in a restaurant board your Yangtze River cruise ship for an evening departure to begin your journey down the world’s third longest river, one of the most beautiful in the world, and through the magnificent Three Gorges.

Note: Your accommodations will be in a first-class cabin with private bathroom. You will spend three nights on the ship.

NOTE: Beginning at over 16,000 feet above sea level in the Kunlun Mountains of Tibet, the Yangtze River rushes east and south for 3,434 miles to the Yellow Sea, near Shanghai.  Because of the high altitude at which it originates and the many hidden rocks under the water's surface, the river gushes and swirls in eddies and rapids as its swift current races downstream.

En -route, see people living on small river craft called junks, villages and farms, temples and pagodas, and so much more.

As you cruise you will pass lovely terraced hillsides, villages clinging to the mountainsides that rise up from this great river, and steep stone steps that lead to narrow paths high above the chasm.  Before motors were installed in the cargo and cruise ships, "trackers" had to pull the boats up the river, risking their lives on these slippery steps and paths cut into the rock.  As your ship continues down the river, other sights may include a lovely red 11-story pagoda perched on a rock and later, a great rock in the middle of the river called Baihe Ridge.  B/L/D MS East King or Queen (5-star)

NOTES: You will find this rock and many others are inscribed with Chinese characters that offer an explanation or a poem about the rock, its location, its symbolism, etc.  These inscriptions are part the traditional Chinese reverence for beautiful natural sites.  Over the centuries, many rocks have been given the names of animals or characters in folk legends, and you may be urged to look for these ambiguous shapes along the way.  In addition, you may also be told about fearsome names given to the various sections of the river and the gorges, as sailors long worried about the resident demons and spirits that seemed to try to prevent them from navigating this great river, before the advent of powerful motorized craft.

During these three days of the cruise, there will be several interesting and informative talks on various aspects of Chinese life including a talk and demonstration of traditional Chinese medicine practices, a tai chi demonstration, a talk on the Yangtze River and the River Basin, an opportunity to have some lessons in Chinese conversation and a Fashion Show of Traditional and Contemporary Chinese Clothing. In addition, "house films" will be available in your room each day and evening entertainment will be provided

Take your breakfast on board.  During today on the Yangtze River, the ship will dock and there will be a shore excursion to Wanzhou or Fengdu depending on the water level and how fast the boat cruises. Lunch in the ship's dining room.

NOTE: Wanzhou, a mountainous city that is an important port and industrial city, is noted for its acrobatic troop and free market where local produce and crafts are sold.

Fengdu is called "The City of Ghosts," and upon arriving in the town you will hear some of the legends that gave the town its nickname and have the opportunity to explore, on your own.

After a few hours, re-board the ship and prepare for the Captain's Welcome Reception and dinner.   The evening entertainment will be a performance with traditional entertainment.  Spend this second night on board. B/L/D  MS East King or Queen (5-star)

Begin this day with tai chi exercises, as the Chinese do, before breakfast in the ship's dining room.  During this morning or tomorrow morning, there will be a talk on Life in Modern China and a demonstration of Chinese watercolor painting.

Enjoy breakfast as the ship continues downstream and passes through the first of the Three Great Gorges.  Qutang Gorge is just 5 miles long, the shortest and smallest of the three, but it is known for its fast-moving current and winds that caused early travelers to call it Windbox or Bellows Gorge.  As you enter the gorge between Red Shoulder Mountain and White Salt Mountain, watch for interesting crevices that punctuate the rock face high on the north bank of the river.  Once used as burial niches in ancient times, these crevices have revealed nine coffins holding bronze swords, armor and other artifacts from the Warring States Period (476 - 221 BC). The ship will soon stop at Shennong Stream, a tributary of the Yangtze River.  Here you will leave the large cruise ship and board a bus that will take you to the nearby river for a sail in a motorized sampan up the Shennong Stream and through the spectacular Lesser Gorges: Dragon Gate Gorge, Misty Gorge and Parrot Gorge - sometimes considered even more beautiful than the Three Great Gorges. Enjoy a picnic lunch before returning, by bus, to the cruise ship, and then continue downstream and through the second of the Three Great Gorges, the Wu Gorge.  Cliffs on either side of the ship rise to almost 3,000 feet above the river, as you glide through this magnificent 27-mile-long gorge.  Watch for the 12 peaks, six on each side of the river, all of which have been given special names related to the legends that have evolved around them over the centuries.  The ship will thread its way through Xiling Gorge. At 48 miles in length, this longest and historically most dangerous section of the Three Gorges is the site of the new dam project.   Steeped in legends, the Chinese recognize four smaller gorges within the one larger one, which are given the fantastic names of the myths associated with them:

1. The Gorge of the Sword and the Book on the Art of War (based on a myth)
2. The Gorge of the Ox's Liver and Horse's Lung (named for rocks that resemble these shapes)
3. Kongling Gorge (named for the large and small rocks that resemble pearls)
4. The Gorge of Shadowplay or Bright Moon Gorge (named for the way the rocks shine in the moonlight and/or resemble the silhouettes of the four main characters in the Chinese epic, Journey to the West, reinterpreted by Arthur Waley in the tales of Monkey.)

Pass the Three Gorges Dam 5-stage ship locks before docking for the night.  After the Captain's Farewell Banquet there will be a talk on the Three Gorges Dam Project.  Later in the evening, there will be a Cabaret Show by the ship's staff.  Spend the third night on board, in your cabin.  B/L/D  MS East King or Queen (5-star)

Continue on to Sandouping Village where you will disembark for a look at the Three Gorges Dam Project.  Return to the ship and continue through the gorge.  Exiting from the gorge, the ship passes through the Three Gorges ship locks a sight you won't want to miss. 

In the late morning, the ship will dock in the city of Yichang where you will disembark.  After lunch depart for the Yichang Airport to board your flight to Shanghai where you will stay overnight.  B/L/D  Ramada Pudong Airport Hotel (4-star)