Yangtze River Cruise Itinerary: A Day-by-Day Journey Through China’s Three Gorges

Shennong Stream

During my last trip to China, I had the opportunity to experience a Yangtze River cruise with Victoria Cruises on the Victoria Sabrina. Victoria does two different cruises through the Three Gorges area. They do a 4-day, 3-night cruise downstream or a 5-day, 4-night cruise upstream. I opted for the longer upstream version from Yichang to Chongqing.

While I intended to pay for this trip personally, when Victoria Cruises heard I was coming, they rolled out the red carpet, upgrading me and paying for all the optional tours I took. Thanks!

A Yangtze River cruise through China’s Three Gorges region offers more than dramatic canyon scenery. It provides access to a sequence of curated cultural experiences, engineering landmarks, and ancient practices preserved through performance and storytelling. 

Most of the passengers continued on after this cruise to see other parts of China, as this cruise was only part of a longer tour in China. Because I did not cruise in the summer, many of the passengers were retirement age. 

Find the cheapest travel insurance for seniors over 75.

Three Gorges

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Day 1: Boarding at Maoping Pier

If you arrive in Yichang via the high-speed train as I did, you can show your passport to get a pass for a bus from the train station to the dock. Walk out of the train station and turn right. The cruise tourism office is on the first floor of the parking garage adjacent to the station. The cruise began at Maoping Pier, an embarkation point located upstream of the Three Gorges Dam. 

Arrival at the Maoping Pier is an experience. Our bus pulled in alongside a number of other buses, and we were met by people from a number of different cruise lines holding signs, mostly in Chinese, for the various ships. The Victoria Cruise staff sign had the name of the ship in English on one side of the sign and in Chinese on the other. Follow the right sign, pass through security, and keep following the staff for your ship down the hill and onto the right boat. 

Dinner on the first night is not included in the cruise price but can be purchased. That evening, passengers attended an orientation meeting in either English or Mandarin that introduced the schedule and basic expectations for the upcoming days. Afterward, people settled in for the evening. The ship remained at the pier overnight.

From the decks, I could see numerous barges and ships moving along the river, reinforcing the Yangtze’s reputation as one of the world’s busiest inland waterways. The river traffic continued into the night. 

Day 2: Tribe of the Three Gorges, Three Gorges Dam, and Ship Lift

Day 2 brought a combination of cultural interpretation, natural landscapes, and a close look at one of the world’s largest engineering projects.

Optional Morning Excursion: Tribe of the Three Gorges

My first excursion was to a tourist village that featured a series of performances, walkways up into a gorge, waterfalls, and monkeys.

From our bus, we walked through some shops selling souvenirs. Juice vendors appeared at intervals, offering bottles of orange juice with the somewhat confusing call of “water”.

Our guide hurried us to a performance where girls with parasols danced and boatmen said a traditional junk. This was all a colorful and very touristy introduction to the local culture of some of the Ba, Chu, and Tujia minority groups native to the Three Gorges area. Along the path into the mountains were more people in traditional costumes.

A central component of the visit was a performance of a crying wedding song. In this tradition, a bride cried for days before her wedding. Our guide explained that historically, the crying lasted a month, and is now performed for about 3 days. She cried because she had to leave the life and family she knew to marry a man she likely did not know. In our performance, the part of the unknown groom was played by a man plucked from the audience.

Higher up, the trail ended at “Monkey Mountain”. Macaque monkeys were present there and along the route. Signs warned visitors not to show food to the monkeys, particularly ice cream, due to potential aggressive behavior. A telephoto lens is helpful on this trip to get close-up pictures of the monkeys.

Three Gorges Dam model

Afternoon Excursion: Three Gorges Dam

The afternoon focused on the Three Gorges Dam. The idea for a dam in this area goes back at least as far as Dr Sun Yat Sen and the Chinese Republic, early in the 1900s. The dam was needed for power production, flood control, and better navigation of the river.

Before the dam existed and before power boats, the trip upriver could take forty-five days. Boaters depended on trackers who pulled vessels upstream using ropes along the river’s edge. These trackers performed physically demanding work. The term for a job like this in Chinese was “ku li,” which means “bitter labor.”

After the dam was completed, the river’s water level rose significantly (around 100 meters), making travel easier and faster. The dam’s ship locks consist of five stages with two sets of locks, one for upstream travel and one for downstream travel. Boats moving up or down the river can spend three to five hours in the lock system. 

Because of the rising waters, entire towns and villages were flooded. Around 1.4 million residents had been relocated because of the reservoir. Younger residents generally benefited from improved services in the new towns, while older residents faced greater difficulty transitioning from their original homes, where their families had lived for generations.

Three Gorges Ship Locks

Construction of the dam took fifteen years. According to guides, the structure stands on igneous rock, which is critical for stability. It is one of the largest dams in the world and the world’s largest hydroelectric power generation facility.

During the tour, we stood at a vantage point where the locks and the dam were clearly visible, although the tour does not include the dam’s interior, as you would see on a Hoover Dam tour.

at the top of the Ship Lift

Optional Excursion: Three Gorges Ship Lift

I joined the optional excursion to the ship lift. This is basically an elevator for “smaller ships”, where smaller in this case was a ferry with at least 4 decks that held hundreds of passengers. The elevator raises vessels vertically, shortening what would otherwise be a long lock transit. 

The ferry entered a large steel chamber, and the doors closed behind us. The ascent took around forty minutes. It’s hard to convey how cool and slightly terrifying the technology is for a geek like me, of an elevator big enough to lift an entire ship and the water it is floating in. Soon we were looking out the stern of the boat, and the river was an uncomfortably long way below us.

Evening Onboard

After completing the ship lift visit, we rejoined the main vessel, which left Maoping Pier and started the cruise upriver into the Three Gorges. The passengers joined the captain after dinner for the customary welcome toast and introduction to the ship’s officers.

Day 3: Shennong Stream, Wu Gorge, Qutang Gorge, and White Emperor City

Day 3 delivered what the cruise promised: a visit to the actual Three Gorges area.

Morning Excursion: Shennong Stream

We began with a ferry trip up the Shennong Stream. The canyon is narrow and lined with limestone walls that rise steeply along both sides. Vegetation grows in patches along the rock faces. We passed large caves and fog-shrouded peaks.

We saw hanging coffins placed high on the cliffs by the Ba people. These coffins were positioned in caves or on wooden beams secured in difficult-to-reach locations. When the Three Gorges Dam was built, many of these coffins needed to be moved.

Guides noted that the exact method used to place the coffins remains uncertain. Before engine-powered boats, trackers pulled vessels up the stream using ropes. 

We saw villages on top of the mountains. These days, there may be a road that leads to the village, but before the dam, many residents lived in villages like these that were only accessible via steep trails and stairs up from the river.

Further into the gorge, we passed some of the many bridges for high-speed trains and modern roadways that connect today’s China.

Mountains of the Wu Gorge, including the “Goddess Peak”

Scenic Cruising: Wu Gorge

After returning to the main ship, we entered Wu Gorge. Before entering the gorge, one of the ship’s guides did a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the area before the dam, including the tidbit that many of the trackers who used to pull the ships upriver worked in the nude, which is a local tourist attraction lost to the construction of the dam.

This is the longest of the two gorges that the ship traverses during daylight. The area is busy with cruise ships and cargo vessels. 

This gorge is known for its tall limestone peaks and dramatic shapes. One of the most recognizable formations is the tiny finger of stone called the Goddess Peak. Wu Gorge, and much of this area, often contains mist drifting through the mountains.

view of the Qutang Gorge from the White Emperor City

Scenic Cruising: Qutang Gorge

Later, we reached Qutang Gorge, the shortest and steepest of the Three Gorges. The gorge forms a tight corridor with nearly vertical cliffs. 

At one point, we passed by a poem from Mao carved into the canyon walls in large red letters. Steven, our guide, originally claimed that it said “if you can read this, you’re too close” before admitting it was closer to “The Qu Tang gorge is the most beautiful gorge. Only the bravest boatman dares to enter.”

When you look back on the gorge after you exit, you see the scene that appears on the 10 RMB banknote. It is fun to have a 10 RMB note for a selfie.

Optional Excursion: Top of the Three Gorges

The other excursion that I did not take was to the highest point in the Three Gorges area, with views of the Qutang Gorge and the White Emperor City. This tour was held at the same time as the tour of the White Emperor City.

Optional Excursion: White Emperor City

In the afternoon, I joined a guide and only one other English-speaking guest on a visit to White Emperor City. The rising water from the reservoir has turned the base of the hill into a small island. This area features pavilions dating back to the Three Kingdoms era of China (220–280 AD). 

Visitors reach the temple complex by climbing about 300 steps. For an extra fee, you can hire a sedan chair and two strong men to carry you up the hill. I took the stairs on foot.

Pavilion with Mao look-alike

In the pavilion at the top of the hill, many statues of emperors, generals, and other officials were decapitated during the Cultural Revolution, because they represented very uncommunist leaders. One pavilion remained intact because officials believed a statue inside resembled Chairman Mao. Those that were damaged have been subsequently repaired.

Poets from the Three Kingdoms period are remembered with stone inscriptions of some of their poems. 

While at White Emperor City, I learned the story of Qu Yuan, the poet and minister of the state of Chu. He drowned himself after becoming disillusioned with the direction of his kingdom. Villagers paddled out in boats, beat drums to scare away fish, and threw rice into the water. These actions are connected to the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival.

There is a small museum at the White Emperor City with one of the cliff coffins on display. The display was filled with Chinese notes as Chinese visitors slid the bills into the display for good luck.

Qutang Gorge view

Before leaving the city, we hiked down to an observation deck with a particularly good view of the entrance to the Qutang Gorge that is depicted on the 10 RMB bill. 

Evening Onboard

The ship hosted a crew cabaret performance later that evening. It is a smaller ship than most modern ocean liners, so the crew is smaller; don’t expect quite the same level of performance.

Day 4: Wuling Mountain, Snowy Jade Cave, and Optional Excursions

On day 4, I left the ship for a full-day excursion. Normally, the English option for the day would be a visit to the Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park and a visit to Wulong Mountain. Not enough English speakers signed up to offer that tour, so instead, they included us with a bilingual guide on a tour that replaces the Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park with the Snowy Jade Cave. I think that might be a better option.

Regular Excursion Option: Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park

The included excursion visited Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park. This site preserves architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Buildings from areas threatened by the rising reservoir were carefully taken apart and reconstructed at the park. Walking through the courtyards and halls, visitors see examples of traditional wooden construction, tiled roofs, and carved beams that once stood in riverside towns now beneath the waterline. 

Optional Excursion: Wuling Mountain and Snowy Jade Cave

I chose the full-day optional excursion to Snowy Jade Cave and Wuling Mountain.

Snowy Jade Cave

Outside the cave is a group of monkeys that are separated from the visitors by a mesh fence. 

The excursion started with a visit to Snowy Jade Cave, a limestone cavern. Inside the cave, lighting highlighted stalactites and stalagmites, giving visitors a clearer look at the shapes and surfaces. The route through the cave followed designated walkways going 400 steps up in the warm, muggy air before circling back down again. It was neither the best nor the worst, neither the smallest nor the biggest of the caves that I have visited.

Many of the formations were lit with lights of different colors. While the route required you to climb a lot of stairs, the path was a paved surface rather than the actual cave floor.

Wuling Mountain Canyon Walk

The day continued with a traditional Chinese lunch in a nearby restaurant, then continued with a bus ride into the Wuling Mountain region. Roads wound upward through hills and small settlements until we reached the entrance to a narrow limestone canyon. We took a gondola down into a narrow canyon and a tram deeper into the canyon.

We followed an elevated pathway suspended along the canyon wall as it narrowed further and further until it was 20-30 feet across. The limestone walls rose sharply on both sides, and in some sections they came very close together as you walked into a place of perpetual twilight. Water trickled down the rock surfaces, feeding streams below. In places, a steel mesh protected the path from rock falls from above.

It reminded me of my visit to the Virgin River Gorge in Zion National Park, but here you were walking on a paved path rather than in the middle of a river.

I am a sucker for a good slot canyon, and this excursion was probably my favorite part of the trip. At the far end of the walk, we hiked up a tunnel that had been cut through the cliff and boarded another gondola.

Evening Onboard

The evening of Day 4 included the Captain’s Farewell Banquet. This dinner gave passengers a final opportunity to gather in the dining room before disembarkation the next morning. The ship’s photo studio was open for reviewing and purchasing photographs taken by the ship’s paparazzi that accompanied us on every excursion. The front desk handled account settlement for onboard expenses.

Day 5: Arrival in Chongqing

The final day of the cruise focused on disembarkation and arrival in the very modern city of Chongqing. The ship docked at Chaotianmen Pier early in the morning. Passengers left the ship in groups. From the pier, a series of steep stairways about 5-7 stories led upward to the city streets. The climb required effort, especially with luggage. Porters can be arranged ahead of time to carry bags for a fee.

Chongqing  is known for hot summers with high humidity. Winter conditions often include fog, which can limit visibility.

Chongqing also features a monorail system that passes through buildings, making it a point of interest for visitors in a way that I would not expect for a simple monorail. People take pictures when trains enter the station, holding up their hands or mouths to “catch the train” in their photos. Vendors sell souvenirs in a carnival atmosphere.

The Hong Ya Cave area, built along the riverbank, is illuminated extensively at night and has become one of the city’s best-known visual landmarks. 

Best Time to Take a Yangtze River Cruise

The area is classified as subtropical. Rain is frequent from May through September, and the region can experience more than two hundred days of rain per year. Summers are hot and humid. Winters bring fog, especially in Chongqing, which is known for having many foggy days. Summers are also more popular with families, making the boats more crowded during that season. During the summer, there can be as many as 700 passengers. My cruise had only 549 passengers.

Given these conditions, travelers often favor the transitional seasons. Spring and autumn usually offer milder temperatures and a better chance of clear skies, which can be important when the primary goal is to see cliffs, gorges, and riverside landscapes. March, May, and September were recommended to me as the best times to do this cruise.

Practical Tips

Tribe of the Three Gorges

Choose Excursions That Match Your Interest and Energy Level

The cruise included both standard and optional excursions:

• Tourist cultural village (optional)
• Three Gorges Dam (included)
• Ship lift (optional)
• Shennong Stream (included)
• White Emperor City (optional)
• Wuling Mountain and Snowy Jade Cave (optional full-day)
• Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park (included)

Travelers could select excursions that best matched their preferences, whether focused on scenery, cultural performances, historic temples, or geological features. If you do all the optional excursions, it will add to the cost (around $40 per excursion per person) and will limit your time on the boat.

Wuling Mountain

Expect Stairs, Climbing, and Uneven Paths

Several portions of the itinerary involved walking on stairs and non-level pathways:

• Stone steps and sloped paths in the Tribe of the Three Gorges area
• Long staircase leading to White Emperor City
• Elevated walkway in the Wuling Mountain canyon
• Steep stairways from Chaotianmen Pier into Chongqing

Good walking shoes are important for comfort and safety during these segments. I can’t recommend this cruise to people with mobility issues.

River Guides and Commentary

River guides Steven and Amy by name. They provided commentary in English during various portions of the cruise, explaining geography, history, and logistics. These guides are not included in the crew tips, and you would need to tip them separately.

FAQ

How long is the Yangtze River cruise described here?

The upstream Yangtze River cruise described in this article lasted five days, four nights, traveling from Yichang to Chongqing.

Wu Gorge

What were the most scenic areas of the trip?

Scenic highlights included:

• Tribe of the Three Gorges, including waterfalls and monkeys
• Shennong Stream, with its narrow canyon and hanging coffins
• Wu Gorge, with high limestone peaks such as Goddess Peak
• Qutang Gorge, the shortest but steepest gorge, featured on the 10 RMB banknote
• The Wuling Mountain canyon walk, with its elevated pathway through a narrow limestone gorge

Snowy Jade Cave

Which excursions were optional and required an additional fee?

Optional, paid excursions included:

• Tribe of the Three Gorges
• Three Gorges Ship Lift
• White Emperor City
• Wuling Mountain and Snowy Jade Cave full-day excursion

Was the Three Gorges Dam visit part of the standard itinerary?

Yes. The Three Gorges Dam tour was part of the included itinerary on Day 2 and did not require a separate optional excursion fee. But the tour only includes views of the dam and the locks, not a visit to or inside the dam.

Did the cruise involve significant walking and climbing?

Yes. Travelers with mobility limitations would need to consider these factors and possibly rely on chair carriers or porters where available. 

author at the Tribe of the Three Gorges

Final Thoughts

I rank the Yangtze River cruise as one of the bucket list cruises around the world. It is a visit to some of China’s historically significant spots, as well as a glimpse of the very modern and developing China of high-speed trains and skyscrapers. It is a visit to misty gorges and rugged kasrt mountains. There are many interesting places to see in China, but I am glad I chose this one.