Along The Yangtze River – Travel Guide At Wikivoyage

Go

The most famous part of this route is the sensational cruise ships through the Three Gorges area between Chongqing and Yichang. With the enormous Three Gorges Dam project, completed in 2006-12, this route has changed considerably but it is still definitely worth doing.

A huge number of people were displaced when the Three Gorges Dam was built; a large area of what used to be fairly densely populated farming country with market towns scattered through it is now underwater. A number of new towns were built in the area and many people were relocated to Chongming District in Shanghai.

Be careful of the different types of boats and classes within those boats. Traveling on a Chinese tourist boat in 'first class' may not be your idea of 'first class' (one traveller complained of "rats everywhere"). In addition, the only choice for food may be the boat itself for up to three days. It is advisable to bring supplies, particularly snacks and drinks, for the voyage. The locals often bring ramen noodles or other soups; hot water is readily available. If you want a good experience on the Yangtze, pay the extra for a luxury cruise. Fare on these often includes excursions with English speaking guides and all meals on-board except the dinner on the check-in day. Almost all the tourists travelling on those cruises are very satisfied with the journey.

While one reviewer suggested not to take the Chinese Tourist boat (since they stop at destinations at 06:00, expecting all passengers to get out and look at the scenery, then arriving at 04:00 at the final destination and throwing everybody off the boat), another reviewer had a positive experience despite not speaking any Chinese.

Other tips:

• Rent a private cabin if possible (handy for the many relaxing and lazy periods traveling down river)
• Bring supplies to wash and dry clothes (detergent and clothes line with clothes-line pins) as this will be convenient in your room (although clothes will dry slowly with the humidity.)
• Take photos and video at dusk or dawn when the haze from air pollution is not as pronounced.
• Research the route before traveling so that you have some idea about the sites your boat will stop at and their significance (e.g. Fengdu, the City of Ghosts.)
• Keep a "day bag" packed for those unexpected times when the boat stops for a site (rather than having to look for your camera, and possibly missing the trip with your fellow boat travellers)

The lower Yangtze areas; from Wuhan down through Nanjing and Suzhou to Shanghai; travelling by boat is also an option, but here it is not essential. There are good rail and road connections throughout the area. See High-speed rail in China for Nanjng-Wuxi-Suzhou-Shanghai-Hangzhou routes.

In Hubei, where the river flows across low-lying fertile plains, it is paralleled on both sides with tree-lined levees, on top of which fairly pleasant roads exist. See Hubei#See on more details on traveling along the levees.