Yangtze Grand Cruise

This long cruise on the Yangtze includes 6 nights on board the Victoria Prince cruise ship and takes you through the spectacular 'Three Gorges', and then onwards via Wuhan, Huang Shan and Nanjing to the great city of Shanghai. 

DAY 8

Embark on the Victoria Prince after breakfast.  The ship leaves Chongqing at 10 a.m. on its long journey to China's eastern seaboard.  This section of the river, before you reach the first of the Three Gorges, takes you through hilly farmland.  A shore excursion will be made to one of two destinations - the 'ghost city of Fengdu, situated beneath the Ming Shan Mountain with its wealth of shrines and large sculptures; or Wanzhou, an old city which has been relocated due to the rising waters to higher ground.

DAY 9

Today you will traverse the Three Gorges, beginning with Qutang Gorge, the shortest (8km), narrowest and most dramatic, flanked by near-vertical cliffs. The second set of gorges - the Wu Xia- stretch some 45km and present some fantastic vistas, and finally you will sail through the Xiling Gorge, which ends at the monumental Three Gorges Dam.  During the day there will be a shore excursion to one of the smaller gorges on a tributary of the Yangtze.

DAY 10 - Three Gorges Dam.

Morning visit to the Three Gorges Dam (pictured above), the largest of its kind in the world, built to an awe-inspiring scale.  Reboard the ship at Yichang Dock and spend the afternoon sailing downstream.

DAY 11 - Wuhan.

Arrive in Wuhan where in the afternoon you will visit the Hubei Provincial Museum, one of China's best museums; the items discovered in the 5th century B.C. Tomb of the Marquis Yi are particularly worth seeing (pictured).

DAY 12 - Huang Shan.

Full day shore excursion to Huang Shan or 'Yellow Mountains', scenic peaks which have been depicted so frequently in Chinese art. If weather conditions are unfavourable for Huang Shan, a visit to Jiuhuan Shan or 'Mountain of the Nine Lotuses' may be substituted.

DAY 13 - Nanjing.

A full day of sightseeing in the pleasant garden-city of Nanjing, literally 'Southern Capital', including the famous Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, burial place of the first president of post-imperial China. In the evening set sail for Shanghai, where the cruise ends.