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The Yangtze and the Three Gorges: the river is the way to see them

The Yangtze rises on the Tibetan Plateau and runs more than 6,000 kilometers through central China. It is landscape, but it is also cities, farmland, poetry, and modern industry along one waterway — one of the spines of Chinese civilization.

Where the river cuts the Wu Mountains, it forms the world’s largest navigable gorges: Qutang, Wu, and Xiling. Steep walls face each other; the current winds between them. At the mouth of Xiling Gorge stands the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower complex — flood control, power, and shipping in one project, and the reason the channel looks the way it does today. The cliffs are still there. To take them in properly, you have to be on the water.

A Yangtze cruise is not an add-on. It is the best way to see the gorges. Between Chongqing and Yichang you pack once. From a balcony cabin you watch the Three Gorges, a side stream, and the dam — without changing hotels every night.

East Marvel works with international travelers and books ships with a Western cruise director, bilingual river guides, and river-cruise service at an international standard. The fleet is below.

Start with your boarding city

You board in Chongqing or Yichang. The classic Three Gorges cruise runs only between those two cities. It is point-to-point, not a loop: you embark in one city and disembark in the other. After the cruise, your next flight or train has to leave from the arrival port.

Chongqing → Yichang (downstream, about 4 days / 3 nights)

Downstream is the usual choice for international guests. You board at Chongqing Chaotianmen in the evening; the trip ends in Yichang, after the dam. Take this if you are already in Chengdu or Chongqing, or if you plan to continue from Yichang toward Wuhan or Shanghai.

Yichang → Chongqing (upstream, about 5 days / 4 nights)

Upstream adds a night and a slower pace on board. Take this if you arrive from Wuhan or Shanghai and are heading on to Chongqing or Chengdu.

These two ports are not interchangeable. Chongqing is a major hub. Yichang is smaller: you usually leave the ship at Maoping or the Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal, then transfer into town. Leave slack on boarding evening and on departure day. Do not book your onward ticket as if you were staying in the same city until the last minute.

If you are looking at Wuhan or Shanghai

Read this before you pick those ports. A Wuhan or Shanghai sailing is not another version of the Three Gorges cruise. It folds the gorges into a longer voyage on the middle and lower Yangtze. The core scenery is still Chongqing–Yichang. The extra days are river cities, not more canyon.

Almost every sailing is one-way: you board in city A and leave the ship in city B. Do not assume you return to where you started. Before you book, confirm three things: your embarkation port, your disembarkation port, and whether your next flight or China sector actually leaves from the city where you arrive.

American-managed

Victoria Cruises — Western service standards since 1994

Victoria Cruise Lines was founded in New York in 1993. It is the only American-managed cruise line on the Yangtze, and has sailed the Three Gorges since 1994. More than two million guests have traveled with the fleet. The line operates five ships, all rated five-star by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Capacity is about 264–600 guests, depending on the hull. Standard cabins have a private balcony, bathtub, and satellite TV, with Wi-Fi and international calling onboard. Ships in service: Victoria Anna, Victoria Jenna, Victoria Katarina, Victoria Isabella, and Victoria Sabrina. Sailings have a Western cruise director and English-speaking river guides. Days include lectures on Yangtze history and culture, gorge commentary from the deck, the captain's welcome, evening shows, and a farewell dinner.

Victoria Sabrina cruise ship

Victoria Cruises

Victoria Sabrina

We include private, English-speaking port transfers on both ends of the sailing — Chongqing and Yichang — whether you arrive from the airport, the station, or a city hotel.

View ship guideCabins & prices

Newest & largest

Century Cruises — Asia’s Best Inland River Cruise Fleet

Century Cruises has operated on the Yangtze since 1992. The line is part of Chongqing Guanda Holding Group. Unlike most Yangtze operators, Century designs, builds, and runs its own ships, and handles dining and sales in-house. The fleet sails the Chongqing–Yichang corridor. Every cabin has a private balcony. Public rooms typically include an atrium lobby, panoramic elevators, a sun-deck bar, and a Western restaurant with river views. Newer hulls use electric propulsion and energy-saving systems, so the ships run quieter and with lower emissions than older diesel vessels on the same route. Daytime is shore visits and river time; evenings are onboard. Century markets the ships as a stay in themselves, not only a transfer through the Three Gorges. The line carries about 300,000 Yangtze guests a year, including more than 100,000 from overseas. It was named Asia’s Best Inland River Cruise

All-suite · A&K / Sanctuary

Yangzi Explorer — Three decades on the Yangtze

Oriental Royal Cruises was founded in 1994 and was among the first to bring a true luxury product to China’s inland rivers. From the start, the company worked with Abercrombie & Kent (A&K) and the UK’s Sanctuary Retreats, bringing international service standards to the Three Gorges. That smaller, higher-touch way of sailing still defines the ship today. Recognition, and who has sailed with us The original Yangzi Explorer relaunched in 2008 and appeared on Condé Nast Traveller’s Gold List — the only luxury ship on the Yangtze to receive the award. She has carried Henry Kissinger, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, members of the Rockefeller family, and ambassadors from more than thirty countries. For many international guests, that history is why they choose this ship for the Three Gorges.

State guest fleet

The Yangtze fleet — state-guest ships and the all-suite Explorer

Since 1979, when the Kunlun first set sail, China Changhang has pioneered professional cruise travel on the Yangtze—and has led Three Gorges cruising ever since. Over the decades, Changhang Cruises has hosted heads of state and distinguished guests from around the world on official voyages along the river, earning its name as “the State Guest Fleet” and setting the standard for service on China’s greatest waterway. Today, three luxury ships—Yangtze 1, Yangtze 2, and Yangtze 3—sail the Yangtze year-round, with 1,274 comfortable berths and the capacity to welcome 100,000 guests each year. A Changhang cruise is more than a journey. It is a voyage through history—and a taste of the same hospitality once reserved for visiting heads of state. With decades of expertise and meticulous care in every detail, we invite you to discover the Yangtze as it was meant to be seen.

Yangtze 1 cruise ship

Changjiang Cruises

Yangtze 1

Five-star Changjiang Cruises vessel (State Guest Fleet), Chongqing–Yichang, dam ship lift & Gezhouba capable—suites, pools, full-board dining.

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Yangtze 2 cruise ship

Changjiang Cruises

Yangtze 2

Fourth-gen luxury ship, Jan 2024 refurb, indoor heated pool, Kunlun Restaurant, Chongqing–Yichang all-inclusive style cruising with Changjiang Cruises.

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Before & after the river

Where the cruise fits in a China trip

Most travelers sail the gorges between China's icon cities — fly or take the high-speed rail in, cruise the river, and continue on. Read the full city guides:

Cruise included

China itineraries that already include the gorges

Hand-picked longer routes where the Yangtze cruise is built in — hotels, trains, guides, and the ship in one plan.

The river itself

The Three Gorges, as you’ll see them

Three Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges sceneryThree Gorges scenery

Find your sailing

Which ships sail on which dates

Filtered by the bar at the top of the page. Click a date to see every departure; click a departure to open that ship with the date pre-filled.

Click a date to see all departures. Click a cruise direction to open that cruise page.

Yangtze cruise FAQ

Short answers for the choices that change your dates and onward tickets. For a fuller ship-by-ship comparison, see the comparison guide.

Yangtze Cruise Route Selection: 4-Day Downstream vs. 5-Day Upstream

You see the same Three Gorges either way. What changes is the pace, and which hours you spend in the core canyon.

The sailing covers about 660 km. The stretch that matters — Qutang, Wu, and Xiling — is the 193 km from Fengjie to Yichang. The rest is river cities and open water. That is why the two directions feel different.

Chongqing → Yichang (downstream, 4 days / 3 nights)
The ship travels with the current, so you spend one less night on board. Much of the first 400 km is urban river; many ships run that section overnight and keep the daylight for the 193 km of gorge. Choose this if the rest of the China trip is already full and you want a shorter, classic run through the core.

Yichang → Chongqing (upstream, 5 days / 4 nights)
You reach gorge country soon after boarding. Against the current the ship moves more slowly, and the extra night spreads the days out — more time on deck, more time on board. Choose this if you want the river to take up more of the trip.

Direction is a preference of rhythm, not of scenery. Tell us whether you want tighter city days or a slower stretch on the water; we will fit the sailing into a China itinerary around that.

How is a Wuhan or Shanghai sailing different from the classic Three Gorges cruise?

The classic cruise is Chongqing–Yichang: Qutang, Wu, Xiling, and the dam. A Wuhan or Shanghai sailing is not a longer gorge. It keeps that core, then adds middle- and lower-Yangtze days — river cities, not more cliff.

Classic Three Gorges (Chongqing–Yichang)
About 4 days / 3 nights downstream, or 5 days / 4 nights upstream. Choose this if the gorges are the point of the river segment.

Wuhan sailings
The extra days are the Jingchu corridor: Yueyang Tower, river towns, and the slower middle Yangtze. Wuhan is also the easier hub — more flights and high-speed trains than Yichang — so it often fits a long China trip with less awkward connecting time.

Shanghai sailings
Longer still. After the gorges you stay on the river through the lower Yangtze and finish in the city. More nights on board; the added scenery is urban waterfront, not a second set of gorges.

If you want the canyon in a tight itinerary, stay on Chongqing–Yichang. If you want more time on the ship and a simpler fly-in or fly-out, look at Wuhan first. Tell us the rest of the China dates; we will match the river segment to that.

Which cruise lines sail Chongqing–Yichang?

More than forty five-star ships run the Three Gorges. Newer hulls often mean better cabins, quieter engines, and more public space. Hardware is not the whole trip.

This hub lists the lines we book for international guests — English on board, a Western or bilingual cruise director, and a dining and daily rhythm that fits travelers used to river cruises elsewhere:

Victoria Cruises — American-managed, the usual first pick for Western groups
Century Cruises — newer, larger ships, strong with overseas guests
Yangzi Explorer — all-suite, small passenger count
Changjiang Cruises (Yangtze 1, 2, and 3) — the state-guest fleet
Open any ship card for cabins, decks, and the next departures. If you already have dates, tell us who is traveling; we will match the ship to the sailing, not the other way around.

Where do I board, and which city do I fly out of?

You board in one city and leave the ship in the other. Book the onward flight or train from the arrival city — not the city where you got on.

Chongqing
Most downstream sailings board at Chaotianmen Port (朝天门码头) in Yuzhong. It is in town. The airport (CKG) is not the pier.

Yichang
The ship is usually not downtown. You check in at the city meeting point, then take the cruise shuttle to Maoping Port (about 1–1.5 hours). A common meeting point is the Yichang Sanxia Tourist Center (宜昌三峡游客中心), opposite Wanda Plaza.

If you are going there on your own, do not search English names such as “Three Gorges Center” or “Sanxia.” In Google Maps, Amap (Gaode), or Apple Maps, type the Chinese:
Google Maps is often wrong or blocked on the mainland. If the pin looks empty, use Amap and show the Chinese address to the taxi driver.

Confirm the pier or meeting point on the cruise line’s notice 1–3 days before sailing — water levels can move the ship.

Not sure which ship or date?

Tell us your travel window and who’s coming — our cruise specialists reply within 24 hours with the ships and cabins that fit.

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