Why Travel the Yangtze?

It has been called “The River at the Centre of the World” and is said to be the cradle of Chinese civilization.

The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang, is historically, culturally, and economically important to China.

Born amid the melting snows and ice in the Tanggula Mountain chain in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, where it is known as Tongtian He, ‘Travelling-Through-the-Heavens’ River, the torrent flows from west to east through provinces of Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu and the city of Shanghai, finally emptying into the East China Sea. Ocean-going vessels can navigate up the river for 1000 km and steamers can travel as far as Yichang, 1600 km from the sea.

Aside from its transport, economic and agricultural value, the Yangzte winds through some of China’s most scenic country. The common Chinese saying, ‘If you haven’t travelled up the mighty Yangzte, you haven’t been anywhere’, well describes the river’s range of picturesque landscapes.

"Even ten thousand fluent pens cannot describe the peaks along the Qutang."

Between the towns of Fengjie and Yichang are the magnificent Sanxia, or the Three Gorges. Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge are regarded as some of the most spectacular scenic attractions in China, but have been, till recently, dangerous to shipping. In 1994 the People’s Republic of China decided to dam the Yangtze with a steel and concrete wall that would take 15 years and over $30 billion to build. One and a half miles wide and 610 feet tall, the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam is China’s largest construction project since the Great Wall. It will create a five trillion gallon reservoir hundreds of feet deep and about 400 miles long. It will allow 10,000-ton freighters to easily navigate into the nation’s interior and increase agricultural and manufacturing opportunities. This is the largest comprehensive flood control, irrigation and power generation project in the world and will have a significant impact on China's future. The dam’s turbines are expected to create the equivalent electricity of 18 nuclear power plants. Its proponents argue that it will free people living along the river from floods that have repeatedly threatened them in the past and will offer them electricity and water transport, though at the expense of permanently inundating many riverside towns and culturally and historically significant places, including some famous tourist attractions. At the same it time will make the gorges appear even more interesting. Fengdu, the city of the devil, Shibao Block, the "Jade Seal Hill" and the White Emperor City are all situated in the local mountains. The new river levels will nestle these sites in beautiful mists. Also tourists will no longer have to climb and hike to reach these destinations. The distance from Goddess Peak to the riverside will be shortened, allowing tourists an even better view of this most beautiful peak.

Evidence of up to twenty-seven thousand years of human activity has been found in the Three Gorges area, initiating debate over the origin of the Chinese people and challenging many accepted theories about the development of human civilization.

Yangtze cruises open many windows to China’s history, culture and future. Truly a not-to-be-missed experience.