7 Days Beijing Essence & Luxury Yangtze River Cruise

Ni Hao! welcome to Beijing, the iconic city and capital of China! You will be met by our local tour guide at the arrival hall of Beijing Airport and escorted to your downtown hotel by a private comfortable vehicle. The rest of the day is your own to relax. If you want to explore nearby areas, feel free to get some practical suggestions from your tour guide.

After breakfast, start to explore the historical face of Beijing with a brief visit to Tiananmen Square, now the largest city plaza in the world. Tiananmen Gate on the northern side of the square was the site where Chairman Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Stepping into the Tiananmen, you will see one of the world’s five most important palaces – the Forbidden City, a huge palace complex of more than 9,000 rooms where 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties lived. Pass through various doorways in this magnificent structure to admire the beautiful and well preserved buildings decorated with yellow-glazed tile roofs, white marble bases and splendid colorful paintings.

After lunch, drive to the outskirts of Beijing to spend an enjoyable time in the Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. Stroll around ancient pavilions, mansions, temples, bridges and corridors while feasting your eyes on the vast lotus in Kunming Lake and the colorful paintings in the Long Corridor.

Optional activities: 1) You can watch a wonderful Kungfu Show in the Red Theater (Hong Ju Chang) which usually starts at 19:30; 2) Enjoy the classic Chinese art performance of Beijing Opera at Liyuan Theater between 19:30-21:00.

After breakfast, drive about 70km to witness one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Great Wall. Visit the Mutianyu, a less crowded yet well-preserved segment of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty. It will more than live up to all of your expectations! You’ll take a cable car to ascend the Great Wall, then hike the most beautiful and interesting part of Mutianyu. It's a wonderful experience to climb up its rising towers to enjoy scenic views and take brag-worthy photos of the wall wriggling along mountain ridges. After the exciting time, descend Mutianyu Great Wall by cable car. (Note: If energy permits, you can hike up or down which takes about 40 minutes to climb steps. Please tell your likes to your travel consultant.)

Continue your trip to Sacred Way, a 7-kilometer-long passage leading to the Imperial Tombs of 13 Emperors of Ming Dynasty. The Emperor, known as the Son of the Heaven, who came from Heaven to his country through the Sacred Way, also would return to Heaven through this road. Take a walk through the largest archway in China and Great Palace Gate and you’ll see the magnificent stone guard of 12 sets of mythical animals and 12 officials. Then drive back to Beijing city and take a short stop at the Beijing Olympic Village to view its famous Bird’s Nest and Water Cube from the outside.

Optional activity: After the whole day’s tour, treat yourself a great dinner to taste the famous Peking Roasted Duck at Quanjude.

After breakfast, drive to the imperial site of the Temple of Heaven. Originally a site used to pay homage to Heaven and pray for good harvests, it is now a bustling place where locals take part in traditional activities such as Tai Chi, dancing, kite flying, water calligraphy, and others.

Then get back to the central city to hop on a rickshaw to experience the Beijing Hutongs - small alleys made by neighboring quadrangle dwellings. Shuttle among different Hutongs to get a feel of the old Beijing life style, visit various antique shops and small boutiques, truly feel the historical changes of Beijing, also pay a visit to a local family’s home in the traditional Hutongs.

After the tour, Your Beijing tour is about to end. After lunch, you tour guide will see you off at Beijing Capital Airport and you will take 3 hours flight to Chongqing.

Upon arrival at Chongqing, you’ll be transferred to Chaotianmen Dock to board your Yangtze cruise ship between 18:00-20:00. Your once-in-a-lifetime Yangtze River cruise sails at 21:00!

More notes and tips regarding the Yangtze River Cruise’s embarkation:

• 1. There are 13 sub-piers of Chaotianmen Dock and different ships will dock at different piers. Please check the info with your travel consultant and know where to board your ship at least one day beforehand.
• 2. The boarding time and departure piers change based on the cruise line, water level, season, weather and other factors. Your travel consultant will ensure you have the departure time and boarding pier before boarding.
• 3. Some cruises do not include dinner on the embarkation night, you can have dinner or buy some snacks at Chaotianmen Square before embarkation.
• 4. Chaotianmen Dock is currently under refurbishment and does not have escalators, only wooden stairs. When embarking or disembarking at Chaotianmen, you may need to carry your luggage up or down the stairs. If you have difficulty with this due to physical constraints, please inform your travel consultant in advance. They can arrange for a luggage porter to assist you for a fee of 20-30 RMB per package.

In the morning, wake up leisurely and enjoy the gentle sunshine shining over the tranquil and beautiful Yangtze River. It will be colorful and interesting whether you decide to stay onboard or go ashore at river stops. 

Onboard, you will enjoy different kinds of activities, like practicing Tai Chi on the boat’s sundeck, drinking a relaxing morning coffee, attending a Yangtze River history and culture lecture, or taking part in the Captain’s Welcome Party and evening shows.

Next, follow a local guide and make a shore excursion in Fengdu County. Fengdu County, a vital part of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, boosts unique natural and cultural landscape, including Fengdu Ghost City, Mount Shuanggui, Snow Jade Cave, Jade Emperor Scenic Area, Xiaoguanshan Folk Residences, etc.

Out of all these sites, Fengdu Ghost City is the most famous and attractive one. It is filled with mysterious tales of the underworld, brutal tortures, and various types of demons and Chinese devils. Entering this ghost city, you will find many statues of demons and vivid scenes of their perfidious activities. Some cruise companies arrange the site visit as an included, and others classify it as optional, which requires extra payment; you may check with your travel consultant while booking.

An Optional Excursion: Leaving Fengdu County, your cruise will reach and dock at Zhongxian County in the late afternoon, where a marvelous large-scale real landscape show is coming. The Feng Yan San Guo Show brings a cultural feast for Yangtze River cruise visitors to know the brilliant historical culture of the Three Kingdoms Period and the spirit of loyalty of great military officer Guan Yu (关羽). With amazing effects of lights, sounds, and special effects during the show, historical scenes seem to return vividly in front of you.

More notes and tips regarding today’s itinerary:

• 1. Even sailing the same route through the Three Gorges, different cruises would have different shore excursion arrangements. The sites abovementioned refer to common and most frequent situations. The specific itinerary of the day depends on the ship you booked.
• 2. Physical demands and dressing tips: Comfortable shoes are highly recommended since there will be a long distance walking at Fengdu Ghost City and many stairs to climb up at Shibaozhai Pagoda!

Today, you will sail through the essential section of the Yangtze River - Three Gorges! You shall relax on the sun deck and soak up the breathtaking gorge scenery passing by as you drift through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. While the ship cruises toward the mouth of the Gorges, especially at Kui Gate, you’ll hear the wind whistling fiercely and witness the rolling hills stretching towards the skyline, leaving you marvelling at nature’s ingenious workmanship.

Today’s shore excursions would mainly be arranged at counties along the Three Gorges, in Fengjie, Wuxian or Badong. Different cruise companies draw up different itineraries. But in general, most luxury Yangtze River cruise companies, such as Century Cruises, Victoria Cruises and Yangtze Gold Cruises, etc., would port in Fengjie in the morning and offer an optional shore excursion (required extra payment) to the White Emperor City. This famous ancient “Poem City” is mentioned in about 1,400 Chinese poems. A tour through the scenic area tells a touching story of Liu Bei entrusting his son to his prime minister, Zhuge Liang. What’s more, the Viewing Platform in the scenic area is the best place to take a photo of the top representative landscape of the Qutang Gorge, Kui Gate, the same scenery on the background of the CNY 10 Note.

Cruise journey continues. In the afternoon, your cruise will stop at Wu Gorge. You will take a shore excursion here by switching to a smaller boat to sail down a beautiful stream running in a narrow side gorge where you will have close-up views of high mountain peaks and hanging coffins on the steep cliff faces. Shennv Stream, Shennong Stream and the Lesser Three Gorges are the frequently-chosen ones.

This evening, you’ll enjoy the Captain’s Farewell Party with all your mates and appreciate or join the fascinating dance show to spend a wonderful night.

More notes and tips regarding today’s itinerary:

• 1. Besides the shore excursions mentioned above, two newly pop-up sites selected by cruise companies have gained high recognition from guests: Three Gorges Summit and Goddess Sky Road. Both are constructed on mountaintops for customers to enjoy the panoramic view of the natural splendor!
• 2. Different cruises have different shore excursion arrangements. The specific itinerary of the day depends on the cruise you booked.

After breakfast, you’ll begin to check out and disembark at Maoping Port. Today’s highlight is a morning excursion to Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, located in the middle of Xiling Gorge near Yichang. You will marvel at this gigantic dam from different angles, learn more about the background history of the Three Gorges Dam Project and enjoy the beautiful surrounding landscape and scenery. If you like, you can take an optional experience to sail through the Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift, the largest and the most sophisticated ship lift in the world, which takes only 40 minutes with fresh insight into the dam project.

After the dam visit (around noon), you’ll take the bus arranged by the cruise company heading to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal for leave. Here you will be pick up by our local guide and escorted to visit Yichang Museum if time permits. Then, be transferred to the airport or train station to catch your flight or train to next destination. Service ends!

Disembarkation Tips: No matter you take Ship Lift or not, you’ll check out and take your luggage away in this early morning. (1) Only Dam Visiting: you’ll take bus from Maoping Port to Three Gorges Dam for sightseeing, and then arrive at Yichang downtown around 12:30. (2) Dam & Ship Lift Experience: travelers who are interested in Ship Lift will first switch to a sightseeing boat to sail through the Ship Lift and then visit Three Gorges Dam Site. You’ll arrive at Yichang downtown around 13:30. (3) Ship Lift Note: During the peak season, the ship lift operation is in full swing. In some instances, you may not be able to find a seat and may have to stand. If you are worried about how the crowds might affect your experience, it is advisable to think carefully before joining the program.

Departure Ideas: You can take flights from Yichang Sanxia Airport to Shanghai, Xian, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, etc. Or you can take high speed trains from Yichang East Railway Station to Wuhan (about 2hrs), Shanghai (about 8hrs), Beijing (about 7.5hrs), Hangzhou (about 7.5hrs), Chengdu (about 7hrs), Guangzhou (about 7hrs) and more cities.