Yangtze Cruise with Add-ons — Chongqing to Wuhan, 10 days

Day by day

1. Day 1 · chongqing

   Arrival Chongqing, Jiefangbei, Hongya Cave

   Arrive Chongqing (重庆). Jiefangbei — the Liberation Monument square at the centre of the peninsular city. Hongya Cave — an 11-storey stilted commercial complex hanging off the hillside above the Jialing River confluence. Chongqing hotpot dinner: the original Sichuan-Chongqing style, numbing-spicy (麻辣) broth.

   Stay in: Chongqing Yuzhong district.

2. Day 2 · chongqing

   Dazu Rock Carvings day trip

   Day trip west to the Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻) — a UNESCO World Heritage cluster of Tang-Song Buddhist and Confucian-Taoist relief carvings. The Baoding Mountain site is the most elaborate, with a 31-metre reclining Buddha and didactic narrative carvings.

   Stay in: Chongqing.

3. Day 3 · chongqing

   Board Yangtze cruise, Chaotianmen docks

   Morning at leisure in Chongqing. Board the downstream Yangtze cruise from Chaotianmen dock in the afternoon. Settle into the cabin; watch the city's mountain-and-water skyline recede. Dinner on board.

   Stay in: Cruise boat (standard cabin).

4. Day 4 · chongqing

   Fengdu Ghost City shore excursion

   Shore excursion at Fengdu (丰都) — the Ghost City, a complex of temples and sculpture on Ming Mountain dedicated to the afterlife. The site blends Buddhist, Taoist, and folk religion ideas of the underworld. Return to boat.

   Stay in: Cruise boat.

5. Day 5 · chongqing

   Qutang Gorge — narrowest and most dramatic

   The boat enters the first gorge: Qutang (瞿塘峡), the narrowest gorge, 8km long and 100–200m wide at its tightest. Cliff-face inscriptions from multiple dynasties. Afternoon passes through the wider Wu Gorge.

   Stay in: Cruise boat.

6. Day 6 · chongqing

   Shennong Stream side trip

   Small-boat excursion up Shennong Stream (神农溪) — a tributary gorge navigated by traditional narrow wooden boats called pea-pod boats. The 30km gorge narrows dramatically; cliffs rise 1,000m. Local boatmen once tow the boats upstream by rope.

   Stay in: Cruise boat.

7. Day 7 · yichang

   Xiling Gorge, Three Gorges Dam passage

   The longest gorge: Xiling (西陵峡). Passage through the ship lock at the Three Gorges Dam — a five-stage lock rising 113m, taking 3–4 hours. The scale of the dam is vertiginous from the river level.

   Stay in: Cruise boat or Yichang hotel.

8. Day 8 · wuhan

   Arrive Wuhan, Yellow Crane Tower

   Disembark at Wuhan (武汉). The Yellow Crane Tower (黄鹤楼) on the Wuchang bluff above the Yangtze — rebuilt in 1981 but occupying the site of the Tang dynasty original that inspired one of China's most replicated poems. Wuhan hot dry noodles (热干面) for lunch.

   Attractions: yellow-crane-tower

   Stay in: Wuhan Wuchang or Hankou district.

9. Day 9 · wuhan

   Hubei Provincial Museum, East Lake

   Hubei Provincial Museum — home to the complete bronze bell chime set (编钟) from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng, dating to 433 BCE. A concert of the bells is performed twice daily. East Lake (东湖) — larger than West Lake in Hangzhou, with cycle paths around its shore.

   Attractions: hubei-provincial-museum

   Stay in: Wuhan.

10. Day 10 · wuhan

    Hankou Concession architecture, departure

    Morning in the Hankou concession district — a remarkable streetscape of British, French, German, Russian, and Japanese colonial-era buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Depart from Wuhan Tianhe Airport.

    Flight WUH → Beijing 2h, ¥500; or HSR WUH → Beijing 4h, ¥320.

Budget guide (CNY per day)

Per person 10 days. Downstream cruise Chongqing → Yichang: standard cabin ¥1,200–2,000 (4 nights); deluxe ¥3,000–5,000. Dazu ¥180. Shennong Stream ¥200. Shore excursions vary ¥50–200.