5 Days Yangtze River Cruise Tour from Yichang
Yichang / Yangtze Cruise / Chongqing
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS TOUR
- Start a Yangtze River cruise from Yichang and relax along the longest river in China for 5 days and 4 nights;
- Pay a visit to witness the Three Gorges Dam and marvel at the world-famous project which generates the biggest amount of hydroelectric power;
- Admire Three Gorges view of high mountains and flat water and take the interesting shore excursions to the lovely stream, historical sites, etc.
- Go with this valuable private package with totally worry-free trip for 5 days, including transportation, accommodation, dinning, sightseeing, activities...
Sampling Itinerary Day by Day
Day 1 Yichang Arrival
Welcome to Yichang! Upon arrival, you will be met at the arrival hall of Yichang Sanxia Airport and transferred to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal. Then, take the arranged tourist bus arranged to Maoping Port for cruise embarkation (Travelers reaching Yichang by bullet train will take the arranged bus directly from Yichang East Railway Station to Maoping). Your once-in-lifetime Yangtze River cruise starts!
Tips for Cruise Boarding:
1) All the cruise companies will arrange free transfer service at Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal or Yichang East Railway Station during 16:00~21:00. You could choose either one to take the tourist bus to Maoping Port. 2) The boarding time and pier may change based on the ship line, water level, season, weather, etc. Please pay attention to the important info sent from your travel consultants before boarding.
Day 2 Yangtze River Cruise (B, L, D)
Good morning! Wake up leisurely and enjoy the gentle sunshine over the tranquil Yangtze. You can either follow the Taichi master to play Taichi or enjoy a cup of coffee to start a beautiful day!
Enjoy various entertainment onboard, like attending a Yangtze River History and Culture Lecture, enjoying seasonal themed activities, meeting new friends at the Captain's Welcome Party, having fun at the wonderful evening show, etc.
Today, you will take the arranged tourist bus to visit the global famous Three Gorges Dam. It is the largest hydropower station in the world, with an annual energy output of 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours. The Dam is about 2,300 meters (7,546 ft) long and about 115 meters (377 ft) wide. With a water capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters, it can hold a huge reservoir to efficiently prevent flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze. Take your time to appreciate this great project from different angles and learn more at the project museum.
After dinner, take part in the Captain’s Welcome Party to make new friends and enjoy the hospitable welcome from the captain and all the cruise team. Enjoy your joyous party and have a sound sleep!
Optional Experience: 1) Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift: Take a tourist boat to sail through this world’s largest ship lift with an elevation of about 113 meters (370 ft), which is totally fresh and exciting! (with an extra fee)
2) Tribe of Three Gorges: It is like a dreamland and extremely favored by foreign travelers. Get close to the particularly tranquil and primitive sightseeing of villages on water, on mountain and off brook with fine exploration of interesting folk custom of Tujia minority people. You won’t miss their wedding ceremony part. (with an extra fee)
Day 3 Yangtze River Cruise (B, L, D)
Today, you'll sail through the spectacular Three Gorges! Soak up the breathtaking gorge scenery as you drift through Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge respectively.
You'll switch to a smaller boat to take an enjoyable shore excursion to Shennv Stream (Goddess Stream), a tributary of the Yangtze River. Sail down this primitive stream to closely marvel at steep mountains and hanging coffins high on the cliffs, hear local history, and appreciate featured dance and music by Tujia ethnic people!
After dinner, you can either join in the cruise night shows for further happiness, have a relaxing drink or enjoy the river breeze quietly Good night!
Optional Excursion to White Emperor City: This cultural and historic site at the entrance of Qutang Gorge tells the touching stories of the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and is the best spot to appreciate the magnificent “Kui Gate” on the 10 RMB note! (with an extra fee)
Day 4 Yangtze River Cruise (B, L, D)
This morning, start your fresh day by a healthy Taichi practice on the Sun Deck or a cup of refreshing early bird coffee! Appreciate the rural sightseeing of the counties and countryside along the Yangtze River bank
You will go to visit Fengdu Ghost City onshore, which is about 2,000 years old and called “the Homeland of Divine Comedy in China”. In this “City of Ghosts”, you will see a series of temples, shrines, palaces, pavilions, and more traditional styled architecture complex. The colorful statues and story scenes of afterlife in hell displayed show the underworld, cruel tortures, different kinds of devils, Chinese demons and the traditional Chinese belief: pure spirits would be rewarded, and sinful ones would be subject to severe punishments. (Please note: Fengdu Ghost City visit requires much walking and comfortable shoes are highly recommended!)
At evening, enjoy the well-prepared Captain’s Farewell Party with all your mates onboard and have a whale of time of the last night onboard!
Day 5 Yangtze River Cruise & Chongqing Departure (B)
Welcome to Chongqing, the famous Mountain City in China! This morning, your ship will arrive at Chongqing Chaotianmen Port around 09:00. After breakfast, go through the check-out procedure and disembark. Upon arrival, your guide and driver will pick you up at the port and escort you to Chongqing Jiangbei Airport / train station to catch your flight / train to the next destination / home. Tour ends!
Departure Ideas: You can take a flight from Chongqing to Xian, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Lhasa, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Kunming, Lijiang, etc. Also, you can take a high speed train from Chongqing to Chengdu (1-1.5hrs), Guiyang (2hrs), Kaili (3hrs), Xian (5.5hrs), Changsha (5.5hrs), Kunming (5hrs), Zhangjiajie (6hrs), Tongren (Fanjingshan, 4hrs), etc. in China.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in a comfortable-class hotel and traveling with our private tour package in low seasons. The price will be much lower if your group has 4 or more members.
2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, month, and date. There may be huge price increasing during the public Chinese holidays, school summer holidays (usually 2 months, July ~ August), peak tourist seasons or some special dates. (Chinese Public Holidays 2026)
3. Other factors that may change the final tour price include your group size, hotel class, tour activities, real-time exchange rate, and so on.
4. This price is based on the exchange rate USD 1= RMB 7.00. The final price will be based on the exchange rate in effect at the time of agreement with our quotation.
5. This price is only valid from now to March 31, 2027.
6. This price is not the final price until the Confirmation Letter is sent.
7. The items included and excluded in this price are for reference only. The final services included, please refer to the Confirmation Letter sent to you by the travel consultant.
Price Includes:
- English-speaking guide with the professional license as listed in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees and other fees of the scenic spots as listed in the itinerary.
- Yangtze River Cruise ticket as listed in the itinerary.
- Accommodation (comfortable-class) based on two persons sharing one room with twin beds or a double bed.
- Meals as specified with “B” (for breakfast), “L” (for lunch) or “D” (for dinner) in the itinerary.
- Private Transfers between airports, hotels and scenic spots while sightseeing in each city or area by private air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed driver as listed in the itinerary.
- Transportation: Domestic flights (economy class) or trains (second-class seat) as listed in the itinerary.
- Airport / train station pick-up and drop-off service as listed in the itinerary.
- Luggage Transfers between airports, train station and hotels.
- Travel Service Charge of our travel consultant, including the planning, handling, operational and communication charges, etc.
Price Excludes:
- China Visa (We do not offer any visa service or charge any visa-related fee.)
- Scenic spots not listed in the itinerary.
- Optional activities or other sightseeing.
- Accommodation not as listed in the itinerary.
- Meals not listed in the itinerary.
- Flights or trains not as listed in the itinerary.
- Excess Baggage Charges.
- Personal expenses of a purely personal nature such as room service, laundry, drink, Internet charge, WI-FI, fax, telephone call, etc.
- Gratuities or optional tips to guides, drivers, bellboys, etc.
- Travel insurance. Please kindly note that the full coverage travel insurance from your country of origin should be purchased in advance on your own.
Read what other travelers think about this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. We only accept reviews from actual, confirmed travelers who purchased the tour / activity from us, so you can be sure the reviews are unbiased and authentic.
Hi Elk,
"Yangtze River Cruises and more specifically Elk has been helping us organise a very good tour in China: we were aiming to visit Chongqing, and observing that this could be combined with a crude on the Yangtze River, we opted for this, and given that this cruise at this time of the year was only 4 days, I searched extension options on the company website, found 2 extensions of interest for me and my husband, namely in Chengdu (where the tour organiser is based) and in Zhangjiajie.
1. Organisation
Booking the tour, I was a little uncertain: there are so many scams online, that I was afraid we pay for that tour and end up with nothing... but it was not the case :-)
A few days before the start of our tour in Chengdu, Elk sent me the mobile numbers of the 3 guides that would be taking us through each station of our tour, and to my great pleasure, each of them was waiting for us at the agreed meeting point. All these scheduling and organisation elements were super well defined.
Elk also asked me which category of housing I wanted and booked for us hotels and cruise bedroom in the relevant category. I was pleasantly surprised in each location.
2. Comfort
Another special comment: the hotels and cruise ship have aircond, which is as expected, and also heating systems (which in December and January was very helpful as we visited Zhanjiajie under the snow). I specify this because some people told me before the trip that in these regions, considered South China, there is usually no heating system. It's true that in some restaurants and coffee shops, there was no heating, but al our hotels had some.
3. Food
In each location we had usually at least a breakfast and lunch included, plus dinner during the cruise. All was very good and to our taste: the guides asked us ahead what kind of food we can / cannot eat and esp. for us, it was "not spicy please" and we got it alright all the time.
4. Sightseeing and Guides
In each location we had a guide speaking well to very well our language and a driver; full comfort!
In Chengdu guide Ben took us to the panda reserve and visiting it has been great fun: they are so cute. Then we went for lunch in the old city in a delicious restaurant, and visited and old temple, the touristic area, and park... and he was also kind enough to propose to us to join the local theater show (not included in the tour), which was amazing... The following morning he took us to the train station from which we would join Chongqing. He insisted to take us up to the last passport check before the train platform... that's very useful for overseas tourists not familiar with Chinese trains. Many thanks to Ben!
Then in Chongqing, Jacques took us through the city museum and main places of interest before dropping us at the gate of the ship; here also, no chance to get lost :-)
During the cruise, the staff and guides speaking our language were taking care of us onboard and during the excursions. We also took the ship lift add-on at the 3 gorges dam, which I can also recommend, what an experience!
Finally in YiChang, our guide for Zhangjiajie was waiting for us at the cruise terminal to take us to Zhangjiajie. There she took us to the 2 famous parks there, the one with Avatar peaks, great even with overcast and rain, and then to the park of the Tianmen mountain, with the glass bridges and and the 999 steps... We visited that one under the snow and walking on snow, and it was amazing, even if we could not take as many glass bridges as planned, for safety reasons. Each day, we finished with delicious lunches, too much food actually, thus we did dabao.
Thus only one summary: fantastic tour, great organisation, we are looking forward to the next one!
The only thing that was a little less good was our guide in Chongqing, Jacques: he was always speaking very loud, like if speaking to a group of 20 people while we were only two. Otherwise, nothing to improve really, it was excellent!
Best regards,
Valerie
The following photos were shared by our customer Valerie:

Chengdu City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Chongqing City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Three Gorges Cruise Journey with Century Paragon | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk

Two-Day Nature Escape in Zhangjiajie | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk
- Valerie - January 8, 2026‚ ,
Hi,
Thank you for your email. The trip to China was great. I will update you when I get back to Spain. All the best to you.
Regards,
David
- David - December 25, 2025‚ ,
Hi Elk,
We had a wonderful experience booking our Yangtze River cruise through Yangtze River Cruise Company. Elk was especially helpful throughout the entire process - extremely communicative, responsive, and patient in answering all our questions, which made the booking smooth and stress-free for our family.
The cruise itself on Century Paragon was excellent. Everything was well organized, the facilities were comfortable,and we truly had a great time. Overall, it was a fantastic experience from booking to the actual cruise, and we would highly recommend both the company and Elk's services to others planning a Yangtze River cruise.
Chen
- Chen - December 22, 2025‚ ,
Thank you Rita,
The Cruise has been wonderful, everyone involved has been very helpful. My wife and I are having a good time.
Thanks again for the arrangements.
Joseph
- Joseph - December 22, 2025‚ ,
Here are recent candid photos of this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. If you want to share your own tour photos, simply email your photos to info@yangtze-river-cruises.com with your Booking ID Number. Thanks in advance for sharing!
Recommended Add-on Options
+ 3~4 more days to explore the capital city of China - Beijing
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Beijing’s opulent royal palaces, temples and magnificent walls and gates make it the first tourist destination in China. A wealth of history, both ancient (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace) and more recent (Tiananmen Square, Bird’s Nest & Water Cube) will inspire your imagination. A visit to the Great Wall, the longest manmade structure in the world, is absolutely essential.

+ 2~3 more days to explore the Ancient of Heart - Xian
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+ 2~3 more days to visit the largest metropolis in China - Shanghai
Experience the past, present and future of China all at once!
The Huangpu River splits Shanghai into two districts: Pudong and Puxi. The Pudong skyline with stunning tall buildings like Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Oriental Pearl TV Tower gives you a flourishing scene of modern Shanghai. On the Puxi side, walk along the Bund to get a taste of old Shanghai. What a huge contrast!

+ 3~4 more days to visit the city with best scenery under heaven - Guilin
Surrounded by karst peaks, Yangshuo is situated on the bank of Li River in Guilin. Yangshuo has long been renowned as a popular place for foreign tourists. It is said “guilin landscape tops those elsewhere, and yangshuo landscape tops that of Guilin”. Outdoor options are plenty here and West Street is a good place to explore.

+ 2 more days Chengdu Leisure Life Experience & Giant Panda Visit
Immerse yourself in the Land of Abundance and Hometown of Giant Pandas!
You’ll totally enjoy the ancient culture and slow pace of living when having close contact with the cute pandas in Chengdu Panda Base, sipping tea in the hundred-year-old teahouse in Renmin Park, seeking for Three Kingdom culture in Jinli Old Street, exploring Ancient Shu Civilization in Jinsha Site Museum...

+ 1~2 more days to 8-dimensional magic mountainous city - Chongqing
Conquered by the incredible mountain landform & UNESCO heritage treasures!
Famed as the "Little Hong Kong" for the splendid nightscape, it is also the cyber-popular 8D magic city with complicated mountainous urban structure and spicy hot pot! Diverse means of transport & spots will let you have distinct city panorama experience. Additionally, rich UNESCO heritage carvings, Karst landscapes, etc. will leave you a wonderful Chongqing!

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