Shennongjia
Fengjie
Fuling & Zhongxian
Wushan
Shibao
Badong
Yichang
Yichang to Chongqing via Shennongjia
Yangzi Explorer Itineraries
Upstream Journey
Yichang to Chongqing
This upstream voyage offers a privileged encounter with one of China’s greatest natural wonders. The journey’s centerpiece is a full-day expedition into the UNESCO triple-crowned Shennongjia Forestry District, a realm of primeval forests, rare wildlife, and the enigmatic ”Wild Man” legend. This immersive land adventure is uniquely balanced with the iconic river scenery of the Three Gorges. The itinerary is further enriched by cultural stops at the magnificent Shibaozhai Pagoda and the millennia-old Xituo Ancient Town, creating an unforgettable dialogue between untamed wilderness and enduring human history.
Ports
Shennongjia
Fengjie
Shibao
ChongqingYour Arrival and Pre-Boarding Experience
From the moment you land in Yichang, you’re in our care. A Yangzi Explorer representative greets you at the airport or railway station. A private car takes you to the pier. Your luggage travels separately – and arrives in your suite before you do.
Three afternoon options are available. You may choose one.
Option A: Three Gorges Dam – VIP Experience
This excursion requires you to arrive at the Yichang city meeting point before 3:00 PM. We recommend train arrivals before 1:30 PM, or flights before 1:00 PM.
Day 1
Yichang | Embarkation
The Three Gorges Dam broke ground in the winter of 1994 – and changed the river forever. Thirty years on, it stands as the world’s largest hydroelectric project. Not just concrete and steel, but a dialogue between human ambition and natural force.
The River Closure Park sits directly before the dam, where the colossal wall holds the river in check. The site preserves remnants from the construction era: coarse gravel walls, tetrahedral concrete blocks, and the 77-tonne trucks and flat-throwing vessels that once dominated the worksite. These iron titans rest in the river breeze, forming an open-air industrial epic.
The Three Gorges Project Museum – one of the world’s largest hydropower-themed museums – commands one of the finest panoramic views of the dam. Within its walls lie the complete chronicles of the project, from conception to completion. Rare artefacts, intricate models, historical footage, and immersive digital archives trace its planning, construction, and operation. Walking through its corridors, you grasp not only the engineering marvel but also the deeper narratives: the million relocated residents, the ancient heritage, and the river itself – forever changed.
Option B: Eastern Xiling Gorge – Onboard
This option departs from Yichang’s Yemingzhu Pier before 4:00 PM. We recommend train arrivals before 2:30 PM, or flights before 1:00 PM.
Departing from Yemingzhu Pier near the Gezhou Dam, the river opens wide. After 3,000 kilometres of carving through mountains, the Yangtze finally breaks free – widening from 300 metres to over 2,000. This is Nanjin Pass, the eastern gateway of the Three Gorges. The ancient name of Yichang – “Yiling” – captures it perfectly: “mountains become hills, waters become calm.”
Eastern Xiling Gorge unfolds in three distinct stretches. Huangmao Gorge narrows to a throat-like passage, emerald waters bursting through. In Dengying Gorge, four rocks along the riverbank cast shadow-puppet silhouettes at sunset – locals say they are the stone forms of the Tang Monk and his disciples. Huangniu Gorge rises to the cloud-piercing Huangniu Rock, said to be the divine ox turned to stone. An ancient folk song captures its winding waters: “Set out at dawn by Huangniu, rest at dusk by Huangniu.” The waters are calm now, but the cliffs still stand.
Option C: Direct Embarkation at Huangling Temple Pier
The ship is scheduled to dock at Huangling Temple Pier at 6:00 PM. If you prefer a relaxed start, join us directly on board. You may take a shuttle directly to Huangling Temple Pier.
During opening hours, you are welcome to visit Huangling Temple – simply register at the ship’s reception.
Beneath Huangniu Rock, Huangling Temple has stood on the riverbank for over a thousand years – one of the oldest and best-preserved ancient complexes in the Three Gorges region. Legend has it that the temple was built to honour the divine ox that helped Yu the Great tame the floods. Inside, the nanmu pillars of the Yuwang Hall still bear two distinct flood-level marks from the Qing Dynasty – data that later proved invaluable for the dam’s design. The ancient temple speaks in silence, its weathered pillars recording the river’s forgotten heights.
Dinner
As dusk settles, dinner is served aboard. The lights along the river slip through the windows – an unspoken first course. The whistle sounds.
Captain’s Welcome Reception
The Captain’s Welcome Reception sets the tone for the voyage. Join the captain and fellow guests in a glass raised to the journey ahead – to the river, and to the days that will unfold upon it.
Welcome aboard the Yangzi Explorer!
In the late evening, Yangzi Explorer transits the Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift (subject to operational schedules and maintenance periods). Known as the world’s largest ship lift, it is an engineering marvel – capable of lifting 15,500 tonnes to a vertical height of 113 metres, the equivalent of hoisting a 40-storey building into the air. Its scale and complexity are without parallel.
Yangzi Explorer, engineered to the Ship Lift’s maximum specifications, is the world’s first and largest cruise ship capable of making this transit. Her hull aligns with the lift chamber with near-surgical precision, as if she were born for this legendary passage. Unlike conventional tours – which require transferring to smaller sightseeing boats – aboard Yangzi Explorer, you simply step onto your private balcony or the open deck. From there, you witness the entire spectacle in unhurried comfort: the massive chamber rising, the cliffs descending beyond the ship’s rails, the river falling away beneath you – as though the world itself were being gently lifted.
During the suspension of the Ship Lift, the vessel may be unable to pass through the dam, or may be rerouted to traverse it via the Five-Stage Ship Lock, which is the largest ship lock system in the world.
Five-Stage Ship Lock
The Five‑Stage Ship Lock at the Three Gorges Dam is located on the left bank of the Three Gorges Dam. Construction began in April 1994 and was fully completed in May 2007.
With a total length of approximately 6.4 kilometres and a main lock section of 1.6 kilometres, the system features a double-line, five-step layout.
Each lock chamber is 280 metres long and 34 metres wide, with a maximum single-step lift of 45.2 metres. It is capable of accommodating vessel fleets of up to ten thousand tons and is recognized as the largest inland ship lock system in the world.
UNESCO World Natural Heritage
We dock at Xingshan Pier. After breakfast, we head into Shennongjia. Clouds hang low over green ridges. Wind moves through the treetops and carries away the city – here, freedom is not just a state of mind. It’s what you breathe.
Shennongjia holds a rare distinction: China’s first UNESCO “Triple Crown” site – World Natural Heritage, Global Geopark, and World Biosphere Reserve all at once. In 2022, it was added to the IUCN Green List of best-managed protected areas.
Day 2
Shennongjia & Badong
Guanmenshan is an open-air museum – a valley where geological time, rare wildlife, and entire ecosystems unfold as you walk. Giant pandas and giant salamanders live here. Thousands of beehives cling to the cliffs like ancient rock art. Walk through, and Shennongjia reveals itself layer by layer.
Shennong Valley is known for its “layered clouds.” From above, mist rises from the valley floor – shifting, flowing, veiling. Among the clouds, alpine rhododendrons bloom in pink and white, drifting between mist and green like a living ink painting.
Jinhouling is one of the best-preserved primeval forests in Shennongjia. Towering firs and pines rise above a sea of arrow bamboo. Waterfalls echo through the dense canopy, wildflowers and berries shifting with the seasons. Quiet and abundant – every tree holds moss; every stone carries the breath of deep time.
Morning Sailing through Wu Gorge & Qutang Gorge.
Morning light slips through the window as you wake to the gentle rhythm of the river. Drawing the curtains, you find the landscape has transformed – the rolling hills of yesterday now risen into sheer cliffs.
Wu Gorge is a realm of depth and endless turns – jagged peaks rise like swords and screens, range upon range veiled in drifting mist. The river coils and curves, revealing new vistas at every bend. The clouds here are not just scenery. They are part of the story, celebrated in verse for over a thousand years.
Sailing through, the green ramparts unfold like a landscape scroll. At times, a massive cliff seems to bar the way – then, with a turn, the view opens wide, sky and clouds mirrored in jade-green water. Such is the magic of this place: a shifting dreamscape where time itself seems suspended.
Day 3
Badong & FengJie
The ship pushes upstream, past Wushan, into Qutang Gorge. Waves crash against the hull – the river resisting. The cliffs close in, narrowing the passage. The mountains on either side face each other like colossal gatekeepers, their thousand-metre walls cleaving the river’s course. Then, as suddenly as it began, the gorge opens – and White King Town appears on the heights, its eaves emerging through mist and memory.
In the afternoon, we dock at Fengjie.
Fengjie – known in antiquity as Yufu and Yong’an – has over 2,300 years of history. In 649 AD, Emperor Taizong gave it its present name, meaning “preserve integrity and uphold honour.” Perched at the western gateway of the Three Gorges, it became a vital crossroads for trade and travel. For over a thousand years, poets came, and left behind more than 10,000 verses. Li Bai wrote here; Du Fu wrote here – they called it the “City of Poetry.”
LEAVING THE WHITE KING’S TOWN AT DAWN
Leaving at dawn the White King crowned with rainbow cloud,
I have sailed a thousand miles through Three Georges in a day.
With monkeys’ sad adieus the riverbanks are loud;
My boat has left ten thought mountains far away.
By Li Bai (Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
Option A: White King Town
White King Town sits at the mouth of Qutang Gorge, on a hill surrounded by water. Red walls and grey tiles rise through the trees. To the east, Kui Men – the world-famed gateway where the Yangtze bursts between the mountains on either side. It’s the view on the back of China’s ten-yuan note. Stand on the city walls and watch – and you understand why poets wrote, why armies fought, why this place still commands the river.
Option B: Qutang Gorge – Light Hiking
From the ridge above the gorge, a trail climbs into the heart of Qutang. Moderate ups and downs – but the pace is yours.
The trail rises slowly, Kui Men opening beneath you – the same view printed on the ten-yuan note. On one side, cliffs drop straight to the river; on the other, the Yangtze flows east, ferries moving through the gorge like leaves. Across the water, ancient inscriptions are still visible on the rock face – poets from centuries ago, still speaking. Some views, you earn on foot.
Option C: The Summit of the Three Gorges
From the Summit of the Three Gorges, at 1,388 metres, the entire 8-kilometre sweep of Qutang Gorge lies before you. Clouds drift below; peaks roll like waves in every direction. Below, the river threads through the mountains – a silk ribbon against the stone. To the west, White King Town floats among the treetops. Beyond it, the silhouette of Wushan rises like a screen.
The view is never the same – spring rhododendrons, autumn red leaves, winter snow. On a clear day after rain, clouds roll in from the valley like a tide. Every season has its own face.
Zhongxian, known in antiquity as Linjiang, lies at the heart of the Three Gorges reservoir area. In 634 AD, Emperor gave it its present name – “Zhong” meaning loyalty – in honour of General Ba Manzi, who gave his life for his city. When the dam raised the waters, much of the old town went under. Zhongxian is one of the few half-submerged towns still standing.
Three shore excursions await you in Zhongxian.
Day 4
Shibaozhai (Zhongxian)
Option A: Shibao Village
Shibao Village rises from the river – a wooden pagoda built against a solitary rock. Dating back to the Ming Dynasty, it clings to the cliff, tier upon tier, like a giant seal stamped in the water. Surrounded on all sides, it is known as one of the world’s eight most unusual buildings – and the largest “basin garden” on the river. Climb to the top. The wind comes off the water. Four hundred years of timber still stands.
Option B: Xituo Ancient Town
A local ferry carries you across the river – the same crossing locals have made for generations. On the other side, Xituo emerges through the mist. Stone steps rise from the riverbank all the way to the hilltop, like a ladder reaching for the sky.
This is Xituo – the Thousand-Step Cloud Ladder, where the ancient Ba Salt Road begins. The stones are worn smooth by centuries of bare feet. Salt porters once walked this path, bent under heavy loads, their labour songs echoing through the street. Xituo grew wealthy on this trade – salt ferried across the river, then carried on foot across the mountains. The steps are still here. So are the stories.
Option C: Huanghua Island
Huanghua Island lies at the geographic centre of the Three Gorges reservoir, surrounded by calm water. Fields and forests shift with the seasons. Rare plants grow here, including the “panda of the plant world” – the lotus-leaf fern. In 2016, the island became a national wetland park.
But Huanghua is more than trees and ferns. In the 13th century, it was a fortress – a rare island stronghold in a time of war. Most of it was destroyed. But the foundations, temple ruins, and cliff inscriptions remain beneath the soil, waiting. In 2026, a new museum opened, telling the story of that forgotten chapter.
After breakfast, check your suite carefully. Place luggage outside your door or at the reception – our crew will transport it to your designated drop-off point in Chongqing. Keep valuables and documents with you. Your final morning, unencumbered.
Your journey with Yangzi Explorer draws to a close. We look forward to welcoming you aboard again. May the wind always be at your back.
Day 5
Chongqing | Disembarkation
Your journey with Yangzi Explorer draws to a close. We look forward to welcoming you aboard again. May the wind always be at your back.
Extending your stay?
Optional post-cruise excursions are available (at additional cost)
Option A: Chongqing City Walk – RMB 580/person （minimum 10 guests）
Option B: Dazu Rock Carvings – RMB 880/person （minimum 5 guests）
Option C: Anyue Grottoes – RMB 3,880/person (2-day tour, minimum 2 guests)
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the Shennongjia Yangtze River cruise itinerary unique?
The Shennongjia Yangtze River cruise itinerary is unique because it combines river cruising with a rare inland expedition. This itinerary combines Yangtze River cruising with a rare inland expedition into Shennongjia, one of China’s officially designated UNESCO natural heritage sites. Guests experience dramatic gorge scenery alongside deep immersion into one of the country’s most pristine and biodiverse mountain ecosystems.
