Chongqing to Yichang: 4-Day Yangtze River Cruise & Three Gorges

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1/10

Duration4d

GroupUp to 50

LanguagesEN · CM

Mobile ticketAccepted

Four Days on the Yangtze: From Chongqing Through the Three Gorges to Yichang

You board in Chongqing at 7 p.m. and spend four days and three nights in a cabin on the Yangtze, sailing through the Three Gorges with three included shore excursions, all meals, and a boat guide. The itinerary can adjust based on water conditions and boat schedule, but the Three Gorges Dam visit and the three main gorges are always part of the route. You arrive in Yichang by early afternoon on day four, so plan any onward travel for after 4:30 p.m.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Embark and start sailing from Chongqing

Embark at Chongqing Chaotianmen Wharf
Board bus if boarding at Wanzhou Harbour
Start sailing at 21:00

Day 2 — Sailing and shore excursion

Buffet breakfast on board
Excursion to Yuhuang Shengdi or Shibao Village
Buffet lunch on board
Dinner on board

Day 3 — Sail through Three Gorges and excursions

Buffet breakfast on board
Optional excursion to White Emperor City
Sail through Qutang Gorge
Buffet lunch on board
Sail through Wu Gorge
Excursion to Lesser Three Gorges or Shengnong or Goddess Stream
Enter Xiling Gorge
Farewell dinner on board

Day 4 — Arrival and Three Gorges Dam visit

Breakfast on board
Excursion to Three Gorges Dam
Arrive at Yichang Tourist Center by 13:30

The Experience

The boat is bigger than you expect. You board at 7 p.m. at Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing, and the scale of it — the decks, the dining room, the cabin with its twin beds and river view — catches you off guard if you've only read the itinerary. By 9 p.m. the engines start and you're moving downstream, and the city lights slide past while you're already unpacking. This is a 4-day-and-3-night cruise from Chongqing to Yichang on a Chinese 5-star boat, which means you don't unpack and repack at hotels; you stay in one cabin the whole way and the landscape changes around you instead.

The Three Gorges — Qutang, Wu, and Xiling — are the reason people take this route, and you sail through all three over the course of two days. The boat guide narrates as you move, pointing out the rock formations and the history, and there are three shore excursions built into the itinerary so you actually get off and walk. One day you might visit Yuhuang Shengdi or Shibao Village; another you could explore the Lesser Three Gorges or Goddess Stream, depending on the boat's schedule and the water level that season. The itinerary can shift — the cruise confirms the exact three excursions after you book — but the gorges themselves don't move. You're eating buffet breakfast and lunch and dinner on board, so you're not hunting for restaurants or deciding where to eat; the rhythm of the day is the boat's rhythm.

On the final morning you reach Yichang by early afternoon, and before you disembark there's an excursion to the Three Gorges Dam, the massive engineering project that changed the entire river. The tour ends between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. at the Yichang Tourist Center, which means you need to book any flight or train leaving after 4:30 p.m. that day. If the river is running high or low, the boarding dock might shift from Chaotianmen to Wanzhou Harbour instead, and the cruise arranges a bus transfer from Chongqing city center — that's the kind of detail that matters if you're timing your arrival in the city.

What’s included

Your four days and three nights include a half twin cabin on a Chinese 5-star boat, buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, three shore excursions (exact sites confirmed after booking and subject to change based on boat schedule), a boat guide throughout, and all service charges.
The cruise departs Chongqing at 9 p.m. on day one and arrives in Yichang by early afternoon on day four.
If boarding is at Wanzhou Harbour instead of Chaotianmen Dock due to seasonal conditions, the cruise arranges a bus transfer from Chongqing city center.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by SilkRoadTrips

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want to see the Three Gorges and the Three Gorges Dam without arranging separate hotels, transport, or shore excursions — the boat is your hotel, and the itinerary handles the stops, so you just show up in Chongqing and sail downstream.