Yangtze River

The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia, and the third longest in the world. It flows for 6,418 kilometres (3,988 mi) from the glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the biggest rivers by discharge volume in the world. The Yangtze drains one-fifth of the land area of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and its river basin is home to one-third of the PRC's population

The Western name "Yangtze" comes from the stretch of the river from Yangzhou to Zhenjiang, called the Yangzi in Chinese. This was the name first heard by Western missionaries and traders, particularly by the British, and it has stuck. Technically it is named in honor of the former emperor Yang. Most Chinese will not understand what you mean if you don't use the proper Mandarin title of "Chang Jiang" unless they are familiar with English.

The Yangtze River also plays a very important role in water transportation. It accounts for more than 80% of freight movement throughout China. The role of navigation will become even more important once the regulating reservoir of the Three Georges Project raises the river level by 10 to 100 meters (33-328 feet) enabling 10,000-ton ocean-going cargo ships and passenger liners to reach Chongqing directly from Shanghai.

The most famous part of this journey is the sensational cruise ships through the Three Gorges area between Chongqing and Yichang. With the recent enormous Three Gorges Dam project, this route has changed considerably but it is still definitely worth doing. However be careful of the different types of boats and classes within those boats.

Traveling on a Chinese tourist boat in 'first class' may not be your idea of 'first class' (one traveler complained of "rats everywhere"). In addition, the only choice for food may be the boat itself for up to 3-days. As such, bring supplies, particularly snacks and drinks for the voyage. If you really want the good experience on the Yangtze, you'd better choose a luxury yangtze cruise in 4 or 5 star rating.

These luxury cruises fare include all the shore excursions with English speaking guides and all meals on-board except the dinner on the check-in day. Almost all the tourists travelling on those cruises are very satisfied with the journey.Visitors see the sceneries all along the way. Shore excursions involve the sightseeing of some famous attractions in a specific city or county.

Be especially wary of thieves on the cruise boats, using any technique from picking pockets to crawling in portholes to rifle luggage.