Places to See and Stay: The Yangtze River - China

• Overview
• Featured Accommodation

Famed for her beauty and feared for the destructive power unleashed when seasonal floods break her banks, the Yangtze River or Chang Jiang has long held an iconic place in Chinese culture, art and literature.

Rushing from the cold mountains of Qinghai across China’s vast hinterland to Shanghai and the East China Sea, the world’s third longest river gives life to some of China’s most fertile land, and has carved out scenery that has inspired poets and painters for millennia. The epic river journey through the Yangtze Three Gorges has long been considered amongst China’s premier spectacles, but with the completion of the controversial Three Gorges Dam the future of this scenic wonder has been cast into doubt. The first phase of flooding has so far left its glory undimmed, but the second phase is due to be completed in 2009.

The numerous cruising itineraries available are the perfect way to explore China’s otherwise inaccessible heartland in comfort, and witness not only the legendary Wu, Qutang and Xiling Gorges, but also the equally impressive Lesser Three Gorges. The dam itself is awesome - a giant construction resembling a science fiction film set.

Gallery

Click on an image to view large...