The Yangtze,
from Chongqing to Shanghai

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Arrival in Chongqing

   Transfer to your hotel in Chongqing, the mountain city on the Yangtze. Evening in Hongya Cave, a stilted complex of eleven storeys lit up over the river.

2. Chongqing, then board the cruise

   Ride the Yangtze cable car across the river and walk the old town, then board your ship in the afternoon. Dinner on board as the city lights slide past.

3. Shibaozhai and the river beyond

   Call at Shibaozhai, a twelve-storey red pavilion built against a cliff, or Fengdu, the so-called ghost city. Beyond it the river begins to narrow.

4. The Three Gorges: Qutang and Wu

   The two most dramatic gorges of the passage: Qutang, short and sheer-walled, and Wu, twelve peaks long. Shore excursions by sampan into the lesser gorges.

5. The Three Gorges Dam and the locks

   The dam at Sandouping, the largest hydroelectric project on earth, and the five-stage ship locks that lift vessels 113 metres. Disembark at Yichang.

6. Bullet train to Shanghai

   High-speed train east to Shanghai, city centre to city centre, in about six hours. The evening is free in the French Concession.

7. The Bund and Pudong

   Morning on the Bund, facing the Pudong skyline across the Huangpu, then a viewing deck, Yu Garden and the Old Town. The lights come on at blue hour.

8. Shanghai at your own pace

   A free day for the Shanghai Museum, the Jade Buddha Temple, shopping, or a half-day trip to Suzhou or the water town of Zhujiajiao.

9. Departure

   Transfer to Pudong or Hongqiao airport according to your flight, with time built in for a last walk on the Bund if your departure is in the evening.