Yangtze River Cruise, worth taking?

I will be touring China by rail, 30 days this Sept. . I am considering taking a 4 night Yangtze cruise mid-trip ( Chongoing-Jingzhou). Is it worth it and are there other short river cruises to recommend.

I will be touring China by rail, 30 days this Sept. . I am considering taking a 4 night Yangtze cruise mid-trip ( Chongoing-Jingzhou). Is it worth it and are there other short river cruises to recommend.

We did a Vantage tour of China (21 days) that was fantastic. It included a four day river cruise that was great. I am glad we did the cruise.

Our tour visited several Chinese cities and we only took the high speed train once. We had about five internal flights.

China is a large country and I can imagine the rail travel may use up a lot of time (less so with high speed).

Here is my review of our trip.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1718320

"Worth" is a matter of personal opinion. Mine is that I could list 50 places in China that are more interesting.

On a side note, you say that you are doing a 30-day trip in China in September. Are you aware that one should absolutely not be in China for the week of October 1 as it is their national holidays. For one week, just about everybody is on vacation. It looks like this:

http://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/post/15647/photos-october-holiday-crowds-swarm-tourist-sites

I will be touring China by rail, 30 days this Sept. . I am considering taking a 4 night Yangtze cruise mid-trip ( Chongoing-Jingzhou). Is it worth it and are there other short river cruises to recommend.

Definitely! We have done the Yangtze cruise three times and enjoyed each sailing. There is a lot of history in this area which makes it even more interesting if study before the trip, especially about the Three Kingdoms.

"Worth" is a matter of personal opinion. Mine is that I could list 50 places in China that are more interesting.

On a side note, you say that you are doing a 30-day trip in China in September. Are you aware that one should absolutely not be in China for the week of October 1 as it is their national holidays. For one week, just about everybody is on vacation. It looks like this:

http://www.thatsmags.com/shanghai/post/15647/photos-october-holiday-crowds-swarm-tourist-sites

So true, I would be interested in your list of those 50 places. While the Yangze River cruise was not at the top of my list, it certainly was not 51st.

Did you do the afternoon Li River cruise and see the Karst formations? That was pretty nice as well.

I am aware of the national holiday. I will be flying out of HongKong on the 30th.

I am sorting out the main itinerary starting in Beijing and it will include the must sees, several UNESCO sights etc.. I thought the cruise would be a respite at the halfway point. The Li river area is also somewhere I am reading up on. I will look into using some domestic flights, can these be booked last minute?

Thanks folks

With billions on the move, typically a week before the annual Oct. 1st. Independence Day / National Holiday, some starting even earlier - you do NOT want to book air or HST travel last minute, do it ASAP once plans are finalized and optionally, recommended highly, trip insurance. Just about every other person is on the road - bus, rails, HST, planes, etc. - from urban metropolis back home to the countryside, and, also, the growing middle class going abroad for vacation. Confirm & re-confirm those booking & reference number, and make sure your contact/email/SMS info are accurate and updated.

So true, I would be interested in your list of those 50 places. While the Yangze River cruise was not at the top of my list, it certainly was not 51st.

 

Did you do the afternoon Li River cruise and see the Karst formations? That was pretty nice as well.

Rather than the Li river, it is better to go to the Yulong river, less busy and more quiet (no motors). On the Li river, boats are zooming down at high speed. Look and HEAR the difference on the 2 YouTube videos:

Li River:

Yulong river:

About my 50 places, some are easier to get to than others. Maybe some are already on your list. Typical places includes the following examples: the old town of Pingyao (http://shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/pingyao/2013-06/01/content_16486008.htm), Datong ( ), Luoyang (http://www.jacekphoto.com/china/china75.htm), Chengde (http://www.china-tour.cn/China-Pictures/Chengde-Pictures.htm), Huangshan (http://www.absolutechinatours.com/Huangshan-attractions/Huangshan-Mountain-A-World-Heritage-in-China-251.html), Zhangjiajie (http://www.mostbeautifulspots.com/2016/10/03/zhangjiajie-national-forest-park-china/), Xiamen particularly the Gulangyu island (http://iheartchina.com/location/Xiamen-Gulangyu-Scenic-Tourist-Attractions), the Tulou near Xiamen (http://www.oddcities.com/fujian-tulou-china/), any of the many small villages in the province of Guizhou such as this one: (one of my favorites) http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/, and then you can head west to places like Dunhuang (http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/) or Kashgar (https://www.wildfrontierstravel.com/en_GB/community/blog/post/exploring-kashgar), Xiahe (https://mirincondelabahia.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/artista-invitada-ana-perez-estampas-tibetanas/), etc...... You get my point...

Rather than the Li river, it is better to go to the Yulong river, less busy and more quiet (no motors). On the Li river, boats are zooming down at high speed. Look and HEAR the difference on the 2 YouTube videos:

Li River:

Yulong river:

About my 50 places, some are easier to get to than others. Maybe some are already on your list. Typical places includes the following examples: the old town of Pingyao (http://shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/pingyao/2013-06/01/content_16486008.htm), Datong ( ), Luoyang (http://www.jacekphoto.com/china/china75.htm), Chengde (http://www.china-tour.cn/China-Pictures/Chengde-Pictures.htm), Huangshan (http://www.absolutechinatours.com/Huangshan-attractions/Huangshan-Mountain-A-World-Heritage-in-China-251.html), Zhangjiajie (http://www.mostbeautifulspots.com/2016/10/03/zhangjiajie-national-forest-park-china/), Xiamen particularly the Gulangyu island (http://iheartchina.com/location/Xiamen-Gulangyu-Scenic-Tourist-Attractions), the Tulou near Xiamen (http://www.oddcities.com/fujian-tulou-china/), any of the many small villages in the province of Guizhou such as this one: (one of my favorites) http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/, and then you can head west to places like Dunhuang (http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/) or Kashgar (https://www.wildfrontierstravel.com/en_GB/community/blog/post/exploring-kashgar), Xiahe (https://mirincondelabahia.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/artista-invitada-ana-perez-estampas-tibetanas/), etc...... You get my point...

Thanks for the information. Looks like some great places to visit. Is there a tour that would take us to most or all of those places? If not, how would we manage to visit them? I see that many of these places are in the NE as well others to the mid and south.

Our Li River cruise was darn nice and I thought pretty peaceful. The Yulong river looked interesting, but not sure we would want to do the little rafts.

In2015 we added a Yangtze cruise to our China tour as it was very cheap. Yichang to Chonquing, 4 nights on Victoria Lianna. Just thought it would be a nice break in between lots of land touring.

It was fantastic, beautiful scenery in the gorges, watching life on the river, barges, farms. There were included tours each day, the food was great, the staff wonderful, English limited. Activities on board every day from Tai Chi to painting the insides of bottles.

The ship was a bit dated, but everything else was great. It turned out to be one of the highlights of our China tour.

Rather than the Li river, it is better to go to the Yulong river, less busy and more quiet (no motors). On the Li river, boats are zooming down at high speed. Look and HEAR the difference on the 2 YouTube videos:

Li River:

Yulong river:

About my 50 places, some are easier to get to than others. Maybe some are already on your list. Typical places includes the following examples: the old town of Pingyao (http://shanxi.chinadaily.com.cn/pingyao/2013-06/01/content_16486008.htm), Datong ( ), Luoyang (http://www.jacekphoto.com/china/china75.htm), Chengde (http://www.china-tour.cn/China-Pictures/Chengde-Pictures.htm), Huangshan (http://www.absolutechinatours.com/Huangshan-attractions/Huangshan-Mountain-A-World-Heritage-in-China-251.html), Zhangjiajie (http://www.mostbeautifulspots.com/2016/10/03/zhangjiajie-national-forest-park-china/), Xiamen particularly the Gulangyu island (http://iheartchina.com/location/Xiamen-Gulangyu-Scenic-Tourist-Attractions), the Tulou near Xiamen (http://www.oddcities.com/fujian-tulou-china/), any of the many small villages in the province of Guizhou such as this one: (one of my favorites) http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/, and then you can head west to places like Dunhuang (http://sarajaaksola.com/langde-miao-village/) or Kashgar (https://www.wildfrontierstravel.com/en_GB/community/blog/post/exploring-kashgar), Xiahe (https://mirincondelabahia.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/artista-invitada-ana-perez-estampas-tibetanas/), etc...... You get my point...

Wonderful list, this will help form my itinerary

Thanks for the information. Looks like some great places to visit. Is there a tour that would take us to most or all of those places? If not, how would we manage to visit them? I see that many of these places are in the NE as well others to the mid and south.

 

Our Li River cruise was darn nice and I thought pretty peaceful. The Yulong river looked interesting, but not sure we would want to do the little rafts.

I have been to all these places without tours. Most get a lot of tourists and not difficult to visit. I could expand this list quite a bit, for example, It does not cover the Yunnan province which has both minority ethnic groups and beautiful landscape. For my next trip I plan to go here, a place not so easy to visit but rather unspoiled by mass tourism: http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/700467.html

If you want to visit places that you feel not easy for you, you can hire a tour company to organize a private tour. Usual suspects would be http://www.chinahighlights.com/ or https://www.travelchinaguide.com/

I have been to all these places without tours. Most get a lot of tourists and not difficult to visit. I could expand this list quite a bit, for example, It does not cover the Yunnan province which has both minority ethnic groups and beautiful landscape. For my next trip I plan to go here, a place not so easy to visit but rather unspoiled by mass tourism: http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/700467.html

If you want to visit places that you feel not easy for you, you can hire a tour company to organize a private tour. Usual suspects would be http://www.chinahighlights.com/ or https://www.travelchinaguide.com/

How did you visit those places?

How did you visit those places?

Yes I have been to all these places (and several others) but not the one in my last post (hopefully later this year).

As much as I enjoyed China, traveling there has its issues. On our 21 day tour in 2012, the air pollution is terrible, of course, many of the places listed above were not in large cities, which had less pollution.

Also, our tour manager, who was Chinese advised us never to eat in a restaurant unless it was one of those approved for tourists. Apparently, eating in some places could be harmful to your health.

Traveling between cities, that would require rail or air travel could be stressful, not being familiar with the language and the huge crowds that we encountered on our trip.

Also, if we got sick and had to be hospitalized, I would want to have a tour manager that could assist us in getting proper treatment. Even if we had trip insurance, medical evacuation, etc., getting proper treatment in China could be problematic, after hearing about what the average Chinese person has to do to get medical care.

Having been to Japan since China, we found that we could handle internal travel in that country rather easily. Also, the Japanese people are very friendly and polite. In China there are no queues and it is every person for themselves, which is very frustrating.

Japan has some sites that we missed that are just as fascinating as when I saw on the list.

As much as I enjoyed China, traveling there has its issues. On our 21 day tour in 2012, the air pollution is terrible, of course, many of the places listed above were not in large cities, which had less pollution.

 

Also, our tour manager, who was Chinese advised us never to eat in a restaurant unless it was one of those approved for tourists. Apparently, eating in some places could be harmful to your health.

 

Traveling between cities, that would require rail or air travel could be stressful, not being familiar with the language and the huge crowds that we encountered on our trip.

 

Also, if we got sick and had to be hospitalized, I would want to have a tour manager that could assist us in getting proper treatment. Even if we had trip insurance, medical evacuation, etc., getting proper treatment in China could be problematic, after hearing about what the average Chinese person has to do to get medical care.

 

Having been to Japan since China, we found that we could handle internal travel in that country rather easily. Also, the Japanese people are very friendly and polite. In China there are no queues and it is every person for themselves, which is very frustrating.

 

Japan has some sites that we missed that are just as fascinating as when I saw on the list.

Wow! Where to start?

There is no such thing as a restaurant approved for tourists, There are restaurants that specialize on tour group. They take you there because they have a deal and it is cheap. Unfortunately the food is bland and repetitive. The 300,000 expats that live in Beijing and Shanghai would never set foot in such restaurants. Reminds me of my Chinese friends going on tours in the US and complain about the poor quality of the food as Americans only eat pizza and hot dogs (!).

If you are sick and need to go to the hospital, it can be daunting if you don't have someone to help you. I am not sure what you mean by "given what Chinese have to go through" as I have used Chinese hospital a couple of times. Pretty simple (with someone to help you for the language. I had to deal with a urine track infection. went to the hospital emergency (as it was evening), paid $2 to see a doctor, saw a nurse at triage who send me to a doctor that I could see right away. He gave me the papers for a blood test and an urine test, which I did across the hall, Went back to the doctor who gave me a prescription after reading the results. I had the prescription filled at the pharmacy hospital. The whole thing took a grand total of one hour. I could not dream of such speed in Canada.

Without help for the language issue, one can also go to an international hospital such as Family United.

Finally, no queues? sure it can happen in rush hour when it is impossible to queue but it is generally pretty good . I tried to post my photos of people lining up for the subway, lining up to purchase train tickets, etc but I can't make them smaller than the 19k limit of the site.

but Japan is nice too.

How did you visit those places?

Sorry, I previously misread your question.

I just book my transportation (flight or train) online and book my hotels myself. Most are easy to get to. If you are not comfortable you can always book as much as you can yourself and hire a local guide on a daily basis. Cheaper and more flexible than taking a tour. In some cases you need a driver more than you need a guide.

Personally I never go on tours. They isolate you from the local reality. serve inferior food, take you to shopping stops where everything is overpriced and you can't control the pace of visits. I prefer to do it myself and get the occasional local help from guides or the hotel. I have yet to find a place in the world where this does not work.

Wow! Where to start?

There is no such thing as a restaurant approved for tourists, There are restaurants that specialize on tour group. They take you there because they have a deal and it is cheap. Unfortunately the food is bland and repetitive. The 300,000 expats that live in Beijing and Shanghai would never set foot in such restaurants. Reminds me of my Chinese friends going on tours in the US and complain about the poor quality of the food as Americans only eat pizza and hot dogs (!).

If you are sick and need to go to the hospital, it can be daunting if you don't have someone to help you. I am not sure what you mean by "given what Chinese have to go through" as I have used Chinese hospital a couple of times. Pretty simple (with someone to help you for the language. I had to deal with a urine track infection. went to the hospital emergency (as it was evening), paid $2 to see a doctor, saw a nurse at triage who send me to a doctor that I could see right away. He gave me the papers for a blood test and an urine test, which I did across the hall, Went back to the doctor who gave me a prescription after reading the results. I had the prescription filled at the pharmacy hospital. The whole thing took a grand total of one hour. I could not dream of such speed in Canada.

Without help for the language issue, one can also go to an international hospital such as Family United.

Finally, no queues? sure it can happen in rush hour when it is impossible to queue but it is generally pretty good . I tried to post my photos of people lining up for the subway, lining up to purchase train tickets, etc but I can't make them smaller than the 19k limit of the site.

but Japan is nice too.

Prior to traveling to China in 2012, I did some research on dining in China and then went to TripAdvisor to find good restaurants near our hotels (some meals were provided by the tour, but not all). My general research brought up issues of poor food quality due to pollution, as well as gross violations health standards like raising fish in ponds were raw sewage was dumped into the ponds. Still, it was clear from TripAdvisor that some restaurants were quite good.

Our tour guide was excellent and didn't seem to go out of his way to ruin the good name of his country, but he had visited the US and Canada, as well as Europe. Also, his mother was a doctor in a major Chinese and we told us stories about health care in China, some of which came from his mother.

He told us in Beijing that the government approved restaurants and that our group would only eat at one of those restaurants. As it turned out, a couple of the restaurants where we dined where those from TripAdvisor that were highly rated. He indicated that especially in inexpensive restaurants that food quality could be risky.

The food we had in China was excellent, better that what we had found in the USA and there was more variety.

As for the health care stories that he told, he indicated that Chinese people might wait in line for hours at a hospital or clinic for an appointment. His other stories seemed to indicate that health care in China involved too much demand for not enough available care.

One of our party and elderly gentleman had a stroke, but had paid for the trip insurance that included health coverage. Our manager spend a considerable bit of time assisting this man to get care, which he did and was release to go home in a few days.

Our China tour was in Jan. 2017.

We just returned from visiting China and had a wonderful time. I like to give CHINA CULTURE TOUR a big thumbs up! We are as you can call " WANDERLUST"! we have traveled to China at least 4-5 times. As most of the reviews for tour companies, they are usually help making arrangement to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu....and a group tour. We went with CHINA CULTURE TOUR which is a reasonable private tour.

We really want to explore the less traveled destinations this time. So we decided on going to visit Harbin for their famous 31st Annual Ice and Snow festival. Because Harbin is quite cold ( between -8 C to -25 C) while we were there, we decided to spend 4 days and 3 nights there and there went South to GUILIN City in the province of GuangXi. Then we go further south to Guangzhou for the rest of our trip.

I do speak Cantonese and OK Mandarin, but traveling to China is not easy. Heavy traffic, going from airport to airport ,and train station to station. I don't know how I could manage to have a relax time and worry-free to see these 3 wonderful cities in just 10 days without the help of Grace from the China Culture Tour company!!!

Grace was very helpful right from my first contact with her via email ( grace@chinaculturetour.com) .

I told her where and when I wanted to go and my budget range. She promptly gave me a quote outlining all the suggested activities and sightseeing unique to each locale, especially in Guilin, since the company is located in Guilin. After several back and forth email with several changes, She answered a lot of our questions and concerns. we were ready.

In Harbin, all we really knew of is to part-take in the Ice and Snow Festival 2017, however the China Tour Company arranged for us to see Ice Swimming exhibition ( Yes, Ice swimming in frigid cold water while I have to wear long John, down jacket, snow shoe, hat and face-mask!) Of course , We did snow mobile on frozen Song Hua River....Siberian Tiger park ....Snow Sculpture Park....Ice Lantern Park...Ice Bar..... several unique local Harbin culinary adventures. We would not have done all of that without the help of the great tour Guide ( Billy ) and the driver. Billy is so knowledgeable and speak such good English.

In Guilin, our experience exceeded our expectations! I have always known that Guilin is one of the most beautiful place in China as my mother had told me, but the tour arrangement had gave us some unbelievable memories of the beautiful scenery of Guilin. Furthermore, I had seen an National Geographic article several years ago about GuanXi unique Cormorant Fishermen. I really wanted to see for myself. To my surprise, Grace was able to arrange for me to meet Mr. Wang the fisherman himself ( the one in the Magazine!!!) He actually spent over an hour to let me photography him and with him. That was the biggest highlight of my trip.

Of course, I spent the rest of the time hiking up ChuanShan and DeiCai Hill to get the view of Guilin.

Our Guide Helen was so attentive and she stayed behind at the pier waiting for us returning from the River night cruise even after she finished her tour just to make sure we were able to get back to the hotel safely. Where do go to get this kind of caring and services. We became friends! Did I mention? Grace, the owner of the tour company, came out to meet us and take us to a local hiking trail up in a mountain to get the best view of Guilin. She rewarded us for our efforts in climbing up the mountain at sunset, she took us out for dinner at one of the local Guilin popular restaurant, Thank you grace.

In Guangzhou, It is a big city and can easily get lost. The tour company arranged a guide and driver to take us from the train station to the hotel. We mainly went on our own because we just wanted to ring in the New Year in Guangzhou.

Overall I am glad I engaged CHINA CULTURE TOUR to help us navigate thru our holidays vacation. As much as we are avid travelers, hiring a tour guide and driver is a must in CHINA. You will not go wrong with CHINA CULTURE TOUR company.

I already have plan to come back to China to other beautiful attractions. Huangshan ( Yellow Mountain), Jiuzhaigou, in Sichuan, Dongchuan Red Land and YuanYang Rice Terraces, Yunnan ....

I will be calling Grace at CHINA CULTURE TOUR to make it happen.

Thank you, Grace and CHINA CULTURE TOUR for your personal touch and made our trip a memorable experience.

In Shanghai we went to a local restaurant over the road from our hotel, very busy, lots of families so thought it would be ok. No English at all but waitress found us a menu with pictures, first time I have ordered this way. Food was brilliant, very cheap, and service so helpful. If it looks busy, with lots of families it is generally ok and you get a real feel for the country.

Husband and I enjoyed the Yangtze river cruise and recommend it. Plus it is a good break from hard-core touring. We traveled all over China and not on a tour. We met up with guides in various cities. Yes the pollution was bad. The water from the tap not safe to drink. The people were amazing. Curious and friendly. While they do push in large queues, I did not find that they were pushing PAST me to get in front. This never happened. They seemed to push - more like a gentle nudge really - to fill in all the space. We traveled by plane, train and subway. No one was ever rude to us, unless you count staring which I do not. There was a lot of that and they also take your picture without asking. I just took pictures of them back because it was funny. Then many times we took pictures with each other. This must have happened about 5 or 6 times. Total strangers each time. It was a hoot for all of us. I also thought that many persons we met were really interactive with us despite the language barrier. We loved the food and ate many places.

I have been to both Japan and China. They are both wonderful, but so very different. I actually liked the food in China much better. If you are older do China first as it can be a more difficult travel experience.

China was enchanting and I would go back in a second.

Did this for the four day many years ago as they were flooding the river. Great for scenery, history and culture.

Be careful which line you choose as each caters to certain background with food and communication.

We used Victoria line good mix of people from all over the world.

English was spoken!

We are in China often for business so we travel all over after for pleasure.

You mentioned the Yangtze cruise trip from Chongqing to Jingzhou, I just wish to bring an update about 2018 Yangtze sailing routes: most ships now sail only between Chongqing and Maoping Port of Yichang. The cruise lines will then use a motor coach to transfer passengers to Yichang city for train or flight departures. This is the Chongqing to Yichang Yangtze Cruise itinerary and Yichang to Chongqing Itinerary.

Jingzhou is a historic city with old city walls like you see in Xian, and it has an excellent museum where you can even see a mummy and some awesome display from the Three Gorges region. You can take the fast train from Yichang to Jingzhou.

Summer from July to August tends to be hotter; September and October are the best times to travel but most expensive. Ships stop running from late December to February next year.

I hope this information helps. Enjoy your river cruise on the Yangtze. :D:D

I appreciate that this is an old thread, but I must add our personal experience to the comments on bad medical care in China. DH had a heart attack and was taken off a cruise ship to hospital in Shanghai. He was seen immediately and received excellent care. He was in hospital for two weeks and I shared a double room with him once he was out of intensive care. I had the room to myself until he joined me.

His doctor spoke almost perfect English and two English speaking nurses were assigned to visit several times a day. He came home with a DVD of the procedures he had, and his doctors over here said he had state of the art treatment. He had had no previous problems and has been perfectly healthy ever since. Insurance covered everything for us.

We have visited China several times since then and taken the Yangtze cruise. While it was not a major highlight, I am glad we did it. The Li River trip was spectacular and I don't recall that it was unduly noisy.