Splendid China Chongqing to Shanghai Yangtze River Cruise | 14-Day Downstream Tour

Shore excursions

• Chongqing City Tour: Liberation Square & Hongya Cave✓INCLUDED

  Chongqing is a hilly megacity where two rivers meet. Explore the busy pedestrian streets around the Liberation Monument, then visit Hongya Cave, a complex of traditional stilt houses stacked up a riverside cliff. The evening ends with views of the city lit up at night.

Shore excursions

• Ciqikou Old Town & Chongqing Old Street✓INCLUDED

  Step back in time in Ciqikou, a former porcelain-trading town with stone-paved lanes, wooden houses and teahouses. Snack on local treats and browse traditional crafts before transferring to Chaotianmen Port to board your ship.

Shore excursions

• Fengdu Ghost City✓INCLUDED

  In Chinese folklore, Fengdu is the gateway to the underworld. Climb past temples filled with colorful statues of underworld judges and guardians, and try traditional tests like crossing the Bridge of Helplessness, said to reveal how you’ve lived your life.

Shore excursions

• White Emperor City✓INCLUDED

  This hilltop temple complex overlooks Kuimen, the dramatic entrance to Qutang Gorge pictured on China’s 10-yuan note. It’s tied to Three Kingdoms history and to famous poems by Li Bai and Du Fu.

• Peak of the Three Gorges✓INCLUDED

  For the best views of the trip, head up to this high lookout above Qutang Gorge. Walkways and viewing platforms look out over the river winding through sheer cliffs far below.

• Scenic Cruising: Qutang & Wu Gorges✓INCLUDED

  Watch from the deck as your ship sails through the short, dramatic Qutang Gorge and the graceful Wu Gorge, where limestone peaks rise straight out of the water.

Shore excursions

• Three Gorges Dam✓INCLUDED

  Tour the world’s largest hydropower project, with viewpoints over the dam and its giant ship locks. Your guide explains how it was built and how it changed life on the river.

• Gezhouba Lock Passage✓INCLUDED

  In the afternoon your ship passes through the Gezhouba Lock, the first dam built across the Yangtze. Watch from the deck as the water level drops and the gates open onto the river below.

Shore excursions

• Xiongjia National Archaeological Site Park✓INCLUDED

  See one of China’s largest chariot-and-horse burial pits, part of a royal tomb complex from the ancient state of Chu, about 2,400 years old.

• Jingzhou Museum & Ancient City Wall✓INCLUDED

  Discover ancient Chu silks, lacquerware and a remarkably preserved 2,000-year-old Han tomb, then walk along one of the best-preserved city walls in southern China.

Shore excursions

• Yellow Crane Tower✓INCLUDED

  One of China’s Four Great Towers, Yellow Crane Tower is celebrated in legend and Tang-dynasty poetry. Climb to the top for sweeping views of Wuhan and the Yangtze.

• Hubei Provincial Museum✓INCLUDED

  The museum’s star is a 2,400-year-old set of bronze chime bells from the tomb of the Marquis Yi of Zeng. Don’t miss the Sword of Goujian, still sharp after more than two thousand years.

Shore excursions

• Jingdezhen Porcelain Town✓INCLUDED

  Visit China’s porcelain capital, home of the imperial kilns for centuries. Watch artisans shape and hand-paint porcelain, and shop for pieces at the source.

• Mt. Lushan✓INCLUDED

  Explore this UNESCO-listed mountain of misty peaks, waterfalls and forests. Visit the historic villas of Guling, once a summer retreat for missionaries and China’s political elite.

Shore excursions

• Mt. Jiuhua✓INCLUDED

  Mt. Jiuhua is one of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains. Explore its mountain village and active temples, still visited by pilgrims today.

• Jindizang Temple✓INCLUDED

  This temple honors Jin Dizang, a Tang-dynasty monk revered as a living bodhisattva. Its halls hold Buddhist statues, artifacts and classic temple architecture.

Shore excursions

• Niushou Mountain Cultural Park✓INCLUDED

  An ancient Buddhist mountain that is now home to the dazzling Usnisa Palace, a vast modern hall built to house a sacred relic of the Buddha.

• Muyan Riverside Scenic Area✓INCLUDED

  Stroll Nanjing’s green Yangtze shoreline to Swallow Rock, a cliff over the river that has drawn poets and emperors for centuries.

Shore excursions

• Slender West Lake & Dongguan Street✓INCLUDED

  Walk the willow-lined paths of Slender West Lake, part of the Grand Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its pavilions and arched bridges. Then explore Dongguan Street, a historic shopping lane lined with Qing-era storefronts and local snacks.

Shore excursions

• Shanghai Highlights: The Bund, Nanjing Road & Silk Workshop✓INCLUDED

  Stroll the Bund’s riverside promenade of grand historic buildings, shop along busy Nanjing Road, and see how silk is made from silkworm cocoons at a traditional workshop.

• Lujiazui Financial District✓INCLUDED

  Cross the river to Pudong’s famous skyline, home to the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building.

Shore excursions

• Shanghai Museum & City God Temple✓INCLUDED

  See ancient bronzes, porcelain and calligraphy at one of China’s finest art museums. Then explore the lively City God Temple area, with its traditional buildings, shops and snack stalls.