Nine-day Three-Gorge and Zhangjiajie Sightseeing Tour

    You will meet your guide and driver at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport or Chongqing North Railway Station, and be taken to your hotel in Downtown Chongqing. After you check in at your hotel, you may go to Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street for a stroll in your free time.

    As a hub of communications in Southwestern China, Chongqing is an easily accessible city. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport operates flights to 61 overseas terminals and 142 cities within Mainland China. The overseas terminals include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, etc. Tourists can also take a bullet train to Chongqing from some major cities within Mainland China, such as Chengdu, Xi’an, Shanghai and Guiyang.

    After breakfast, you will check out of your rooms, and then, be guided to visit some scenic areas in Chongqing, including Chongqing Grand Auditorium, Liziba Monorail Station, Ciqikou Ancient Town and Hongyadong Old Street. You may have a try for the local Hot Pot at Ciqikou Street. In the evening, your guide and driver will escort you to Chaotianmen Pier where the luxury cruise ships are berthed. The embarkation is scheduled between 4:30 P.M. and 8:00 P.M.. The crews usually weigh anchor at 9:30 P.M.. The luxury cruise ship highly recommended to you are the Century Glory and the Century Legend. Both have been given a five-star rating. We will book a comfortable room for you for three nights on the ship.

    Chongqing Grand Auditorium is one of the landmarks of Chongqing. It is also called Chongqing People’s Great Hall. The construction of the hall was begun in 1951 and completed in 1954. The building combines the regal splendor of the ancient Chinese palaces and Western architecture. The hall is 65 meters(213 feet) in height and covers an area of 1.85 hectares(4.57 acres). It has seating capacity of over 3,400.

    Liziba Monorail Station is located by the Jialing River. It is one of the hottest tourist attractions in Chongqing. Visitors like to stand on a nearby viewing platform, watching trains which draw into the station. Since the monorail trains move high above the ground, the difference in height between the viewing platform and the monorails gives an illusion of space. People can be photographed with a special composition that the trains are running into their mouths.

    Ciqikou Ancient Town used to be a river port in ancient times. It shows what Chongqing was like in the past. Because the street has not become as modernized as the rest part of Chongqing, Ciqikou is known as the so-called Chongqing in Miniature or Small Chongqing.

    Hongyadong is a traditional Chinese styled shopping mall. The building shows the feature of Diaojiaolou architecture. Diaojiaolou is a traditional building supported by piles, which is popular among some Chinese minorities, such as, the Miao Nationality and the Tujia Nationality. It was built in 2006. The building has become one of the most ideal places for photographers to get the gorgeous Chongqing night view.

    In the morning, the crews will anchor the ship at the pier near Fengdu Ghost City. You may make a trip to the City of Ghost. As an optional excursion, you can spend about two hours for the trip. The ship will leave for Shibaozhai Fortress at 10:30 A.M.. It will make a two-hour stopover at the fortress at 3:00 P.M.. The entrance fee for Shibaozhai Fortress is included. A live dance performance will start at 8:30 P.M..

    Fengdu Ghost City has a long history of nearly 2,000 years. It was founded in the late first century. According to Chinese religious beliefs, Fengdu is commonly considered as the destination of souls. It shows what the haven of the deceased would be like.

    Shibaozhai Fortress is situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It was constructed by Tan Hong during the reign of Emperor Shenzong(1572-1619), the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644). Tan Hong was the leader of rebel forces. He built his fortress on a cliff which is called Shibao or the Jade-Stamp. The main building looks like a pagoda. It is a twelve-storey building with a height of 56 meters(184 feet). The fortress has been highly praised by the US Discovery Channel as One of China’s Top Seven Architectural Wonders and One of the World’s Top Eight Odd-looking Buildings.

    The ship will arrive at the White-Emperor Town at 8:00 A.M.. An optional excursion to the White-Emperor Town is recommended. You need to get on the ship before 10:30 A.M.. The ship will enter the Three Gorges at 11:00 A.M. It will reach the confluence of the Yangtze and the Shennv Stream at 2:00 P.M.. Then, you will be transferred to visit the gorgeous stream by some boatmen. You will board the ship before 4:30 P.M.. In the evening, you may watch another show performed by the crews.

    The White-Emperor Town is located at the west mouth of the Three Gorges. The Whit-Emperor refers to Gongsun Shu who was a warlord of Sichuan during the civil war which broke out in the early first century. Local people built a shrine to worship the warlord, and named it as the White-Emperor Temple. However, the town’s only claim to fame has nothing to do with Gongsun Shu. It is the place where Emperor Liu Bei(161-223) passed away and entrusted the Prime Minster Zhuge Liang(181-234) with his cause and his young successor. In order to commemorate the event, the temple was rebuilt in the year of 1513. The images of Liu Bei and his followers are placed in the temple for worship.

    The west mouth of the Three Gorges is called Kuimen or Qutangguan. It is the entrance to Qutang Gorge which is well-known for the magnificence of the scenery. Qutang Gorge is the shortest one of the three gorges with a length of 8 kilometers(5 miles). Wu Gorge is the middle section of the Three Gorges. It is 46 kilometers(29 miles) in length, is the most gorgeous one among the Three Gorges. Xiling Gorge is the east section of the Three Gorges, is 66 kilometers(41 miles) in length. It is the longest and most perilous one among the Three Gorges.

    The Shennv Stream lies at the south of Wu Gorge. It is named after Shennv Peak of Wu Mountain. Shennv means fairy maiden in English. The stream is a tributary of the Yangtze River, is 15 kilometers(9 miles) in length. The visitors are enchanted by the natural beauty of the stream.

    After breakfast, you will go ashore at Maoping Pier, and pay a visit to the Three-Gorge Dam. Then, you will be transferred to the No.9 Pier of Yichang Port to check out of your room on board ship by 12:30 P.M. An optional trip is to take a pleasure boat to pass through ship-locks of the dam. It is the best way to see how the ship lift works. If you want to take the optional trip, you need to check out of your room before 7:45 A.M.. Then you will be taken to the pleasure boat. After visiting the dam, you will be transferred to the Visitor Centre of the Three-Gorge Dam where you can take back your luggage and meet your local guide in Hubei Province. After having lunch, you will travel to Zhangjiajie by car. The distance between Yichang and Zhangjiajie is some 380 kilometers(236 miles). The journey to Zhangjiajie takes about five hours. You will spend three nights in the same hotel which is located in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

    The Three-Gores Dam lies at the east of the Three Gorges. It is the largest hydro power station in the world, is the main component of the Three-Gorge Water Conservancy Project. The dam is 2,308 meters(7,572 feet) in length and 185 meters(607 feet) in height. A huge reservoir has been formed by damming the Yangtze River. It measures 1,084 square kilometers(419 sq.mi). The project was begun in 1994 and completed in 2006. It has brought many changes to the Yangtze River, such as the flood control, the hydro power generation, the shipping industry, aquaculture, water supply and irrigation.

    You will be guided to visit Tianmen Mountain in the morning and enjoy the gorgeous view of Baofeng Lake in the afternoon.

    Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area lies in the south of Zhangjiajie, 6 kilometers(3.7 miles) from the downtown. It is a national five-star scenic area, is a national forest park. Sculpted by natural weathering and erosion, Tianmen Cave is a huge hole on a cliff. It is the main attraction of the scenic area. As the largest one of its kind in the world, the hole measures 131.5 meters(413 feet) in height, 57 meters(187 feet) in width, and 60 meters(197 feet) in depth. Visitors are usually transferred to the cave by cable car from the foot of the mountain, and then carried to the mountaintop by escalator. Some of the cliff paths are made of glass. Only a few people dare to walk along the glass path. The cable-way between the mountaintop and the foot of mountain is the longest one in the world. It is 7,455 meters(24,459 feet) long with a sheer drop of 1,279 meters(4,196 feet).

    Baofeng Lake is situated in Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. It is 72 meters(236 feet) in depth and measures 30 hectares(74 acres). The lake is surrounded by cliffs. It looks like a mirror with emerald rim. Waterfalls cascade down the cliffs into the lake. Hills are covered by dense forest in which birds are singing. Some local singers stand on their fishing boats singing too. Baofeng Lake is a wonderland that can not be found elsewhere in the world.

    After breakfast, you will go on a hike through the forest with your guide. The top two attractions of Zhangjiajie National Park are Tianzi Mountain and Yuanjiajie Scenic Area.

    Known as the King of Stone Pinnacle Forests, Tianzi Mountain is one of the four scenic areas in the World Geo-park, Wulingyuan. It is the place where a large number of quartz sandstone pinnacles rise in clusters. The sandstone pinnacle forest covers an area of 54 square kilometers(21 sq.mi). Its altitude ranges from 534 meters(1,752 feet) to 1,266 meters(4,154 feet) above sea level. Tianzi Mountain is notable for the four natural phenomena, namely, the sea of cloud, the moonlit night, the snows, the rosy glow cast by the rising/setting sun.

    Yuanjiajie Scenic Area measures 12 square kilometers(4.6 sq.mi). In the year of 2009, the movie Avatar was shot partly on location in Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. One of the stone pinnacles was renamed as Montas Volans. The No.1 Natural Bridge under Heaven is a huge rock which straddles two cliffs. The bridge is 2 meters(6.6 feet) in width with a span of 20 meters(66 feet) and a sheer drop of 350 meters(1,148 feet). Bailong Elevator carries people down from the mountaintop to the bottom of the gorge. It is 335 meters(1,099 feet) in height, is known as the highest elevator in the world.

    You will ride your car or coach to the Yellow-Dragon Cave in the morning, and pay a visit to Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon in the afternoon.

    The Yellow-Dragon Cave is located in Suoxiyu Nature Reserve. It is a key component of the world geo-park, Wulingyuan. The cave is 7.5 kilometers(4.6 miles) long and measures 10 hectares(25 acres). The roof is 140 meters(459 feet high above the bottom of the cave. The Yellow-Dragon Cave has topped the list of China’s Most Beautiful Karst Caves.

    Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon combines mountain scenery and water view. It lies about 28 kilometers(17 miles) to the east of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The canyon is well-known for its glass bridge which is the longest and highest in the world. The glass bridge straddles the canyon with a span of 370 meters(1,214 feet) and a sheer drop of 400 meters(1,312 feet). It has been inscribed in the Guinness Book of Records.

    You will be transferred to Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport according to your flight timings. The airport operates flights to over 20 domestic cities within Mainland China, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Xi’an and Guangzhou. It is the second largest airport in Hunan Province.