China - Yangtse River

Ok guys - Im planning to go to china in about 9months and would like to see the Yangtse river. Then a thought hit me - why not travel down part of the Yangtse by small boat ( either solo or with other travellers) but just want someone to tell me whether its possible as it is just a random idea and im no expert on the river. Anyone who knows any info - such as the calmest parts of the river, the wildlife etc please let me know. Thanks guys. Any info appreciated.
Nick

Hi Nick, Yangtse River is a good choice. You cannot miss it if you come to China. But you’d better cruise in summer. There will have plenty of water, and the weather is suitable for cruise. You can start from Chongqing, cruise to Yichang will take 3-4 days, to Wuhan will take 4-6 days, to Shanghai will take 7-9 days. You can choose as you like.

I did the one from Yichang to Chonquing and it was good. Just book your tickets from wherever the boat leaves from instead of through an agent as they like to rip people off (we paid three times the price it said on the boat ticket).

Also, Yichang is a hole, so avoid it if you can!

hey nick,

i was in china for 6 weeks in july with my best friend. we had a fantastic time, and would definitely recommend the yangtse river. the only thing i would say is that the only cruises you can do (as far as i could work out), did feel a little too "set up for tourists" if that makes sense. the historical sites to stop along the way were often expensive and not all that fascinating (and i really enjoy all the history!). i would opt for the chongqing to yichang (or the other way around) because we found this to be long enough.

also, the river if polluted and therefore we did not see much wildlife. the only place along the river that we were really impressed with in this regard was a place that the chinese called the "little/mini three gorges". definitely do that!

i hope that helps, i don't mean it too sound too discouraging! definitely worth doing!

morgan.

Hey thanks for the posts - I was kinda thinking more travelling by small raft/duckie/kyack or something to make it an adventure. I dont know much about the river though - how calm is it in what regions? Id like to travel about 5 days worth setting up camp at local villages or riverside towns - i know the river is huge in most places so it is purely an idea but thought it might be fun.

Thanks guys
Nick

Oh also........if i did do that is there much wildlife - ie would i get eaten by a giant turtle or something.

i suppose you could do that if you wanted, i certainly didn't see it done and i don't know how nice it would be with the pollution. also the passing ferries and barges would probably ruin it a bit. if you were to do it you would have to go somewhere just off the river (like the little three gorges i mentioned before). on the upside- i don't think you would be eaten by a giant turtle (too much pollution).

good luck!