Travel Information

长江三峡地图Map of Yangzi River's Three Gorges area

1. 奉节 (白帝城)Fengjie (Baidicheng)
2. 巫山Wushan
3. 巴东Badong
4. 秭归Bigui
5. 三斗坪Sandouping
6. 宜昌市Yichang City
7. 瞿塘峡Qutang Gorge (red bracket)
8. 巫峡Wu Gorge (green bracket)
9. 西陵峡Xiling Gorge (blue bracket)
10. 大昌Dachang
11. 大宁河小三峡Daning River's Little Three Gorges (orange bracket)

Getting There:

重庆市Chongqing City is one of the major ports along the 长江Changjiang (Yangzi River) and this was my next stop after I left 成都市Chengdu city, and it was here that I took the boat up the Chang Jiang River.   There are a few ways to get boat tickets for your Yangzi (Yangtze or Yangtse) Cruise:

Click picture for large Map of the 巫山小三峡 (大宁小三峡)Little Three Gorges with place names

1. You can get the ticket from your hotel, which is convenient but of course you pay more.
2. You can get the ticket from travel agencies or reliable booking agents, such as CITS, who can put you together with other foreign tourists on higher quality luxury boats. On these big boats (which may be in the shape of a dragon), you can enjoy the spectacular sceneries in style.   Of course, you pay much more.   But if time is money and — more importantly — you wanted no surprises, this is the best option.
3. Or, you can get the ticket directly from the boat ticket office at the 朝天门码头Chaotienmen Dock.

Chaotienmen Dock is located on the northeast of the city area, right at the confluence of the 嘉陵江Jialingjiang River and the Yangzi River.   The boat ticket office is nearby.   Inside the office were many boat companies.   They had different schedules and destinations. Some were cruises that focus on the 三峡Three Gorges areas; others (like the hydrofoils) head straight to their destinations.   Most boats, however, will stop somewhere before their destinations, to refill or refuel.   Large boats go to major ports along the long river — from 宜昌Yichang to 武汉Wuhan and all the way to 上海Shanghai. I had planned to stop at Yichang, so that I may go north to visit 诸葛亮Zhuge Liang's abode — 古隆中Gulongzhong — in 襄樊Xiangfan on my way to the 武当山Wudangshan mountains in 河北Hubei Province. I could take the bus there but I am tired of the buses and I wanted to see the Three Gorges.   I always wanted long trips on a boat so I planned well for this.   If you would like to see the colossal 三峡大坝Three Gorges Dam on land, you may take the bus from Yichang, which I did.

Boats dock on the banks of the Changjiang River.   Up the banks are the river towns that depend much on the great river. From one of the companies I brought a 2nd class ticket (with 3 beds and 1 shower/bathroom) to Yichang.   It is a good idea to get at least a 2nd class ticket if you like to use the boat's deck to view the gorges.   Any class below that may give you trouble accessing the deck. You get what you pay for.   At noon, I checked out of my hotel, which is a walking distance from the dock.   I left my bags there and used the rest of the afternoon checking out other places.   At about 6pm I got on the boat.   The boat ride took 2 overnights and arrived at the third night.

My roomates were two party members from 广东省Guangdong Province. They were heading somewhere (not Yichang, further but I forgot where) for official duty of some sort.   They appeared very comfortable and knowing — appeared that traveling was something of a routine for them.   Since we are from the same province we spoke in Guandong dialect.   We spoke a while then someone came to exhange our tickets with tags (I think that was what happened.   At the time I did not keep a log of my travel.   Usually the ticket would be held, so that they know who will be getting off when and where.   They will come to back to you to reverse the exchange when the time comes.   It works like an alarm clock.   Great.   But do not lose the tag, of course.   Since tickets have no customer's name, I developed a habit of writing my name in the back. In case the ticket is misplaced or someone is caught taking it, at least I can identify it.   But I never had a single problem.   Soon another person came by to offer group tours of the nearby attractions and a cruise on the 小三峡Little Three Gorges (see map above: orange bracket indicates this scenic area).   The price was over my budget, so I declined.   But my roommates bought the tickets and convinced me later that get my own as well.   It was a good thing that I joined the tour since most of the interesting and dramatic scenes were from these smaller rivers — because the gorges are narrower, the cliffs are steeper, and the sight of locals made it more alive.

The boat docked near the attractions for hours at a time for the three days.   During those time, the tour guide took us through the river towns — for the other attractions which include 丰都 (鬼城)Fengdu (Abode of the Ghosts); 白帝城Baidicheng (White King Town, the place where 刘备Liu Bei, the dying King of 蜀汉Shu Han, one of the three states of 三国Three Kingdoms Era, made his final wishes); and 张飞庙Zhangfei Miao (Zhangfei was one of the era's legendary general under Liu Bei.   This temple was built to honor him.).   While you are in town, you may load up some food.   You may, of course, visit these areas on your own because they are just up on the banks, but getting to the 小三峡Little Three Gorges (orange bracket on the above map) on the 大宁河Daning River requires that you know where and be able to get the boat tickets.   If you decided to go on your own, bring all your belongings — in case you could not make it back on time, you can catch the next boat.