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Cruise Tour along Middle & Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River
Updated: 2012-05-23

Cruise Tour along Middle & Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Cruise Tour along Middle & Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Day 1

From Wuhan travel eastward along the Yangtze River by cruise ship or steamboat and may stop at Jiujiang City to visit Mount Lushan. After arriving in Anhui Province, tour the Xiaogu Hill, an isolated island in the Yangtze River. You may stop at the Island by taking a boat and pay a visit to the only Mazu Temple on the Yangtze River, and enjoy the inscriptions left by famous people through the ages and the splendid sight of the Yangtze River flowing eastwards.

Day 2

Arrive in Anqing City by ship. Anqing City, located in the southwest of Anhui Province and the north bank of the Yangtze River, is one of the ten well-known port cities along the Yangtze River. With a long history, Anqing had been the capital of Anhui Province for nearly 200 years and also a crucial battlefield for armies of Taiping Kingdom and Xiang Army troops struggling for the Yangtze River area. Anqing boasts of abundant tourist attractions such as Mount Tianzhu, Mount Sikongshan, the Huating Lake etc. Inside the city, the scenic spots such as the Yingjiang Temple, the Zhenfeng Tower and the tomb of Cheng Duxiu are worth sightseeing. Also Anqing is the origin of Huangmei Opera and the birthplace of famous artists such as Ma Lan and Han Zaifen. You may go and visit the famous Mount Taizhu (80 kilometers off Anqing Port, 1 hour drive) or visit Anqing Huangmei Opera School during the day, and enjoy the wonderful Huangmei opera performance in the evening.

Day 3

The cruise ship arrives at Chizhou Port in the morning, Chizhou is an important port city for sightseeing access to Mount Jiuhua or Mount Huangshan. A lot of poetic praise has been dedicated to Chizhou by many well-known people. The Nuo Opera of Guichi, characterized by masked Nuo Dance, is a most peculiar variety of Chinese local opera, and also the ancient rudiment of Chinese opera. Chizhou has many places of interest like Mount Jiuhuashan, Guniujiang Nature Reserve, Lake Shengjin and the Dawang Cave etc. within its boundaries. You may go and visit Mount Jiuhuashan, go sightseeing at the Heaven Terrace, the Longevity Palace and the Mortal Body Palace etc. In the evening return to the steamboat and proceed with the tour.

Day 4

The ship gets to Tongling Harbour of Tongling City which is located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. The city has been famous for copper mines since ancient times and gained the name of the “Old Copper Capital of China”. From here, you may take a trip to Mount. Huangshan and enjoy most beautiful sceneries there. It takes one hour drive to reach the Taiping Cableway near Huangshan. The key scenic spots for sightseeing in Huangshan are the Xihai and Beihai Scenic Areas. Back to the ship for night.

Day 5

Arrive in Wuhu. Wuhu is a beautiful tourist city located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, with many places of interest. In the city center, the Mirror Lake Park, the Jiuzi Square and Zhongshan Traffic-free Street are in perfect harmony, adding radiance and beauty to the city. The other tourist attractions are the Guangji Temple, the Heaven-gate Mountain, the marvelous Maren Peak Forest Area. Wuhu is famous for local crafts of wrought-iron pictures. Other local handicrafts are embossed lacquer and rice straw pith patchwork. One-day bus ride is provided for touring places of interest in Wuhu even neighboring Jingxian County. Back to the ship for night.

Day 6

Reach Ma’anshan. Ma'anshan City is charming with its picturesque scenery, with Yushan Lake in the heart of the city, and many mountains such as Ma'an, Jiuhua, and Jiashan. The most famous scenic spot in Ma'anshan City is Caishiji.

Land directly and visit the Caishiji – one of the three well-known Rocks of the Yangtze River. Caishiji, also called Niuzhu Rock, is a grotesque and steep cliff standing on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, which was a strategic point in the ancient times and also a legendary place where Li Bai, a very famous ancient poet, when drunk, jumped into the river to catch the Moon. The Rock, to which many famous people through the ages dedicated their poems. The main attractions including the Taibai Pavilion, Ranxi Pavilion, Zhuoyue Terrace, Sanyuan Cave and Memorial of Calligrapher Lin Sanzhi.

There is the Tomb of Zhuran (a famous general of the Wu Kingdom in the period of the Three Kingdoms) inside Maanshan City and the famous Tomb of Li Bai in the Mount Qingshan of Dangtu County on its outskirts. Ma’anshan City is 58 kilometers away from Nanjing with highway in-between, where you may end the tour of the Yangtze River and take a bus to Nanjing or another city, or proceed to sail eastward for touring Nanjing, Yangzhou, Shanghai etc.

The tour can also be arranged in a reverse way, -- to depart from Shanghai or Nanjing by ship, tour the middle & lower reaches of the Yangtze River( Ma’anshan, Wuhu, Tongling, Chizhou, Anqing), and then proceed westward to Wuhan, Three Great Gorges or Chongqing.