Before the 20th century, rugged mountains would have virtually isolated Sichuan from eastern China if it hadn’t been for the 650 km stretch of the Yangzi linking Chongqing with Yichang in Hubei Province. The journey was a perilous one, the river tearing through the sheer-sided Three Gorges. Today, with the shoals cleared, the journey makes a popular cruise through spectacular scenery, with regular stops at famous sights. The landscape has been irrevocably changed by the filling of the Three Gorges Dam, gradually making the cruise even more leisurely and extending the cruising season.

The Three Gorges, though the river is no longer the vicious torrent described by countless travelers, the steep walls and tight channels of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, and Xiling Gorge still present an awesome spectacle.

The Three Gorges Dam has raised water levels upstream by up to 175 m; even now the water is rising, making each cruise unique. Millions of people had been relocated, several cities have been rebuilt above the new waterline. The new reservoir is so large that the impression of being on a river will remain, as will the key elements of history and scenery.