Chongqing Travel Forum

Hello VTers,

We are considering doing one of the cruises in early July (because that's when we'll be there; it'd be a bit silly to do a cruise when we're not there. But I digress...) and are just curious about the state of the river. Are the gorges still "worth" seeing or are we better off spending our time elsewhere? On the one hand, the cruises aren't cheap, we're not the sort of travellers who would ordinarily do a cruise, and we have limited time in China on this trip. On the other hand, we'll never get to see the gorges again before they're fully flooded, so it's now or never and even if there are better places (eg Yangshou) they'll still be there for later trips.

So we're prepared to do the cruise even if it's not what it used to be, but there's that nagging doubt that at the end of it we'll think "well, we enjoyed a couple of hours of that cruise but the rest was a bust". Then again, once it's gone it's gone... aaarrgh indecisions indecisions

If we *do* go there we only have a choice of two ships because of our travel dates, the 'Oriental Emperor' and 'Yangtze Paradise'. Any opinions on these two cruisers?

And finally, we've read a forum tip about buying your tickets at the docks themselves rather than through an agency for big savings. Unfortunately we'll arrive in Chongqing the day before the boat "leaves" (that is, boarding is scheduled for that evening and physically departing the next morning) and that would be cutting it too fine to risk booking it that way. Any recommendations on good reliable tour companies that we could book with?

Thanks for making it all the way to the end of this post! :)

It's a tough one because I've never really understood the hype about seeing The Three Gorges, especially as the cruise seems to take forever to get to its destination..it just wouldn't be something that i would enjoy! And I heard just the other day from a friend that they are filling in the last stages of it, and believe you me, the Chinese will let you book your ticket and pay with your hard earned cash, step foot on the boat and then tell you that there really isnt anything left to see!!!Thats the way they are, and unfortunately, foreigners get hit hard by this attitude. I coud try and do some investigation for you this end and see what I come with and then maybe you can decide form there.

We would, too, be interested in knowing how much the gorges are covered. Also, if anyone knows the operating hours of the Chongqing Zoo, we would appreciate that information as well!

Well we decided that we'd do the Yangtze cruise, so, stay tuned in about a month time when I can report back on what it is currently like.

I wish I could wait that long - our cruise leaves 11 July! Thanks, though!

Ours leaves on the 14th so you'll be just ahead of us!

Hi
I have done the cruise twice and both were very different experiences. We had a great time on both ocassions. The gorges are still very beautiful but coming from NZ I have been a little spoilt. What I enjoyed most was the English guides story telling of Chinese myths and the historical stories of the people living in the Gorges. There boat stops off at several great attractions ont he way - my favourite was the Strange Pagoda and the less gorge of the Tahu people.
Go with an open mind and make sure you have an English guide on board. A pack of cards also comes in handy for the boring bits.
Chongqing has had bad flooding lately so not sure in what state the gorges will be in now - I have my fingers crossed for you.