10 Days Wuhan, Wudang Mountain & Yangtze River Tour

Welcome to Wuhan, the Capital of Hubei Province! Clear the customs and retrieve your baggage by yourself upon arrival, be greeted by our tour guide in the Arrival Hall who is holding a sign on which says your name; transferred by private car to your hotel. The rest of today is on your own to explore the “City on the Rivers”.

Arrival Ideas: Wuhan Tianhe Airport has many flights to domestic cities (like Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Guilin, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and more cities) and international regions (like Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, San Francisco, Paris, Moscow, Rome, Sydney, etc.). High Speed trains are well linked Wuhan with Shanghai, Changsha, Guilin, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Beijing and so on.

Wuhan, the "City on Rivers"

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. Today, you’ll first visit Hubei Provincial Museum. Founded in 1953, Hubei Provincial Museum has 6.5 hectares with 200,000 exquisite items include bronze, jade and lacquer work, porcelain and paintings. You can enjoy a performance of chime bells, stone chimes and other ancient instruments. The museum is a window to explore Chinese history. 

Later, take 5-minute walk to East Lake. It is the largest lake within a city in China. Take the ferry boat to explore the scenic area with pavilions and gardens.

In the afternoon, transfer to Yellow Crane Tower, one of the most renowned towers south of the Yangtze River. It enjoys the fame of “The First Scenery under Heaven”. And its cultural significance led to its being made the symbol of Wuhan City. Have a panorama view of Wuhan City and Yangtze River.

After sightseeing, transfer back to your hotel.

Hubei Provincial Museum

In the morning, you first stop is Guiyuan Temple. First built in the early Qing Dynasty, Guiyuan Temple is one of the four biggest temples for Buddhist meditation in Hubei as well as an important Buddhist temple in China.

After the trip, your guide and driver will escort you to the train station for your train to Wudangshan. The Wuhan Wudangshan train takes about 6 hours. Welcome to Wudang Mountain, and the local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.

Guiyuan Temple

After breakfast, you will begin your whole day Wudang Mountain exploration. By entering Wudang Mountain, you will first take tourist bus to Prince Slope, the study place of Price. Along the way you will pass Huilongguan, Grind Needle Temple with a nice story about how the prince willing to study here when he wanted to give up, and Lao Tzu Temple.

Then head for Purple Clouds Palace, operated by Taoist Association, where you can learn Taoist Culture and know about their daily life. After that you will move on and stop at Nanyan Temple to explore this stunning building on the cliff and visit various Taoist Temples and stylish architectures.

Stay overnight at Wudang Mountain.

Wudang Mountain: Located in the northwest of Hubei Province, it is a famous Taoist holy mountain. It was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994. In Wudang Mountain, visitors could enjoy Kung Fu - Taichi performance and practice martial arts and meditation with Taoist priests.

Wudang Mountain

After breakfast, you will take cable car at Zhongguan site to the Golden Palace (Jingding) to view the whole picture of Wudang Mountain. After have a wonderful time on Jingding, you can visit the Taihe Temple nearby, Chaotian Temple and the three Heavenly Gates. Then take cable car down and watch the Wudang Martial Art show at Carefree Valley if time is right.

After the trip, head to the train station to catch your 5.5 hours’ train to Yichang. After arriving at Yichang East Railway Station, meet by the local guide and be escorted to the hotel. Have a good rest today.

Wudangshan Golden Palace

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. First drive to the downtown area to feel the friendly atmosphere in Yiling Square. You’ll appreciate music fountain, watch pigeons flying over the square, enjoy dances and performances by all ages and styles on the huge square, and others.

Later you’ll visit the Yichang Museum with a collection of more than 30,000 pieces cultural relics. In this small museum, you could have an in-depth understanding of Yangtze River Three Gorges local culture like Changyang People’s fossils, Chengbeixi Culture, Daxi Culture etc.

Then drive 12 km to the Chinese Sturgeon Museum where you’ll not only see the national treasure - Chinese sturgeon (a critically endangered member of the family Acipenseridae), but also see other more than ten kinds of sturgeons, Chinese alligators, mullets, estuarine crocodile and other famous species.

Next will be a relaxing visit to Sanyou Cave (Cave of Three Travelers). The three travelers are Su Xun, Su Shi and Su Zhe who were famous poets in the Northern Song Dynasty (960~1127). Highlights at the sight are seeing the cave itself, appreciating the Yangtze River Xiling Gorge scenery, walking up the path from the cave to the Zhixin Pavilion and the ancient inscriptions.

After the tour, be transferred to Yichang Port (Taohuacun Port or New Century Port) to board your ship during 18:00~24:00. Your once-in-lifetime Yangtze River cruise starts!

Tips for boarding: 1) Travelers who take Victoria Cruises should gather at Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal at 18:00~20:00 and take coach to Maoping Pier for boarding; 2)Please call the ship one day ahead or at least in the morning on the boarding day to have clear idea about which pier you are going to use; 3) The boarding time and departure piers may change based on the ship line, water level, season, weather and other factors. Please pay attention to the important info your travel consultants sent to you before your boarding.

Sanyou Cave

Yichang Museum

Chinese Sturgeon Museum

In this morning, wake up leisurely and enjoy the gentle sunshine shining over the tranquil Yangtze River. You can either follow the Taichi master to play Taichi on the sundeck or enjoy a cup of coffee to stretch your mood to start your beautiful day. It will be colorful and interesting no matter you stay onboard or go shore excursions at river stops.

Onboard you will enjoy different kinds of cultural activities and entertainment, like attending a Yangtze River History and Culture Lecture to know deeply about the third longest river in the world, taking part in the Captain’s Welcome Party to make new friends, or having great fun at the wonderful evening shows with sing, dance and music.

Also, you will follow a local English-speaking tour guide and make a shore excursion to the world-famous project - Three Gorges Dam. The dam is the largest hydropower station in the world with an annual energy output of 84.7 billion kilowatt-hours. The Three Gorges Dam includes three areas: the dam itself, a hydroelectric, and a system of locks. The height of the Three Gorges Dam is 185 meters (607 ft) above the sea level. The dam is about 2,300 meters (7,546 ft) long and about 115 meters (377 ft) wide. With a water capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters, the dam will hold a huge reservoir which will efficiently prevent flooding in the middle and lower portions of the Yangtze River.

After getting back from the dam, you can watch the fascinating process of passing through the Three Gorges Dam Five-stage Ship Locks. (Please note: Victoria Cruises is the only cruise company sailing through Three Gorges Dam Ship Lift instead of Ship Lock in 2017.)

Optional excursion: Enjoy a shore excursion to Tribe of Three Gorges today for an extra fee. Located on Xiling Gorge near Three Gorges Dam, the Tribe of Three Gorges is like a dreamland garden with breathtaking views - fishing boats along the river side, fishermen using bird to catch fishes, fishing nets hanging along the creek, young couple meeting on the bridge and lots more. You won’t miss the wedding ceremony of Tujia ethnic group.

Take Yangtze River Cruise in Spring

Three Gorges Dam with Ship Locks

Play Taichi in the Morning on Sundeck

Today you will continue sailing through the spectacular Three Gorges! Follow the guide’s live interpretation and soak up the breathtaking gorge scenery passing by as you drift through Xiling Gorge, Wu Gorge and Qutang Gorge respectively.

On this day, take an enjoyable shore excursion to Shennv Stream (Goddess Stream), a tributary of the Yangtze River in Wushan County. You will be switched to a smaller boat to sail down this primitive stream running in a narrow side gorge where you will have close-up views of steep mountains and hanging coffins high on the cliffs as well as hear some of the local history. Besides, you will be entertained with local music and dance offered by the Tujia ethnic group. (Please note: some cruise ships will make an excursion to Shennong Stream which offers the similar experience at Shennv Stream.)

Optional excursion: Enjoy a shore excursion to White Emperor City today with an extra fee. Located at the entrance of Qutang Gorge, this excursions gives you the chance to know Romance of the Three Kingdoms and offers the best pot to appreciate the magnificent “Kui Gate”.

Shennv Stream with Primitive Gorge Scenery

Breathtaking Wu Gorge Scenery

In this morning, you will make a shore excursion to Shibaozhai Pagoda, a pearl of Yangtze River in Zhongxian County. Reputed as one of the eight extraordinary architectures in the world, this 12-story, 16^th century red wooden pagoda leans against the side of the rocky and craggy hill about 200 meters tall. Climbing up to the top of Shibaozhai, you can not only visit the Buddhist temples and halls but also have panoramic view of Yangtze River. (Please note: Comfortable shoes are highly recommended since there will be many stairs to climb up the pagoda.)

Optional excursion: Have a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City today with an extra fee. Called “the Homeland of Divine Comedy in China”, it consists of buildings, structures, dioramas and statues related to the afterlife in hell. Entering this “City of Ghosts”, you will know many mysterious stories about underworld and cruel tortures and different kinds of devils and Chinese demons. (Please note: the visit to Fengdu Ghost City requires much walking and comfortable shoes highly recommended!)

In this evening, enjoy the well-prepared Captain’s Farewell Party with all your mates onboard and have a pleasant dinner together. After the banquet, take part in the cabaret show to enjoy your last night.

Shibaozhai Pagoda, a Pearl of Yangtze River

Fengdu Ghost City

In this morning, your ship will arrive at Chongqing Chaotianmen Port around 09:00 where you will go through a check-out procedure and disembark.Upon arrival, your guide and driver will pick you up at the port and escort you to the airport / train station to next destination.

Departure Ideas: Travelers can take a flight from Chongqing Jiangbei Airport to Xian, Guilin, Lhasa, Beijing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shangri-La and Dali, etc. Or you can take a high speed train from Chongqing North Railway Station to Chengdu (about 1.5hrs) and more cities in China.

Chongqing Chaotianmen Dock