Hi Reina,
Now that our tour is over and we are back in the US, I wanted to let you know how pleased we were with the itinerary and all the arrangements you organized. Everything worked extremely well and went exactly as planned. In fact the level of organization and care exceeded my expectations.Starting in Datong and ending in Shanghai, every guide was extremely skilled and professional. Most outstanding were Charlotte, the guide for the Datong/Taiyuan portion, and Jack, the guide for the Turpan/Urumqi portions of the trip.
Some of my friends and colleagues are also interested in traveling in China, and I will have no hesitation at all in recommending you to them. You may feel free to quote from my email if you wish.
Thank you again for all your efforts on our behalf and for organizing one of the best trips we have ever had.
Sincerely,
Robert S. Boikess
Professor of Chemistry
Rutgers University
The Yangtze empties out into the South China Sea near the city of Shanghai.The Chinese call the Yangtze River, Chang-jiang, which means "Long River". The Yangtze River begins in the Tibetan Plateau and is fed by snow and ice melt from the surrounding mountains.
The Yangtze River is the largest river in China and the third largest in the world. It is about 3,900 miles long. Its width can range from eight to more than 1000 meters when the water rises. The Nile and Amazon Rivers are larger than the Yangtze, but the Yangtze is special because it has so many people living near it.
An old saying goes ¡°If you haven¡¯t traveled up Chang Jiang, you haven¡¯t been anywhere¡± because the river winds through some of China¡¯s most spectacular scenery. In the western Wu Shan (Witch Mountains) it meets the world-famous Three Gorges renowned for their dramatic beauty, cultural treasures, religious and historical sites, and most recently for the building of the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
Chang Jiang has always been a major means of transport and has a colorful and exciting history. Ships were pulled by hand through some of the more dangerous reaches by ¡®trackers¡¯ working from narrow paths cut into the steep cliffsides.The pilots and captains that picked their way through the whirlpools, rocks and wildly fluctuating water levels have achieved legendary status.
Wuhan
Located in the central part of China, where the Yangtze River, the third biggest in the world meets its biggest tributary the Han River, Wuhan is divided by the two rivers into 3 towns, named Hankou, Hanyang and Wuchang. Being accessible by water and land, it has earned the reputation of "the thoroughfare to nine provinces" and functions as one of the few pivots of water, land, air, post and telecommunication.
The Three Gorges Dam
One and a half miles wide and 610 feet tall, the gargantuan Three Gorges Dam is China¡¯s largest construction project since the Great Wall. China decided to dam the Yangtze in 1994 with a steel and concrete wall that would take 15 years and over $30 billion to build.
Chongqing
Lying in southwestern China on the upper reaches of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, Chongqing Municipality is the largest industrial and commercial center in the southwest, and provides a land and water communications hub on the upper reaches of the Changjiang River.
Fengdu
Located on the north bank of the Yangtze River, Fengdu is an ancient city with a long history, known as the "Ghost City" to most Chinese people, it got its reputation as the "Ghost City" in the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 25 - A.D. 220).
Shibaozhai
Shibaozhai, Literally means Stone Treasure Fortress, Located in ZhongCounty, at the south bank of the Yangtze River, 278 km away from Chongqing, it was first built in Qing Dynasty in 1750.
Lesser Three Gorges
The Lesser Three Gorges is one of the exciting and famous stops in the Yangtze Three Gorges. It is often called the "highlight" of the cruise, even the whole China trip. It always refers to the three separate valleys of the Daning River, namely "Dragon-Gate Gorge", "Misty Gorge" and "Dicui (Emerald) Gorge".
Shennong Stream
Shennong Stream, a small tributary of the Yangtze River, rises in the southern part of Shennongjia Natural Reserve. It joins the Yangtze at Xirangkou in Hubei"s Badong County. With crystal clear steam flows swiftly from north to south through deep gorges, a sampan tour will allow you to experience a speedy adventure along this newly opened unspoiled river.
Three Gorges
The most impressive section of the Yangtze River is the three Yangtze River gorges: the Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, collectively known as the "Sanxia".
Jingzhou
Jingzhou is a city in the Hubei province of China, on the banks of the Yangtze River.Jingzhou is located on the middle reaches of the Chang Jiang. To its east there is Wuhan, to its west there are the Three Gorges.
The Three Gorges Dam
The dam is located in the areas of Xilingxia gorge, one of the three gorges of the river, which will control a drainage area of 1 million km 2 , with an average annual runoff of 451 billion m3 .When completed, the $25 billion Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River will be the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. With an installed generating capacity of 18,200 MW, the dam will span more than two kilometers across, and tower 185 meters above, the world¡¯s third longest river.
Yichang
Yichang is where the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River are divided. Thanks to its advantageous geographic location, Yichang has been defined as a distributing center, an important trading port and a transportation hub along the Yangtze river linking west Hubei and east Sichuan since ancient times.
