Shipping is the only way for touring the Three Gorges. At present the voyage from Wuhan to Chongqing is comparatively more convenient for shipping on the Yangtze River. Usually each cruise ship company has made a good decision on the yearly list for shipping, including the agenda and shipping lines; each company may also choose a natural scenery to match with two or three historical spots in each line (downstream or upstream). Take the upstream line for example, from Wuhan to Chongqing by way of Jingzhou, Yichang, Shengnongxi and Fengdu or Chibi, Jingzhou and small Three Gorges in Mt. Wusan, but if Shengnongxi is chosen and small Three Gorges in Mt. Wusan shouldn't be and others can be arranged flexibly. Some companies have their ships berthed the fixed places according to the special requirement of travelers. Therefore you should clearly know that the places that the ships supply are where you really want to go, and then you make a decision. Usually the voyage date and line are strictly administrated by the voyage administrative department and cannot be altered after the examination and approval.

Days of Touring Generally speaking, it will take three to six days for touring the Three Gorges including the long line and the short lines .The long lines: From Wuhan to Chongqing and from Chongqing to Wuhan; The short lines: From Chongqing to Yichang or Jingzhou and from Jingzhou or Yichang to Chongqing or Jingzhou, and from Jingzhou or Yichang to Chongqing. It will take four and half days or five days for downstream lines, but five or six days for upstream lines altogether with the voyage of 1200 kilometers. It will take the same days, about 3 days, for upstream lines, and downstream lines with about the voyage of 600 kilometers. Maybe you'll ask "which line is better, the long line or the short one ?" 1.The Advantages of the long lines A Touring the Three Gorges is a hard work especially in summer; the activities outside easily make people tired. The long lines can give you more relaxing, resting, recovering time, and at the same time you can get more chances to take part in more interesting activities, such as the lectures on Chinese culture, the display of handwritings & pictures and health care. B Avoid taking long -distance buses and suffering the long journey. C The basic transportation in Wuhan is well - done, such as the docks, airports and hotels. 2. The disadvantages of the long lines A Long time and the high expenditure. B It may be comparatively prosaic for those who like the activities outside and want to know more about China in shorter time. 3.The Advantages of the shorelines A. The short time and concentration of programs. B. The less expenditure 4.The disadvantages of the short lines A It is not suitable for those old people .The centralized activities easily make people tired. B. The transportation problem in Yichang or Jingzhou cannot be resolved properly. Tourists have to take buses to Wuhan. Although the time is short, they should take 3 or 5 hours to have a rest and relax.

The Expenditure of tour Different tourists favor different expenditures but they are all willing to get most valuable for least expenditures .The cost of tickets for first -class Travelling Company is 500 to 700 dollars (long lines) and the actual price for teams is 400 to 600 dollars and the price for signal tourist is littler higher .The price of short lines is 300 to 400 dollars and the actual price for teams is about 300 dollars or 200 dollars for moderate cruise ships. Generally speaking, upstream lines are one fourth or one fifth cheaper than downstream lines no matter its long or short lines. In July and August, on condition that there are few tourists when the sailing is around the corner, the cheaper tickets are provided. There are three kinds of lines in winter. First one, the downstream lines from Wuhan to shanghai, of which most are hired cruise ship with price of 500-600 dollars according to the days and spots. Second one, short lines from Yichang to Chongqing, of which most are moderate and low rank cruise ships. Third one, the lines of Yichang /Fengjie /Yichang with the price of 200- 300 dollars, which one is popular among domestic and overseas tourists. Upstream lines or Downstream Lines The advantages of Downstream Lines 1. Shorter time of 4 days with the speed of 38-30 km per hour. 2. No navigating at night in order not to affect the relax ion and entertainment on board. 3. Good and convenient excursion in the day. The Disadvantages of Downstream Lines 1. Short time for excursion 2. More expenses 3. Crowed if in little cruise ships The Advantages of upstream lines 1. Enough time for excursion with the speed of 15-18 km per hour 2. Less expenses 3. More time to relax, to learn the history of china, to enjoy the entertainment The Disadvantages of Downstream Lines 1. Navigating at night in order to arrive at next spot at time. 2. Passing the dam at 0 or 4 o' clock which interferes with the relax ion and the activities next day. Nowadays we have paid more and more attention to the arrangement of activities on board or shore of upstream lines in order that tourists can enjoy their traveling on board. Upstream or downstream? You should chose with the consideration of the time of your holiday, spots you want to visit and other factors. And it'll take 9-11 days to cancel a flight.

The safety of cruise ship The Yangtze River is special on two elements. One is that it holds a lot of sand in it and the other one is that the water up Yichang part flows fast with dangerous rocks and rapids in the river. Inevitable measures for the security of ship and the system of preventing and extinguishing fire. Security measures: A Double-deck structure B Vibrancy- resistant wall on the head of the ship C No sinking if one of cabins is instilled D Wind - resistant E Enough saving equipment F Advanced communicating equipment (wireless communication satellite telephone) and supervising system (radar system water- depth measure system) Measure and Equipment for preventing and extinguishing fire A. Fire-alarming system communicating system, supervising system. B. Fire-avoiding structure, paying more attention to important district. Cruise ship of COTC passed the security examination of Transportation Bureau of China and got the right to receive foreign tourists in 1996. The water in the Yangtze River is bad with turbidity and sand it's important to use water-purring equipment to clean the water for drinking and washing. Nowadays cruise ship of COTC has reached the standard made by National Health Bureau in cleaning water, sterilizing and filtering.