A cruise on the mighty Yangtze River is like watching a live production of National Geographic being filmed of a breath-taking backdrop through the heartland of China's waterways and the famous Three Gorges. The dramatic landscape features sheer cliffs to steep, rugged mountains that rise on either side of the grand and misty river. It is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world, after South America's Amazon and the Nile River at about 6,300 kilometers heading eastward through central China and pouring into the East China Sea at Shanghai. The river has long been utilized as a major east-west trade and transportation route within China.

The most impressive section of the river is at the Three Gorges which are comprised of the Qutang, Wuxia(Wu) and Xiling Gorges, zigzagging for 192 kilometers. The gorges start at Baidicheng (White King Town) in Fengjie County of Sichuan Province in the west and extend to Yichang and further to Wuhan City in Hubei Province in the east.

The Yangtze River and the Yellow River are regarded a cradle of ancient Chinese civilization. The Three Gorges are rich with ancient relics excavated, in addition to the unique beauty of the natural surroundings. This world-renowned river played a pivotal role in communications in the history of this vast country and now the massive water dam is under construction in a lower section of the Three Gorges with anticipation of supplying strong hydropower to this fast developing country.