End of this month another yet more luxurious ship is to sail the legendary Yangtze River. Called the Yangtze Gold 1, this ship promises to deliver yet another step up in exceptional luxury and  opulent comfort. While it’s the ship’s enormous size that immediately separates it from any of  its predecessors, the standard of furnishings is said to leave one in awe.

Although any cruise ship on the Yangtze river can take you along the classic route from 
Chongqing to Yichang, sailing four days downstream and five days upstream, it’s what you will  add to your China itinerary on the front end as well as the tail end that will ultimately make  your China tour most memorable.

There is no way that coming to China for only a week, a popular trip to tour Beijing to Shanghai that includes stops in the staple tourist destinations of Xian and Guilin, you can  tailor in a Yangtze river cruise. For that you need to allocate at least ten days.

With ten days total you still can start in Beijing and finish in Shanghai and not only include 
the 4-day Yangtze cruise but even see the pandas at Wulong.

With only a day more you can start in Shanghai, then do the cruise, and from Yichang travel down through the ethnic heartland of China, namely Guiyang and Kaili, and finish in Guilin.

With twelve days to spare you can venture out further west and tour Sichuan. From Chengdu it is  only a hop to Emei, right next door is the giant Buddha at Leshan and further on en route to  Chongqing tour another UNESCO site at Dazu. Thereafter you can embark on the Yangtze voyage and  finish your trip in Shanghai.

With twelve to fourteen days you always comfortable visit Xian and the lesser visited sites of  Zhangjiajie and Jiuzhaigou Valley. The cruise with the three gorges will always be part of your  China tour.

If you crave to tour Yunnan, sample the Tibetan strongholds of western Sichuan, not to mention  Lhasa and Tibet proper, best set aside 16 days for your tour of China. Frankly while you can fly to Lhasa and catch a glimpse of the impressive Potala Palace, it’s not worth coming here unless  you can spend at least three to four nights as it will take just as long to get adjusted the  thin air.

No matter what you decide keep in mind that Yangtze river cruise is always nice to do as part of a trip to Yunnan, one of most scenic China provinces. Your main access point will always be  Kunming, and from there Dali, Lijiang and Zhongdian are only short distance away. And from  Kunming you can easily connect to anywhere you wish, either back to Beijing, or to Hong Kong,  even to Bangkok.