We are planning our first trip to China - fall of '05. We will have 14-17 days to do this trip. Many of the tours offer a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze. Is this a worthwhile thing to do or would these 3 days be better spent elsewhere? We are only looking at escorted tours. We are quite adventureous, but for our first trip to China, would rather see the highlights that a tour offers. Thanks for your input.

My wife and I made the upstream voyage from Wuhan to Chungking and count it to be one of the magnificent highlights of the trip. The scenery, once you are in the gorges, is wonderful; from Wuhan the ship passes through some flat land for a day.

If you get a chance, go ashore at small towns. You literally are transported back in time by a scale of centuries. Always have your camera at the ready. You will see old China, something that is fast disappearing from the big cities.

By all means, make the trip.

The trip on the Yangtze is definitely worth it. You won't be disappointed. I don't know why some people are so negative about it. We were not on a tour and purchased our tickets after we arrived in Chongqing.

I think it'll be especially great if the cruise in near the middle of your trip. 14-17 days in China is a pretty long time, and a 3 day cruise will give you a much needed rest to recuperate.

There is so much to see in the cities, Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong, etc, that it would be hard to fit them all in in your time.

I think this would be a tough call except that since the Yangtze is rising, the sooner you see it the better.