CRUISE ASIAN RIVERS DESTINATIONS


 YANGTZE Tour manager Willie points skywards, where the Goddess Peak is rising up from the Wu Gorge on the Yangtze River. “The rocks resemble a girl looking down at the river,” he says. We have to take his word for it because all we can see is the light mist that has blanketed the top of the gorge, giving the valley a mystical feel and blotting out all hope of seeing the Goddess or any of the 11 other peaks surrounding us. The Chinese have various stories


to explain their presence, but my favourite (because it is the least complicated) is that the 11 were mischievous dragons turned to stone by a goddess to stop them from flooding the river. She then turned herself to stone to keep a watchful eye on boatmen on the river below. Wu Gorge is one of three scenic


valleys that draw visitors to the Yangtze, and a cruise along this


peaceful river provides an ideal break from touring China – a moment to unpack, draw breath and glimpse rural life away from the cities. I was cruising on Sanctuary Retreats’


124-passenger Yangzi Explorer, which sails three and four-night cruises between Yichang and Chongqing that APT, Uniworld River Cruises and Wendy Wu Tours package into longer tours of China. The vessel is acknowledged as the most luxurious on the Yangtze, partly due to its size (124 passengers compared with an average 400) and feeling of space on board, as well as its spacious cabins (all with balconies), and the quality of the fixtures and fittings. The cruise might be a break


from city sightseeing, but there’s little time to put your feet up. On my four-night sailing, I packed in pre-breakfast tai chi, classes in dumpling making and Chinese language, and lectures about Chinese


medicine, reflexology and the river. I also joined tours to a not-for-the- squeamish market in Fuling, selling pigs’ snouts and trotters. And the Three Gorges Dam – “the largest hydroelectric power station in the world, 1.4 miles long, 28 million cubic metres of concrete and $30 billion to build”, as Max – who, like many other Chinese guides, adopts another name for overseas visitors – repeated many times.


On a sampan ride on the Shennong


Stream – a tributary of the Yangtze – boatmen showed us how, in the days before engines and dam when the river ran wild, naked men formed human tractors to pull boats upstream. Happily, on this occasion they kept their clothes on. Book it: From $1,350 per person cruise-only for a four-night trip from Yichang to Chongqing on Sanctuary Retreats’ Yangzi Explorer, on selected dates from March to September. sanctuaryretreats.com


14 March 2019travelweekly.co.uk49


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