Panoramas of China – Yangtze River Cruise with Beijing and Shanghai

Upon arrival, transfer to your 4★ hotel for three nights, including breakfast. (D)

With the rest of the afternoon at leisure, you have the choice to relax in our hotel and take advantage of its facilities or step out into the city's electric rhythm. Wander through the downtown streets or sip jasmine tea in a quiet courtyard. Later, meet your fellow travel companions and enjoy your first taste of China this evening with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

After breakfast, enjoy a guided tour of Beijing, including Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. After an included lunch, head to the Summer Palace, a serene contrast to the grandeur of the Forbidden City. (B,L)

The evening is yours to explore.

After breakfast, tick off a true icon of world travel: the Great Wall of China. After lunch at a local restaurant, headt to the Temple of Heaven. This evening, gather for a culinary rite of passage: Peking duck served in a local restaurant. (B,L,D)

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Chongqing, China. (B)

Upon arrival, visit Ciqikou Old Town before embarking Century Legend for your 10 night full-board voyage.

For the next ten nights, we will journey along the Yangtze. Settle into your spacious deluxe cabin, and as the city begins to glow in the soft light of evening, join the captain for a welcome party.

After breakfast, join your local guide for an excursion to Fengdu Ghost City. This afternoon, after lunch on board, enjoy a lecture about the Three Gorges, relax with a refreshing drink from the bar or perhaps take a dip in the pool. After a short sail, we disembark this evening to see the ‘War Fire of the Three Kingdoms Show’.

Today, choose your adventure - whether you are drawn to the mysteries of ancient dynasties or the majestic call of panoramic peaks, today offers you a choice of two unforgettable excursions.

Set sail later this afternoon gliding past the majestic Qutang and Wu Gorges, where sheer cliffs rise like sentinels on either side of the river and the five-step ship locks of the dam. After some wonderful scenery, delight your tastebuds on board in the ship's restaurant.

This morning, we turn our gaze to one of the most ambitious engineering feats of the modern age: the Three Gorges Dam. Today, enjoy panoramic views of the Three Gorges Dam at the River Closure Memorial Park. Then delve deeper at the Three Gorges Project Museum, where we'll learn more about the dam's impact, construction process, and cultural heritage. 

This afternoon, settle in for a scenic sail through Xiling Gorge. Once notorious for its whirlpools and rapids, this stretch of the Yangtze is now a tranquil corridor of natural beauty.

Tonight, enjoy a crew cabaret show or perhaps try a more traditional pastime in the Mahjong rooms (charges may apply). Mahjong is a traditional Chinese game of strategy and chance played with beautifully etched tiles - it can be noisy, but lots of fun. 

Choose a guided tour of Jingzhou, with a visit to the Jingzhou Museum, or the Xióngjiā National Archaeological Park.

Jingzhou Museum | Today, we arrive in Jingzhou, a city where the past lingers in every stone and shadow. Once the seat of eleven emperors and a former capital of China, Jingzhou was the beating heart of the Chu Kingdom, a cradle of early Chinese civilisation. Its legacy endures - etched into ancient walls and preserved in artefacts. Later we trace the city's ancient wall defences. 

Xióngjiā National Archaeological Park | Alternatively, venture north of Jingzhou to the fascinating Xióngjiā National Archaeological Park, where the tomb of the Xióngjiā Zhǒng reveals a world of ancient ritual and royal splendour.

Explore the sprawling city of Wuhan with a guided tour of the Yellow Crane Tower and the Hubei Provincial Museum. In the company of a local guide, we'll ascend Snake Hill to explore the Yellow Crane Tower, a traditional Chinese tower and one of the city's highlights. Continuing to the Hubei Provincial Museum, located on the shores of Wuhan's East Lake. 

Back on the Century Legend later, the evening is yours to enjoy. You could experience a treatment at the spa, browse the onboard boutiques or relax with a drink at the bar. 

Enjoy a full-day tour: of Jingdezhen Porcelain Town or to the famous Mount Lushan.

Jingdezhen Porcelain Town | Our guided tour of Jingdezhen Porcelain Town showcases many examples from dynasties of craftsmen in this area. We'll see an ancient kiln porcelain factory where artisans still shape, glaze, and fire their wares using time-honoured techniques and learn the history of ceramics, including how Jingdezhen porcelain achieved its special features.

Mount Lushan | Alternatively, join our full-day tour of Mount Lushan, located on the banks of Poyang Lake - the largest freshwater lake in China. Mount Lushan is one of China's most famous mountains, gaining its UNESCO World Heritage status in 1996. Here, we'll ascend by cable car above the lush forests as valleys appear and disappear amid shrouds of mist to enjoy scenic views of the lake and mountains.

Both full-day tours include lunch ashore

Enjoy a full-day tour to tranquil Mount Jiuhua or a guided tour of Jindizang Temple.

Mount Jiuhua | On our guided tour, we'll see some of the 99 temples that are entombed within the forests, decorated with thousands of ancient Buddha statues. A highlight of the day will be the Zenshan Hall, the spiritual heart of the mountain and the base of Buddhist culture. Your tour will include a cable car ride and traditional vegetarian lunch ashore.

Jindizang Temple | For those who would prefer a shorter excursion but no less meaningful journey, instead, opt for a visit to the Jindizang Temple tucked away in the peaks of Mount Jiuhua. With its sweeping eaves and imperial-style architecture, the temple spans seven halls with a giant Buddha statue adorning each hall. But it is the legend of Monk Wuxia that draws pilgrims. Said to have meditated in a cave for over 100 years, surviving on wild herbs, his 1,300-year-old mummified body remains miraculously intact - a symbol of spiritual attainment.

Take a guided tour of the Mount Niushou Cultural Park and see one of Buddhism’s most sacred relics. Today, we'll learn more about the twin peaks of Mount Niushou - so named for its ox-horn silhouette rising above the forested landscape - during a guided tour of the newly developed Mount Niushou Cultural Park. 

Please note the above port of call and excursion may take place on Day 14 instead depending on the ship‘s final docking arrangements.

Explore the Slender West Lake in the quaint city of Yangzhou. 

Your excursion today visits the city's crown jewel: Slender West Lake. Named for its elongated shape - said to resemble a slender girl - this man-made lake is an excellent example of classical Chinese garden design. Winding paths trace the water’s edge, where pavilions, arched bridges, and willow trees appear like brushstrokes in a living scroll painting.

As the sun dips lower enjoy tonight's farewell dinner prepared with the freshest local ingredients and served in the ship’s panoramic restaurant.

Please note the above port of call and excursion may take place on Day 13 instead depending on the ship‘s final docking arrangements. If the ship is unable to berth at Yangzhou, you will visit Slender West Lake as an excursion from Nanjing.

Say farewell to the crew aboard Century Legend and step ashore into the magnificent city of Shanghai. Your overnight stay includes breakfast. (B,L)

We'll begin in the Old Quarter, with a visit to the enchanting Yuyuan Gardens. Originally built in the Ming Dynasty, this classical Chinese garden is more of a miniature city with temples, boathouses, and even a traditional theatre - all blended with shaded alcoves, koi-filled ponds and pavilions.

After an included lunch, we continue to the Jade Buddha Temple, one of Shanghai’s most revered Buddhist monasteries.

This evening, you may wish to explore Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s legendary shopping boulevard. Lined with luxury boutiques and local speciality shops, it’s a vibrant blend of East and West, old and new - perfect for those last-minute souvenirs. It’s also worth detouring into the side streets, where you may stumble upon authentic market stalls of fresh produce frequented by the locals and teahouses serving dumplings and hot cups of oolong. 

After breakfast transfer to the airport. (B)