President No. 8

Highlights Downstream Itinerary Upstream Itinerary Ship Facilities Inclusions/Exclusions Important Info

Highlights

Fengdu Ghost City

Fengdu Ghost City is considered by locals to be the final resting place for all souls. The inspiration for its name was derived from the different buildings which make up the complex. Located on Ming Mountain, you’ll find shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife that make the transition there a more appealing proposition. Learn about the test each soul must take before being granted passage through and understand the significance of the temple has played in local cultural and religious traditions.

Qutang Gorge

Qutang Gorge stretches eight kilometers from Fengjie’s Baidichen, Chongqing in the west to Daxi in the east. Renowned as one of the Yangtze River’s most impressive sections of the river, Qutang Gorge forms part of the Three Gorges. Inspiring poets, peasants, and philosophers for centuries, Qutang Gorge provides a breathtaking scene with mountains and history framing the river on both sides.

Three Gorges Dam

Located in the heart of China, Three Gorges Dam is the end, mid and start point for Yangtze River cruises, depending on whether you’re travelling upstream, downstream or in both directions. As the world’s largest hydro-electric power station, the dam is impressive in more than just size. It was China’s largest ever infrastructure project, is over 660 kilometers long, and generates a maximum capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts of power – more than any other power station in the world.

White Emperor City

White Emperor City, acquired its name from the white clouds that were said to encircle it and resemble a white dragon. Enclosed on three sides by the Yangtze and reached by a long footbridge and steep stair climb, like many of the river’s sights, White Emperor City is steeped in history, war, and conquest. Life-size statues bring much of this to life in an otherwise picturesque setting.

Xiling Gorge

Xiling Gorge is the longest section of the famous three gorges of the Yangtze River’s Three Gorges. With its scenery admired and written about by numerous Chinese poets throughout history, Xiling Gorge will reward sightseers with its many smaller gorges found along the 76 kilometers of its length.

Shibaozhai

Shibaozhai is a tower nearly 56 metres in height leaning against the Yuyin Hill and is now encircled by a moat after the Three Gorges Dam project in 2003. Legend has it that the mountain was a stone left by Nuwa, a goddess who created humans and mended the wall of heaven with five colored stones. During the Ming Dynasty, it gained notoriety as a stronghold taken by a gang of farmers, earning it the name Shibaozhai (zhai meaning fortress).

Wu Gorge

Extending for over 40 kilometers, Wu Gorge is famous for its narrow canyon, the Twelve Summits of Wu Mountain, and year-round cloud cover. Ancient history and mythology are part of Wu Gorge with key points noted at Shennv Summit and Qiufeng Pavilion.

Cruise the Yangtze River in style with a luxurious President river cruise boat.

Enjoy everything the Yangtze River has to offer on the President No. 8 river cruise boat with upstream and downstream river cruise options. The President No. 8 river cruise takes in all the Yangtze River’s highlights, including Fengdu Ghost City, Shi Baozhai Pagoda, White Emperor City, and the awe-inspiring Wu Gorge. Stylish and comfortable, the President No. 8 sets a high standard for Yangtze River cruises in terms of comfort, service, facilities, and sights. This upmarket river cruise boat provides a relaxing and a wonderful way to experience China’s natural beauty and rich river history.

Cruise boat stats

Maiden voyage	2013
Total cabins	230
Passenger capacity	460
Passenger decks	6
Crew	200

Cruise Information

Room Type	Cabins
Presidential suite	2
Executive suite	12
Deluxe standard cabin	216

Downstream Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Chongqing

18:00 – Board the cruise at the Chaotianmen Pier in Chongqing
20:00 – Orientation & Briefing
21:30 – Depart Chongqing

Meals included: None

Day 2 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Optional Shore Excursion: Fengdu Ghost City
Shore Excursion: Shibaozhai Pagoda
Captain’s Welcome Party

Meals included: Buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Optional Shore Excursion: White Emperor City
Qutang Gorge
Wu Gorge
Shore Excursion: Shennong Stream
Night on the Yangtze River Party

Meals included: Buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 - Cruise the Yangtze River + Disembark at Yichang

Disembark at Maoping pier in Yichang

Shore Excursion: Three Gorges Dam Site

Meals included: Breakfast

Upstream Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Yichang

18:00 – Board the cruise at the Maoping Pier in Yichang
21:00 – Orientation & Briefing

Note: There is free shuttle bus transfer from Yichang East Train Station and Yichang Three Gorges Tourism Center to the pier.

Meals included: None

Day 2 - Cruise the Yangtze River

- Optional Shore Excursion: Three Gorges Tribe or Hometown of Quyuan
- Shore Excursion: Three Gorges Dam
- Captain’s Welcome Party

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Arrangements for optional tours are to be made onboard the cruise prior to disembarking.

Day 3 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Shore Excursion: Shennong Stream
Wu Gorge
Qutang Gorge
Optional Shore Excursion: White Emperor City
Local folk party

Meals included: Buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Shore Excursion: Shibaozhai Pagoda
Optional Shore Excursion: Fengdu Ghost City
Night on the Yangtze River Party

Meals included: Buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 - Disembark at Chongqing

Disembark at Chongqing.

Meals included: Breakfast

Ship Facilities

Cabins and suites

President No. 8 has 230 tastefully decorated cabins onboard, all with their own balconies and amenities, including bathroom, a direct dial phone, LCD satellite TV, automatically controlled air-conditioning, and potable water made available through the onboard water purification system.
Staterooms are customized to accommodate three people.

Restaurants and bars
Onboard you will have access to a number of restaurants and bars, including:

Panoramic Restaurant: This fine dining restaurant over two floors offers intimate atmosphere and delightful cuisine.
Spacious Observation Lounge: Day or night, enjoy a drink while taking in the fantastic view of the river and surrounding landscape.
Sundeck Bar: Soak up the sunshine and relax with other travelers in between shore excursions and other onboard activities.

Leisure facilities
Really let yourself unwind on this relaxing river cruise by taking full advantage of the onboard leisure facilities, including:

Heated indoor swimming pool and spa
Partition between public and rest areas with soundproofing ensuring peaceful room rest
Heated indoor swimming pool and spa
Partition between public areas and rest areas, with soundproofing ensuring peaceful room rest
Conference facilities with simultaneous translation system
Internet-based, remote-controlled surveillance system
Independent children’s play room
Golf driving range

Inclusions / Exclusions

Inclusions:

Onboard accommodation based on double/twin occupancy in a standard cabin on the second level of cruise boat.
Admission fees: to sightseeing spots and activities as specified (Shibaozhai, Shennong Stream, Three Gorges Dam).
Selected onboard activities as specified (Tai Chi, cultural activities, and onboard entertainment).
Meals: as specified in the itinerary.
Tour guide: excellent English-speaking guides.
Transfers: land transfer with drivers as specified.
Travel Agency Liability Insurance during the tour.
Government taxes and fees.

Exclusions:

Optional shore excursions: Fengdu Ghost City, White Emperor City, Tribe of the Three Gorges.
Any personal onboard spending of laundry, drink, telex, phone calls, beauty treatments, and other miscellaneous services.
Gratuities to river guide, service staff and cruise director, and any other personnel.
Any upgrades to a different floor or cabin.
Transfer service in Chongqing and Yichang.
China visa fees.
This cruise does not include travel insurance. Please purchase travel insurance before your trip to provide for any unforeseen circumstances.

Important Information

All times on the schedule are estimated and are subject to change due to weather and navigation conditions.
All shore excursions departure times and duration are approximate and may subject to change if considered unsafe to operate.
Downstream (Chongqing/Yichang): Transfers will be provided to the Yichang Cruise Terminal Center arriving at approximately 12:30pm for passengers taking just the morning excursion to the Three Gorges Dam, and 1:30pm for passengers taking Three Gorges Dam tour with the optional ship lift excursion if condition permitted.
Upstream (Yichang/Chongqing):Option 1: Free shuttle bus service at Yichang East Train Station where original ID (passport) must be presented at the Yichang Tourism Information Center to obtain a coach ticket. Passengers board the shuttle at the bus bay marked“Luxury Cruises Shuttle Bus Center”. Luggage will be stored and transferred on the same coach (transfer is 1.5 hours duration). The shuttle service is available daily from 16:00pm to 21:30pm. For assistance on site in Chinese, please call, 0717-6941940. For English speaking assistance, please call the ship reception directly.Option 2: Free shuttle bus service at Yichang Three Gorges Tourist Center, located opposite Wanda Crown Plaza Hotel (also called No. 9 Pier). Your original ID (passport) is required to obtain a coach ticket. Board the shuttle to Maoping Pier. Luggage is stored and transferred on the same coach (transfer is 1.5 hours duration). Shuttle service is available daily from 16:00pm to 21:30pm. For assistance on site in Chinese, please call +86-15071816140 or for English speaking assistance, please call the ship reception directly. For passengers organizing the transfer between Yichang and Maoping, the suggested cruise embarkation time of upstream is between 18:00- 22:30.
As the sailing port is to be finalized, you are advised to call the cruise company before boarding to confirm the specific port of your cruise.
The port for disembarking may be adjusted due to weather conditions and water level on the day. Please keep your phone on so we can contact you at all times. It is recommended you to contact ChinaTours.com or the cruise company on the day of boarding to receive the accurate information about the port.
Optional spots listed in the itinerary are not included in the quotation. Passengers must pay separately for these on the cruise. Based on the conditions and general terms of cruise company, passengers are not permitted to leave the ship if they are not taking the optional shore excursion.

Alteration of Itinerary:

If unforeseen circumstance beyond our control require us to make relevant changes to the cruise itinerary, we reserve the right to cancel or change the sailing date, etc. Where it is necessary to change the accommodation, ChinaTours.com reserves the right to substitute it with accommodation of at least a similar standard. We make changes on the conditions that:

Events happened out of our control, such as war, fire, epidemics, health risks, typhoon，earthquake and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, etc. Under these conditions, extra fares will be charged if there any additional costs are incurred.
River conditions are subject to change. Due to any potential events, we reserve the right to alter programs to maintain the spirit of the cruise with concern for safety and in response to actual conditions during sailing. Unused services are not refundable.

Prices Start From

$432+PP
USD

Select Tour Options

Promenade deck

Main deck

Adults

123455+

Children

0123455+

Infants

0123455+

marki40
London, United Kingdom
Reviewed Feb. 2020
China Tours Trip In China
Our China tour started at the end of December. We began our trip in Beijing, which was a bracing -12C when we arrived. We were met at the airport and would add that all pick-ups were on time each morning for tours, and at all stations or airports as well.
Our first day was free in Beijing, so we explored, following the tip to visit the National Museum which has amazing stuff on display (as did the Xian Shaanxi museum and Shanghai museum later in the trip). We found a great Peking Duck restaurant which was a short walk from the hotel. The queuing system was a case of organised chaos in such a small space, but the meal was well worth waiting for. Best duck ever!
William was our guide in Beijing, and our tour comprised 5 people including us. All the guides were very good, but William takes the star prize. He was interesting and informative, but also a laugh. The usual sights in Beijing were awesome and splendid, but the highlight was the Great Wall, as we expected. When we saw the Temple of Heaven, there is an area where people – or their mothers – have their CVs to find a marriage partner. One of the mothers took a shine to one of our party on behalf of her daughter, and when she discovered he was a lawyer, became very interested. The rest of us found this more amusing than he did!
The bullet train was a nice relaxing journey to Xian. Our party of 5 split on the second day as we went to different locations next, but we all saw the Terracotta Army, which is another “must see”. The wall at Xian is big enough and was getting decorated for the coming spring festival (year of the Rat), but after the Great Wall, was less impressive. We all enjoyed the market and had a lunch in the Muslim area which was great fun, followed by a ridiculously cheap group hotpot that evening involving much use of online translation on our phones!
The next day, Sally took over from Helen, and despite spending only part of a day with her, she was great. Having only two of us going around the Shaanxi museum, she was able to help us with anything we found interesting, going at our pace. We left on another bullet train to Chengdu.
The journey was shorter than before, and we met David, our guide. The next day was an early start to go to the Panda Base. What an amazing day! It was fabulous feeding pandas by hand and cleaning out their enclosures. The park has been designed brilliantly, so we also wandered to see other pandas (including cute red pandas). We were struck how lovely it was to be in a less built up space after our largely city based tours before. David had been to the Panda Base before, so knew what to do, and was a fantastic guide there.
Beijing had had clear blue skies and not at all polluted, contrary to what we had expected, but Xian and Chengdu were more polluted. This was the trade off going in winter, although this also meant that the tourist attractions were far less busy.
The next morning in Chengdu David took us to the Pavilion Park, where we sat drinking tea (green obviously) and learning Mahjong. We also managed to have our ears massaged and shoes cleaned, although the locals were most interested in our newly taught Mahjong prowess. It was a lovely way to while away a couple of hours and contributed to our stay in Chengdu being fondly very remembered. We went to the airport to fly to Shanghai.
Shanghai was about as different as anything could be to Xian, and even much of Beijing. It is as blingy and modern as Xian reflects the ancient part of the country. Our guide Hugo showed us parts of the different concessions in the city as well as the museum, but the Yuyuan Garden was lovely. Later we met up with two of our original tour group for cocktails at the rooftop bar of the Hyatt on the Bund, seeing the spectacular lights. We managed a return trip on the Maglev train which was a marvellous way to bring our China tour to an end.
In summary, the organisation was fantastic. Everything went as planned, and the guides were all very helpful and easy to talk to. The hotels were fine throughout, although in our case, we found the Chengdu hotel – which was the swankiest we stayed in – was less well placed to explore too much for places to eat, particularly as we arrived later in the day and had a long day at the Panda Base. Transportation was fine throughout, too. Bus, car, train and plane were all good.
We originally considered a private tour but went for a small group one at a lower price. This is well worth it in winter, as the group is unlikely to be even close to the 12 maximum. The mix of locations and sights was perfect for us. Prices of meals were similar or lower than we expected, so we spent less than we took with us.
There were so many highlights, so it is difficult to choose which pictures to show, but the attached is a very small sample from what was a truly wonderful holiday.
Date of experience: December 2019
rogergreen113
Reviewed 22 January 2020
BEIJING-XIAN-GUILLIN-SHANGHAI PRIVATE TOUR
We are an Australian family who took the private tour from 24 December 2019 to 3 January 2020. China tours Co. had organized a meticulous tour for our family. Apart from the Shanghai stage, other stops were historic and memorable. The key attraction for China is her rich history. It would be very important that the tour guides must learn and comprehend Chinese History, not only PLA, Communist Revolution, or China Modernisation, Silk Road - One Belt - One Road, guests would be much more interested in her ancient history. Just imagine that when Qin Shi Huang connected the Great Wall to protect his newly formed dynasty - Qin, Jesus Christ was not even conceived yet, let alone the development and establishment of many great dynasties before his. Tour guides should treat this issue very carefully because of many tour guests who have studied Chinese History as their majors in High School and in University. They travel with two purposes, to see and to verify the historical records.
To avoid the misunderstanding, that could be interpreted as a deception, in the itinerary of the tour, the program details must be utterly succinct and concise, i.e. Day 1: Receive the tour guests from Airport and deliver guests to the prebooked hotel. Tour guide will briefly explain the tour to the guests. This is the first day of arrival, the tour manager would like to leave the guest a resting time for recovering after a long flight. While Beijing and Xian stops were very well organized and rich history, the Gullin - Yangshuo and Shanghai stops were shallow. In Gullin - Yangshuo stop, if the tour guide were not as good and friendly, this stage would be very boring. We were very lucky to have Sue as a tour guide, she was so excellent in her English and her deep knowledge of China that shined the tour stop in a very different direction.
In Shanghai stop, I would expect the tour guide would lead us to the Shanghai historical museum where we would learn the bitter lessons of the 1930 - 1945 chaotic period in Chinese history, we were taking to the Parks which we could find them ourselves. Shanghai has so many historical monuments to attract international traveling guests, not the riverside where it showed the newly built highrise skyscrapers, we have seen them enough in New York, Singapore, or even in KL. We would like to know the history of Shanghai club, the details of the day when the Japanese planes dropped bombs over the city's residential areas, etc.
It would be very useful to prepare a china-tour booklet in advance, such that the details of the 2020 tours include detailed programs of the year i.e. how many stops of the tour, cities, historical locations, etc.
Date of experience: December 2019
marioY1797DZ
Giaveno, Italy
Reviewed 13 January 2020
Myanmar private Tour
Dear Martha our trip in Myanmar is finished and Isa and me are fully satisfied. We have seen a lot of places, monuments and peoples. As usual we give you a little feedback of our trip. Organization Very good: intensive (4 internal flights) but in this way we save a lot of time and we saw a lot of things. Accomodation Good and coherent with our request. Only one remark regarding the Hotel in Bagan where the Hotel was good but with a poor bathroom (not coherent with the standard of the trip). Viceversa the Hotel on the Inle Lake was spectacular. Guides All the guides were very kind, helpful and prepared. Particularly the guides in Bagan and in Mandalay spoke an excellent English and were very cultured in order to give us a complete overview of the local culture. Conclusions As usual Isa and me were fully satisfied
Date of experience: December 2019
bacibesobeijo
Reviewed 13 January 2020
Custom Tour of China: Beijing, Pingyao, Xian, Giulin, Suzhou, Hangzhou & Shanghai!
Fantastic trip organized by China Tours! All the guides were wonderful and accommodated my needs. Perfect English, highly informed and kind. One of the best trips of a lifetime! China Tours made the whole experience effortless despite the obvious barrier with language. If you are going to China, no doubt this tour is for you.
Date of experience: December 2019
Loretta M
Tampa, Florida, United States
Reviewed December 7, 2019
Private Solo 35 day Tour of China from Beijing to Shanghai Stopping in Sites – Some Well-Known and Many Rare Places
This 35 day private tour through China was set up by Martha Fu and her team. The trip was more than unbelievably fantastic and if I could rate it a 10 I would! I had some very specific places I wanted to see that were the typical tourist attractions, but several that I read about that were off the tourist radar and amazing to go to. Martha spent about a year with me to customize every detail of this trip, which I kept adding and deleting. Originally it was set for 58 days so I ended up having to split it in two trips. In fact, I have already setup Part 2 for 2020 to finish what I have started.
Martha was incredible! I have traveled the world and this trip was tops!!! Martha and I discussed the best time to go and obviously avoiding the 70th Anniversary of the Republic of China Holiday week was a great idea due to the crowds, but yet, coming in at the end of this holiday, I was still able to see lots of celebratory flower displays everywhere, which was amazing. Martha helped me with everything so that this trip was smooth and memorable. She responded to my emails within 24 hours and if she was not available Lori or another teammate stepped in to answer all of my questions. This company is unbelievable!
Travelling solo was a concern, but not with this tour company. I felt very safe at all times. Every city I went to - from arriving by train or plane, I was met with an English speaking tour guide and a driver. All my guides (10 in total) spoke English well and were very attentive to my needs.
To give you an idea of the complexity of this tour, which included trains and flights, I thought I would list some of my trip highlights:
* Beijing (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Place, Mutianyu Great Wall, Hutong Tour, Temple of Heaven)
* Datong (Yungang Grottoes, Shanhua Monastery)
* Pingyao (Hanging Temple of Mount Hengshan, Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Pingyao Ancient City Wall, Rishengchang Draft Bank, Qiao Family Compound, Shuanglin Monastery)
* Xian (Terra-Cotta Warriors, Museum, Small Wild Goose Pagoda, City Wall, Great Mosque)
* Dunhuang (Echoing-Sand Dunes, Crescent Lake, Magao Grottoes)
* Jiayuguan (City Gate, Overhanging Great Wall, Museum (Beginning of the Silk Road))
* Zhangye (Giant Buddha Temple, Danxia Landform (Rainbow Mountains))
* Wuwei (Leitai Tomb of Han Dynasty)
* Lanzhou (Binglingsi Grottoes)
* Chengdu (Wenshu Monastery, Giant Pandas, Wangjang Pavillion Park, Jinli Street)
* Leshan (Giant Buddha)
* Emei Mountain (Wannian Monastery, Baoguo Temple)
* Dazu (Rock Carvings)
* Yangtze River Cruise (Shibaozhai, Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, Shennong Stream, Three Gorges Dam)
* Zhangjiajie (Tianmen Mountain, Grand Canyon, Glass Bridge, Hallelujah Mountains (Avatar), Tianzi Mountain, Ten-mile Natural Gallery, Golden Whip Stream)
* Fenghuang (Stilt Houses on Tuojiang River)
* Hangzhou (Feilai Park, West Lake, Tea Plantation)
* Wuzhen Water Town
* Shanghai (Tongli Water Town, Master of the Nests Garden)
I highly recommend China Tours. I'm now very excited to go back to China and finish the rest of my planned trip in 2020! Thanks again for an outstanding tour!
Date of experience: October 2019
Kskoh55
Reviewed 3 December 2019
Private tour for 2 couples to Xian, Mt Hua, Yangtze River Cruise and Chongqing
We were so pleased that we chose China Tours after reading reviews from Tripadvisor to customise our itinerary. Lora was so responsive and we felt at ease planning it with her. Tour was according to itinerary and there were no hiccups. Guides, Linda at Xian and Mt Hua and Sherry at Chongqing were knowledgeable, professional and saw to our every need. Drivers were courteous both on and off the roads and on time. We will not hesitate to recommend China Tours to our friends. In fact, we are currently planning with Lora on our next trip to the Silk Route. Mrs Koh
Date of experience: November 2019

Downstream	DestinationsChongqing to Yichang	Cruise Duration4 days/3 nights
Upstream	DestinationsYichang to Chongqing	Cruise Duration5 days/4 nights

Highlights

Cruise the Yangtze River in style with a luxurious President river cruise boat.

Cruise boat stats

Cruise Information

Downstream Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Chongqing

Day 2 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Day 3 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Day 4 - Cruise the Yangtze River + Disembark at Yichang

Upstream Itinerary

Day 1 - Depart Yichang

Day 2 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Day 3 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Day 4 - Cruise the Yangtze River

Day 5 - Disembark at Chongqing

Ship Facilities

Inclusions / Exclusions

Important Information

Travel Memories

Testimonials

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Highlights

Highlights

Fengdu Ghost City

Qutang Gorge

Three Gorges Dam

White Emperor City

Xiling Gorge

Shibaozhai

Wu Gorge

Cruise the Yangtze River in style with a luxurious President river cruise boat.

Cruise boat stats

Cruise Information

Downstream Itinerary

Upstream Itinerary

Ship Facilities

Inclusions / Exclusions

Important Information

Travel Memories

Testimonials

Why ChinaTours.com?

No commission-based shopping tours

Talk with real people

Create beautiful travel memories

Best choice

Ready to explore real China?

Call Us

We'll Contact You

Online Enquiry

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